First experiments with Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux

Small. Simple. Secure.

An amazingly small (5MB) Docker image speaks for itself.

Let's get started (without Zsh or Bash):

$ docker run -it alpine:3.4 /bin/sh
/ #

The first things we get in touch is the Alpine Linux package management and the list of available packages.

/ # apk update
fetch http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.4/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
fetch http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.4/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
v3.4.0-41-g41cecb2 [http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.4/main]
v3.4.0-41-g41cecb2 [http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.4/community]
OK: 5963 distinct packages available
/ # apk add automake
(1/2) Installing perl (5.22.2-r0)
(2/2) Installing automake (1.15-r0)
Executing busybox-1.24.2-r8.trigger
OK: 49 MiB in 13 packages

Definitely a cool way to create small and tidy base images...