Runtime options

An AppVM runs the image’s declared process by default. These options override it, and they map closely onto the docker run options you already know.

Everything set here is recorded with the machine and carried through a redeploy, so a rebuilt machine keeps its configuration.

Process

Option	Equivalent	What it does
Command	the arguments after the image	Replaces the image’s entrypoint arguments
Working directory	--workdir	Sets the directory the process starts in
User	--user	Runs the process as a different user
Environment	--env	Sets environment variables
Extra hosts	--add-host	Adds static hostname:ip entries to /etc/hosts
Stop grace period	--stop-timeout	How long to wait before forcing a stop, up to 300 seconds

Keepalive

Keepalive replaces the image’s entrypoint with a long-running shell, so a base image whose entrypoint would exit immediately stays up and you can open a terminal into it.

Keepalive is for debugging, not for services

Keepalive is for debugging. Do not use it to hold a service image up: it hides a failing entrypoint behind a shell that never exits, so a broken workload looks healthy. It is also mutually exclusive with a custom command.

Health checks

If the image declares a health check, it is used. You can replace it with your own shell command and timings, or turn health checking off entirely. Setting your own health check, disabling it, and keepalive are mutually exclusive.

Health status feeds the machine’s state and its automatic recovery, so a health check that reports honestly is worth having.

Files

Files are managed by the host and materialised into the guest. There is no bind mount from the host filesystem.

Option	Behaviour
Config files	Written into the guest filesystem in plain text at the path you choose
Secret files	Stored encrypted, decrypted only on the way into the guest, written to memory-backed storage, never shown back
Tmpfs mounts	Memory-backed directories, like --tmpfs
Data volumes	Real persistent disks, optionally read-only. See Data volumes

You supply the content; the host puts it in place. That is what lets a redeploy rebuild the machine from a new image and still land your configuration.

Networking

Choose which VM network the machine attaches to, the same way a classic VM does. Leaving it unset attaches it to the host’s default VM network.

Addressing is either static or DHCP. With DHCP, the machine reports the lease it received, and that stays visible across a restart of Virtainer Lite.

A hostname is optional. Without one, a DHCP machine picks its own and a static machine gets one derived from its MAC address.

Secrets

Environment variables can be marked secret. They are stored encrypted, merged in only when the machine boots, and carried through a redeploy. They are not displayed again after you set them.