Fix Bash Error in Docker

By  on  

I really enjoy working with Docker because it gives me more insight into creating and maintaining your own environments, mostly from scratch.  I instantly gained a greater appreciation for Ops engineers, package creators, and other engineers who work on low level software.  I think what I'm trying to say is that I've made a whole bunch of mistakes and completed an insane amount of Google searches for help.

One of the more basic errors I've recently encountered was trying to run a bash script within the container, only to get the following error:  env: can't execute 'bash': No such file or directory.  I was under the impression that bash was always a given in Linux machines, but apparently not in alpine images.  The fix was adding the following to my Dockerfile file:

RUN apk update && apk add bash

Or if you're in the machine, just run:

apk update && apk add bash

That command installs bash and your bash scripts should then work!

Recent Features

Incredible Demos

  • By
    CSS content and attr

    CSS is becoming more and more powerful but in the sense that it allows us to do the little things easily.  There have been larger features added like transitions, animations, and transforms, but one feature that goes under the radar is generated content.  You saw a...

  • By
    Table Cell and Position Absolute

    If you follow me on Twitter, you saw me rage about trying to make position: absolute work within a TD element or display: table-cell element.  Chrome?  Check.  Internet Explorer?  Check.  Firefox?  Ugh, FML.  I tinkered in the console...and cussed.  I did some researched...and I...

Discussion

  1. Hamish

    Alternatively, you can use ash instead of bash.

    Not sure what the differences are, but I would expect parity on most standard features.

  2. If the script is simple you can use the default /bin/sh shell.

Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!