Alpine: Install cURL

A minimal Docker image based on Alpine Linux has only 5 MB in size, but a lot of tools common for Linux distributions (e.g. curl) are not installed by default.

In this short note i will show how to install curl in Alpine container from the command line.

I will also show how to build an Alpine-based Docker image with curl installed.

Cool Tip: Enter a running Docker container and start a bash session! Read More →

Install cURL on Alpine

Install curl on Alpine Linux from the command line:

# apk --no-cache add curl

To install curl in Alpine-based Docker image, add the following line to a Dockerfile:

RUN apk --no-cache add curl

Alpine Linux 3.3 and heigher: The --no-cache option has been added in Alpine Linux 3.3. It allows to install packages with an index that is updated and used on-the-fly and not cached locally.

On the older versions of Alpine, the curl command can be installed as follows:

RUN apk add --update curl && \
    rm -rf /var/cache/apk/*

Cool Tip: Clean up a Docker host! Remove unused Docker containers! Read More →