Apptainer Fundamentals: Building Your First Container

March 5, 2026

Build Your First Apptainer Container Without Docker — A Practical Guide for HPC Researchers

You’ve got HPC cluster access, but containerizing your workflow feels like a black box. Singularity (now Apptainer) promises reproducibility and portability, but the documentation jumps between concepts, and you’re not sure where to start. You don’t want to learn Docker first—you just want a working container on your cluster today.

Here’s the good news: Apptainer is simpler than you think, and you don’t need Docker to get started.