command-reference.md

Command Reference

Table of Contents

• General
  • Show-ContainerTools
  • Install-ContainerTools
• Containerd
  • Get-ContainerdLatestVersion
  • Install-Containerd
  • Register-ContainerdService
  • Start-ContainerdService
  • Stop-ContainerdService
  • Uninstall-Containerd
• BuildKit
  • Get-BuildkitLatestVersion
  • Install-BuildKit
  • Register-BuildkitdService
  • Start-BuildkitdService
  • Stop-BuildkitdService
  • Uninstall-BuildKit
• nerdctl
  • Get-NerdctlLatestVersion
  • Install-Nerdctl
  • Uninstall-Nerdctl
• Container Networking
  • Get-WinCNILatestVersion
  • Install-WinCNIPlugin
  • Initialize-NatNetwork
  • Uninstall-WinCNIPlugin

General

Show-ContainerTools

List container tools (Containerd, BuildKit, nerdctl) and shows if the tool is installed, the installed version and the latest available version.

Parameters

None

Output

Name	Type	Description
Tool	String	Name of the container tool. Either Containerd, BuildKit, or nerdctl.
Installed	Boolean	Specifies whether the tool is installed or not.
Version	String	Installed version.
LatestVersion	String	Latest available version

Install-ContainerTools

Downloads container tool (Containerd, BuildKit, nerdctl) asynchronously and installs them at the specified location

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
ContainerdVersion	String	Containerd version to install	Latest version
BuildKitVersion	String	BuildKit version to install	Latest version
nerdctlVersion	String	nerdctl version to install	Latest version
InstallPath	String	Path to install container tools	$Env:ProgramFiles
DownloadPath	String	Path to download container tools	$HOME\Downloads
Cleanup	Switch	Specifies whether to cleanup after installation is done
Force	Switch	Force install the tools even if they already exists at the specified path
RegisterServices	Switch	Register and Start Conatinerd and Buildkitd services and set up NAT network
Confirm	Switch	Prompts for confirmation before running the cmdlet. For more information, see the following articles: about_Preference_Variables and about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Containerd

Get-ContainerdLatestVersion

Returns the latest Containerd version number.

Parameters

None

Output

String

Install-Containerd

Downloads Containerd files from Containerd releases and installs it the provided path. Once installation is complete, the downloaded files are deleted to save on disk space.

Once Containerd is installed and added to the environment path, we can get the path where it is installed using:

((Get-Command -Name containerd.exe).Source | Split-Path -Parent).TrimEnd("\bin")

NOTE: If Containerd already exists at the specified install path, it will be uninstalled and the specified version will be installed.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
Version	String	Containerd version to install	Latest version
InstallPath	String	Path to install Containerd	$Env:ProgramFiles\containerd
DownloadPath	String	Path to download Containerd	$HOME\Downloads
Setup	Switch	Register and start Containerd Service once Containerd installation is done
Force	Switch	Installs Containerd even if the tool already exists at the specified path
Confirm	Switch	Prompts for confirmation before running the cmdlet. For more information, see the following articles: about_Preference_Variables and about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Register-ContainerdService

Create a default Containerd configuration file called config.toml at the Containerd path and registers the Containerd service.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
ContainerdPath	String	Path where Containerd is installed	The Containerd path in the environment path variable or $Env:ProgramFiles\containerd
Start	Switch	Start Containerd service after registration is complete
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Start-ContainerdService

Starts Containerd service

Parameters

None

Output

None

Stop-ContainerdService

Stops Containerd service

Parameters

None

Output

None

Uninstall-Containerd

Does the following:

1. Stops Containerd service
2. Unregisters Containerd service
3. Deletes Containerd directory
4. Removes Containerd from the environment path

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
Path	String	Path where Containerd is installed	The Containerd path in the environment path variable or $Env:ProgramFiles\containerd
Force	Switch	Bypass confirmation to uninstall Containerd
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

BuildKit

Get-BuildkitLatestVersion

Returns the latest BuildKit version number.

Parameters

None

Output

String

Install-BuildKit

Downloads BuildKit files from Containerd releases and installs it the provided path. Once installation is complete, the downloaded files are deleted to save on disk space.

Once BuildKit is installed and added to the environment path, we can get the path where it is installed using:

((Get-Command -Name buildctl.exe).Source | Split-Path -Parent).TrimEnd("\bin")

NOTE: If BuildKit already exists at the specified install path, it will be uninstalled and the specified version will be installed.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
Version	String	BuildKit version to install	Latest version
InstallPath	String	Path to install BuildKit	$Env:ProgramFiles\BuildKit
DownloadPath	String	Path to download BuildKit	$HOME\Downloads
Setup	Switch	Register and start buildkitd Service once Containerd installation is done
Force	Switch	Installs Buildkit even if the tool already exists at the specified path
Confirm	Switch	Prompts for confirmation before running the cmdlet. For more information, see the following articles: about_Preference_Variables and about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Register-BuildkitdService

Registers the buildkitd service with a prompt to either register with the Containerd CNI configurations (0-containerd-nat.conf) or not.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
BuildkitPath	String	Path where BuildKit is installed	The BuildKit path in the environment path variable or $Env:ProgramFiles\BuildKit
WinCNIPath	String	Path to Windows CNI plugin	The Containerd path in the environment path variable or $Env:ProgramFiles\Containerd
Start	Switch	Start buildkitd service after registration is complete
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Start-BuildkitdService

Starts BuildKit service and waits for 30 seconds for the service to start. If the service does not start within the this time, execution terminates with an error.

Parameters

None

Output

None

Stop-BuildkitdService

Stops BuildKit service Parameters

None

Output

None

Uninstall-BuildKit

Does the following:

1. Stops buildkitd service
2. Unregisters buildkitd service
3. Deletes BuildKit directory
4. Removes BuildKit from the environment path

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
Path	String	Path where BuildKit is installed	The BuildKit path in the environment path variable or $Env:ProgramFiles\BuildKit
Force	Switch	Bypass confirmation to uninstall BuildKit
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

nerdctl

Get-NerdctlLatestVersion

Returns the latest nerdctl version number.

Parameters

None

Output

String

Install-Nerdctl

Downloads Containerd files from nerdctl releases and installs it the provided path. Once installation is complete, the downloaded files are deleted to save on disk space.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
Version	String	nerdctl version to install	Latest version
InstallPath	String	Path to install nerdctl	$Env:ProgramFiles\nerdctl
DownloadPath	String	Path to download nerdctl	$HOME\Downloads
Dependencies	String[]	Specify the nerdctl dependencies (All, Containerd, Buildkit, WinCNIPlugin) to install.
Force	Switch	Installs nerdctl even if the tool already exists at the specified path
Confirm	Switch	Prompts for confirmation before running the cmdlet. For more information, see the following articles: about_Preference_Variables and about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Uninstall-Nerdctl

Deletes the nerdctl directory and removes it from the environment variables.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
Path	String	Path where nerdctl is installed	The nerdctl path in the environment path variable or $Env:ProgramFiles\BuildKit
Force	Switch	Bypass confirmation to uninstall nerdctl
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Container Networking

Get-WinCNILatestVersion

Returns the latest Windows CNI version number.

Parameters

None

Output

String

Install-WinCNIPlugin

Downloads Windows CNI plugin from windows-container-networking and installs it in the specified location.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
WinCNIVersion	String	Windows CNI version to install	Latest version
WinCNIPath	String	Location to install Windows CNI	Path where Containerd is installed or $Env:ProgramFiles\Containerd
Force	Switch	Installs Windows CNI plugins even if the tool already exists at the specified path
Confirm	Switch	Prompts for confirmation before running the cmdlet. For more information, see the following articles: about_Preference_Variables and about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Initialize-NatNetwork

Initializes a NAT network.

NOTE: This function installs the HNS module.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
NetworkName	String	Name of the network. If a network with a similar name exists, the function terminates with an error message	Default: nat
Gateway	String	Gateway IP address	Default gateway address
CIDR	Int	Size of the subnet mask	16
WinCNIVersion	String	Windows CNI version to use	Latest version
WinCNIPath	String	Absolute path to cni directory ~\cni. Not ~\cni\bin	Path where Containerd is installed or $Env:ProgramFiles\Containerd\cni
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None

Uninstall-WinCNIPlugin

Uninstalls Windows CNI plugins.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
Path	String	Path where Windows CNI plugins is installed	$Env:ProgramFiles\containerd\cni
Force	Switch	Bypass confirmation to uninstall Windows CNI plugins
WhatIf	Switch	Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Output

None