bfren/debian repository overview

⁠Debian

Docker Hub⁠ - Quay.io⁠ - bfren ecosystem⁠

⁠Introduction

This is the bfren ecosystem⁠ base image for software that needs Debian⁠ - glibc, or packages that are not available (or not reliable) on Alpine.

It is the same platform as Alpine⁠ - the Alpine image's overlay is copied in when this image is built - so everything you know about the bf module, bf-install, the saved environment and /test works identically. This page only covers what is different on Debian.

It is Debian (slim) with:

• Nushell⁠ and the bf module, exactly as in the Alpine image
• Busybox⁠, so the same small utilities (ln, wget, adduser, …) behave the same on both
• apt configured not to install recommended or suggested packages, to keep images small
• ca-certificates and figlet pre-installed

Use it as the FROM line for images that run a single command or tool. For images that run a long-lived service, use Debian + S6⁠ instead. If you don't need Debian, prefer Alpine⁠ - it is smaller.

⁠Quickstart

my-image/
├── Dockerfile
└── overlay/
    └── tmp/
        └── install

Dockerfile:

FROM quay.io/bfren/debian:debian13-5.4

ARG BF_IMAGE=my-image
ARG BF_VERSION=1.0.0

COPY ./overlay /
RUN bf-install

overlay/tmp/install - your installation script, run by bf-install:

#!/usr/bin/nu

use bf

# Install my-image
def main [] {
    bf pkg install [curl jq]
    bf write ok "my-image installed."
}

Build it and open a shell:

docker build -t my-image . && docker run --rm -it my-image nu

Inside the container, bf image shows the image name and version.

⁠Features

• 🌀 Debian 12 and 13 - choose with the image tag
• 🐚 Nushell, with the bf module loaded in every shell
• 🧱 bf-install - one standard build step for every image
• 🌍 Container environment saved at start-up and available to every script
• 🛠️ Helper executables (bf-env, bf-write, bf-wget, …) for shell scripts
• 📝 esh⁠ for generating files from templates
• 📦 bf pkg works with apt, so your install scripts read the same as on Alpine
• 🕐 Timezone set to Europe/London
• 🧪 Built-in test runner that checks its tests really execute

⁠Tags

Images are published to Docker Hub (bfren/debian) and Quay.io (quay.io/bfren/debian) for linux/amd64, linux/arm/v7 and linux/arm64.

Debian 12 has moved to Debian's volunteer-run LTS. Use Debian 13 for anything new. Source: endoflife.date⁠

⁠Configuration

⁠Environment Variables

⁠Build Arguments

⁠How It Works

Building, starting, the saved environment and the bf module work exactly as they do in the Alpine image⁠ - read that for the full guide. The differences are below.

⁠What is different from Alpine

Everything else - bf env, bf write, bf fs, bf ch, bf esh, bf http, bf user, bf test and the rest - is the same code, so scripts you write for one image work on the other apart from package names.

⁠Testing

/test runs the Nushell tests in /etc/nu/scripts/tests, as in Alpine. Tests are removed from published images, so run them on your own builds.

./test.nu        # builds the Debian 13 image and runs /test
./test.nu 12     # the same for Debian 12
./test.nu --all  # every version, in parallel

⁠Troubleshooting

⁠Package not found

bf pkg install runs apt-get update each time, so a "not found" error usually means the package name is Debian's and not Alpine's (e.g. libpq-dev, not postgresql-dev; build-essential, not build-base).

⁠Setting BF_TZ does nothing

In this image the timezone is set when the image is built. Call bf tz Europe/Paris (for example) in your /tmp/install, or use Debian + S6⁠, which applies BF_TZ every time the container starts.

⁠The container exits straight away

The image has no default command. Give it one, e.g. docker run --rm -it bfren/debian nu.

⁠FAQs

⁠Should I use Debian or Alpine?

Alpine, unless something you need requires glibc or a Debian package - it is smaller. Choose Debian for software that needs glibc, or that is only packaged or supported for Debian (bfren/mariadb⁠ offers both Alpine and Debian variants).

⁠Should I use this image or Debian + S6?

Use this one for images that run a single command - a CLI tool, a build step. Use Debian + S6⁠ for long-running services, especially if they need scheduled tasks or start-up checks.

⁠Why does this repository contain so little?

The platform is shared. When this image is built, the Alpine overlay⁠ is cloned at the version set in generate-dockerfiles.sh and copied in, then the Debian-specific files in this repository replace the ones that differ (bf pkg, bf clean, bf tz).

⁠Licence

⁠Copyright