apptainer(1)

NAME
apptainer-inspect - Show metadata for an image

SYNOPSIS
apptainer inspect [inspect options...]

DESCRIPTION
Inspect will show you labels, environment variables, apps and scripts associated
  with the image determined by the flags you pass. By default, they will be shown in
  plain text. If you would like to list them in json format, you should use the --json flag.

OPTIONS
--all[=false]
    show all available data (imply --json option)

--app=""
    inspect a specific app

-d, --deffile[=false]
    show the Apptainer definition file that was used to generate the image

-e, --environment[=false]
    show the environment settings for the image

-h, --help[=false]
    help for inspect

-H, --helpfile[=false]
    inspect the runscript helpfile, if it exists

-j, --json[=false]
    print structured json instead of sections

-l, --labels[=false]
    show the labels for the image (default)

--list-apps[=false]
    list all apps in a container

-r, --runscript[=false]
    show the runscript for the image

-s, --startscript[=false]
    show the startscript for the image

-t, --test[=false]
    show the test script for the image

EXAMPLE
      $ apptainer inspect ubuntu.sif

      If you want to list the applications (apps) installed in a container (located at
      /scif/apps) you should run inspect command with --list-apps <container-image> flag.
      ( See https://sci-f.github.io for more information on SCIF apps)
      The following environment variables are available to you when called
      from the shell inside the container. The top variables are relevant
      to the active app (--app <app>) and the bottom available for all
      apps regardless of the active app. Both sets of variables are also available during development (at build time).
      ACTIVE APP ENVIRONMENT:
          SCIF_APPNAME       the name for the active application
          SCIF_APPROOT       the installation folder for the application created at /scif/apps/<app>
          SCIF_APPMETA       the application metadata folder
          SCIF_APPDATA       the data folder created for the application at /scif/data/<app>
            SCIF_APPINPUT    expected input folder within data base folder
            SCIF_APPOUTPUT   the output data folder within data base folder
          SCIF_APPENV        points to the application's custom environment.sh file in its metadata folder
          SCIF_APPLABELS     is the application's labels.json in the metadata folder
          SCIF_APPBIN        is the bin folder for the app, which is automatically added to the $PATH when the app is active
          SCIF_APPLIB        is the application's library folder that is added to the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
          SCIF_APPRUN        is the runscript
          SCIF_APPSTART      is the startscript
          SCIF_APPHELP       is the help file for the runscript
          SCIF_APPTEST       is the testing script (test.sh) associated with the application
          SCIF_APPNAME       the name for the active application
          SCIF_APPFILES      the files section associated with the application that are added to
      GLOBAL APP ENVIRONMENT:

          SCIF_DATA             scif defined data base for all apps (/scif/data)
          SCIF_APPS             scif defined install bases for all apps (/scif/apps)
          SCIF_APPROOT_<app>    root for application <app>
          SCIF_APPDATA_<app>    data root for application <app>
      To list all your apps:
      $ apptainer inspect --list-apps ubuntu.sif
      To list only labels in the json format from an image:
      $ apptainer inspect --json --labels ubuntu.sif
      To verify you own a single application on your container image, use the --app <appname> flag:
      $ apptainer inspect --app <appname> ubuntu.sif

SEE ALSO
apptainer(1)

HISTORY
23-Jul-2026 Auto generated by spf13/cobra