How to Run Podman Quadlets on Raspberry Pi

Source: Dev.to

Install Podman

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y podman

Typical output:

Get:1 http://security.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security InRelease [43.4 kB]
Get:2 http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian trixie InRelease [54.8 kB]
...
Selecting previously unselected package podman.
(Reading database ... 76622 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../podman_5.4.2+ds1-2+b2_arm64.deb ...
Unpacking podman (5.4.2+ds1-2+b2) ...
Setting up podman (5.4.2+ds1-2+b2) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.13.1-1) ...

Prepare the User Environment

Enable lingering for the user so that the user‑level systemd instance starts at boot and stays running after logout:

sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER

Create the Quadlet Directory

Quadlet files for a local user are stored under ~/.config/containers/systemd:

mkdir -p ~/.config/containers/systemd

Create a Sample Quadlet

Create a simple Nginx container Quadlet:

cat > ~/.config/containers/systemd/hello.container

Welcome to nginx!
...
If you see this page, the nginx web server is successfully installed and
working. Further configuration is required.
For online documentation and support please refer to
[nginx.org](http://nginx.org/).

Commercial support is available at
[nginx.com](http://nginx.com/).
...

Enable the Service at Boot

Add an [Install] section to the Quadlet file so that it can be enabled like a regular systemd unit:

cat > ~/.config/containers/systemd/hello.container  ../hello.service

With Podman and Quadlets configured, the container runs as a native systemd unit and will start automatically on boot.