Buildah vs rules_docker
Buildah
buildah.iorules_docker
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Buildah | rules_docker |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Container Build Tools | 8.5 (#5) | 7.3 (#26) |
| Container operations | The tool can create working containers, mount and unmount their root filesystems, commit changes as image layers, and remove containers or images. | Basic rules include container_image, container_bundle, container_import, container_load, container_pull, and container_push. |
| Purpose | Buildah is a command-line tool for building Open Container Initiative (OCI) container images. | rules_docker is a set of Bazel rules for pulling base images, adding build artifacts and assets, and publishing container images. |
Plans
In their own words
Buildah
Buildah is a free command-line tool for building OCI container images on Linux. It can create images from working containers, Dockerfiles, or Containerfiles, and can also build through commands and scripts without a build file. Output can use OCI format or the traditional upstream Docker image format. Builds can run without root privileges, and Buildah follows a fork-exec model rather than running as a daemon. Its commands create, mount, unmount, delete, and rename working containers, as well as create or delete images; users can also pull images from a specified location and push local images elsewhere. Buildah is based on a Go API that other tools can vendor, and Podman uses it for Dockerfile builds while remaining independently installable. Buildah requires a kernel with OverlayFS or fuse-overlayfs support; RHEL or CentOS requires version 7.4 or later. Installation guidance warns that short image names can be spoofed and recommends fully qualified names from trusted registries or pulling by digest. The project points users to tutorials, releases, and a mailing list for questions.
rules_docker
rules_docker has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.