# containers/toolbox

Tool for interactive command line environments on Linux

Repository: https://github.com/containers/toolbox
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/toolbox
Homepage: https://containertoolbx.org/
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: containers, linux
Last push: 2026-08-05T17:43:34+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 83/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 96, release rhythm 57, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2924, "days_push": 28, "days_rel": 209, "gap_med": 39, "n_releases_24m": 8}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3478, forks 262 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:06.172299+00:00)

## What it is
Toolbx is a Linux command-line tool for creating interactive containerized command line environments on top of Podman and OCI technologies. It lets users install development and troubleshooting tools inside a mutable container without modifying the host operating system, with seamless access to home directory, networking, and devices.

## Use cases
- set up a development environment on Fedora Silverblue without installing packages on the host
- troubleshoot an immutable OSTree-based operating system
- install CLI tools and SDKs in a container instead of the host
- get a mutable shell environment on an immutable Linux distro
- experiment with packages without affecting the base OS
- incrementally adopt containerization on Fedora Workstation

## When to choose
- you run an OSTree-based distro like Fedora Silverblue, Kinoite, or CoreOS
- you want host-like shell access with home directory, Wayland/X11, and networking inside a container
- you need to install dev tools without polluting the host OS

## When to avoid
- you need strong security isolation - Toolbx explicitly makes no security promises beyond a normal host shell
- you want fully isolated, non-interactive containerized applications rather than a dev shell
- you are not on Linux or don't have Podman available

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, container-runtime, developer-tools, deployment
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems
- platform: cli, go
- tags: podman, oci-containers, immutable-os, fedora-silverblue, development-environment, ostree, containers, command-line, linux

## Member repositories
- containers/toolbox (main) score 83

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:06.172299+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 2026-08-29T18:36:29.927609+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/containers/toolbox (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:06.172299+00:00, sha 333ccee7db1f)
  - homepage: https://containertoolbx.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:30:26.049872+00:00, sha a5172db85f6e)
  - site_page: https://containertoolbx.org/install (fetched 2026-08-29T09:30:26.061511+00:00, sha 9177214a54e5)
  - site_page: https://containertoolbx.org/doc (fetched 2026-08-29T09:30:26.058973+00:00, sha 26a86ff3179b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.