# jpetazzo/nsenter

Repository: https://github.com/jpetazzo/nsenter
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/nsenter
Language: Shell
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2020-05-27T13:07:06+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4458, "days_push": 2289, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2581, forks 268 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:02.440133+00:00)

## What it is
A small Docker recipe that builds the nsenter utility and installs it on the host, letting users enter Linux namespaces of running Docker containers. It was created when distros shipped outdated util-linux versions lacking nsenter, and is now obsolete and unmaintained.

## Use cases
- enter a running docker container's namespaces
- install nsenter binary on old distros without util-linux 2.23
- debug a container from outside its cgroups
- audit a container process externally
- spawn a process into a container's namespaces

## When to choose
- you are on a very old distro without nsenter in util-linux
- you need to enter container namespaces without joining its cgroups for debugging

## When to avoid
- you just want a shell in a container — use docker exec instead
- you run any modern distro that already ships nsenter
- you need maintained, supported tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: cli, container-runtime, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli
- tags: docker, namespaces, nsenter, container-debugging, shell-script, containers, devops, linux

## Member repositories
- jpetazzo/nsenter (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:02.440133+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:22:37.105995+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/jpetazzo/nsenter (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:02.440133+00:00, sha 96cf61325840)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.