How to run vi on docker container? - linux

Question

I have installed docker on my host virtual machine. And now want to create a file using vi.
But it's showing me an error:
bash: vi: command not found

Answer 1

login into container with the following command:
docker exec -it <container> bash
Then , run the following command .
apt-get update
apt-get install vim

Answer 2

The command to run depends on what base image you are using.
For Alpine, vi is installed as part of the base OS. Installing vim would be:
apk -U add vim
For Debian and Ubuntu:
apt-get update && apt-get install -y vim
For CentOS, vi is usually installed with the base OS. For vim:
yum install -y vim
This should only be done in early development. Once you get a working container, the changes to files should be made to your image or configs stored outside of your container. Update your Dockerfile and other files it uses to build a new image. This certainly shouldn't be done in production since changes inside the container are by design ephemeral and will be lost when the container is replaced.

Answer 3

USE THIS:
apt-get update && apt-get install -y vim
Explanation of the above command
apt-get update => Will update the current package
apt-get install => Will install the package
-y => Will by pass the permission, default permission will set to Yes.
vim => Name of the package you want to install.

Answer 4

Your container probably haven't installed it out of the box.
Run apt-get install vim in the terminal and you should be ready to go.

Answer 5

Add the following line in your Dockerfile then rebuild the docker image.
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y vim

Answer 6

Alternatively, keep your docker images small by not installing unnecessary editors. You can edit the files over ssh from the docker host to the container:
vim scp://remoteuser#container-ip//path/to/document

Answer 7

error:: bash: vi: command not found
run the below command by logging as root user to the container--
docker exec --user="root" -it (container ID) /bin/bash
apt-get update
apt-get install vim

Answer 8

Use below command in Debian based container:
apt-get install vim-tiny
Complete instruction for using in Dockerfile:
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y \
vim-tiny \
&& apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
It doesn't install unnecessary packages and removes unnecessary downloaded files, so your docker image size won't increase dramatically.

Answer 9

The most voted answer has the correct idea, however, it did not work in my case. The comment from #java25 did the trick in my case. I had to log into the docker container as a root user to install vim. I am just posting the comment as an answer so that it is easier for others, having the similar problem, to find it.
docker exec -ti --user root <container-id> /bin/bash
Once you are inside docker, run the following commands now to install vi.
apt-get update
apt-get install vim

Answer 10

To install within your Docker container you can run command
docker exec apt-get update && apt-get install -y vim
But this will be limited to the container in which vim is installed.
To make it available to all the containers, edit the Dockerfile and add
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y vim
or you can also extend the image in the new Dockerfile and add above command. Eg.
FROM < image name >
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y vim

Answer 11

Inside container (in docker, not in VM), by default these are not installed.
Even apt-get, wget will not work. My VM is running on Ubuntu 17.10. For me yum package manager worked.
Yum is not part of Debian or ubuntu. It is part of red-hat. But, it works in Ubuntu and it is installed by default like apt-get
To install vim, use this command
yum install -y vim-enhanced
To uninstall vim :
yum uninstall -y vim-enhanced
Similarly,
yum install -y wget
yum install -y sudo
-y is for assuming yes if prompted for any question asked after doing yum install package-name

Answer 12

error:: bash: vim: command not found
Run the below command by logging as root user to the container:
microdnf install -y vim

Answer 13

If you actually want a small editor for simple housekeeping in a docker, use this in your Dockerfile:
RUN apt-get install -y busybox && ln -s /bin/busybox /bin/vi
I used it on an Ubuntu 18 based docker.
(Of course you might need an RUN apt-get update before it but if you are making your own Docker file you probably already have that.)

Answer 14

Usually changing a file in a docker container is not a good idea. Everyone will forget about the change after a while. A good way is to make another docker image from the original one.
Say in a docker image, you need to change a file named myFile.xml under /path/to/docker/image/. So, you need to do.
Copy myFile.xml in your local filesystem and make necessary changes.
Create a file named 'Dockerfile' with the following content-
FROM docker-repo:tag
ADD myFile.xml /path/to/docker/image/
Then build your own docker image with docker build -t docker-repo:v-x.x.x .
Then use your newly build docker image.