Linux machines
The Linux machines page, under START in the sidebar, gives you small Linux computers to work and try things in: test an install script, check how your code builds on Fedora, or poke around a fresh Ubuntu.
| Distribution | Versions |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu | 24.04, 26.04, 22.04 |
| Debian | 13, 12 |
| Fedora | 44, 43 |
| Alpine | 3.24, 3.23 |
| Arch Linux | latest (Intel and AMD only) |
| AlmaLinux (compatible with Red Hat) | 10, 9 |
| openSUSE Leap | 16.0, 15.6 |
| Amazon Linux | 2023, 2027 |
On Apple Silicon Macs, machines run the native arm64 build of each distribution, so they run at full speed. Arch Linux has no arm64 build.
Creating a machine
Click Create… on a distribution's card. The dialog asks for:
- Name, which is also the machine's hostname.
- Version.
- Shared folder (optional): a folder of your computer to work on in the machine. Click Choose… or type its path.
- Throwaway: delete the machine when it stops. Leave it off to keep the machine and everything in it until you remove it.
Ferrodock downloads the distribution if it isn't on your machine yet, then sets the machine up:
- You, as a user with your login name, and
sudowithout a password. - bash, git, curl, nano and a few other everyday tools.
The row in Your machines says how it's going. Setting up takes a few seconds to a minute, as the tools are downloaded from the distribution's mirrors. When it's ready, its shell opens.
Working in a machine
Open shell opens a terminal in the machine, across the page. ← Machines goes back to the list. A shell keeps running while you look at other pages.
From your own terminal, the same shell is:
docker exec -it <name> bash
Stop and Start keep everything you installed and changed. Remove (the ✕ on its row) deletes the machine and everything in it.
Sharing a folder
A shared folder shows up in your home folder in the machine, under its own
name: sharing ~/code/my-app gives ~/my-app in the machine, and that's
where its shell starts. Changes show on both sides right away. Files you
make in the machine belong to you on your computer, not to root.
Removing the machine leaves the folder on your computer as it is.
What a machine is
A Linux machine is a container that keeps running, so it starts in seconds and uses almost no memory. That also means:
- It shares the Linux kernel of your computer (or of the engine's virtual machine on macOS and Windows), so you can't try another kernel or kernel modules.
- It runs no desktop, and no
systemd: services you install don't start by themselves. Start them by hand, for examplesudo nginx. - It shows up on the Containers page too, like any other container.
Setup needs the internet from containers. If creating a machine says it couldn't download its tools, check your network or proxy settings for Docker.