Podman, the open-source container engine for Linux, macOS, and Windows, has released its latest update, version 5.8.
One major change is the preparation for BoltDB’s removal in Podman 6.0, planned for May. From version 5.8, Podman tries to migrate old BoltDB databases to SQLite during system reboot. If this fails, admins can run podman system migrate --migrate-db to do it manually.
Quadlet, Podman’s bridge to systemd, received several important updates. The podman quadlet install command now handles files with multiple Quadlet definitions, separated by three dashes and labeled with a # FileName=<name> header. Also, .container Quadlet files now support a new AppArmor key, so you can set a container’s AppArmor profile directly.
New REST API endpoints have been added for Quadlet management, including:
GET /libpod/quadlets/{name}/fileGET /libpod/quadlets/{name}/existsPOST /libpod/quadletsDELETE /libpod/quadletsDELETE /libpod/quadlets/{name}
Regarding runtime controls, the podman update command now has a --ulimit option to change container ulimits. The podman exec command adds a --no-session flag, which turns off session tracking to speed up startup and execution.
Additionally, Podman machine workflows now run faster. When you use podman artifact add with a virtual machine and the source path is shared, Podman loads it straight from the VM’s filesystem instead of streaming it through the REST API.
Several fixes improve reliability for containers and Kubernetes workflows. Healthcheck handling is now more accurate, fixing issues like running too early when initialDelaySeconds is set and failures caused by systemd rate limits.
Moreover, the podman kube play command now handles Pod YAML files without an image field without crashing and correctly manages the order between envFrom and env variables. Other fixes address problems with --pull=newer, artifact authentication using --authfile, Windows paths under Hyper-V, and volume mount path reporting with plugin drivers.
Finally, API updates now provide nanosecond-level timestamp precision in container log endpoints, handle healthcheck commands with spaced arguments correctly in the Compat Create endpoint, and fix the name of the Secrets removal endpoint.
For more details, check the changelog.
