scs-build is a new command-line tool created by Sylabs that can be used to invoke remote builds of SIF images through Sylabs Cloud or an on-premises Singularity Enterprise installation.
Using only your access token obtained through the Sylabs Cloud/Singularity Enterprise frontend, you can now remotely build a SIF file that is (optionally) automatically pushed to the Cloud Library or can be downloaded locally.
Also distributed as an OCI compatible container image, scs-build is ready for integration into any automated CI/CD workflow supporting OCI container images. Even without an automated CI/CD DevOps platform, scs-build can be invoked through a cronjob to automate builds of SIF images.
Use an OCI compatible runtime (Docker, podman, etc.) to invoke scs-build. This is especially useful when running on a workstation (ie. Mac) that does not have the ability to run singularity.
export SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN=xxx
docker run --rm \
-e SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN=${SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN} \
sylabsio/scs-build \
build docker://alpine:3 library:<myuser>/default/alpine:3or download SIF artifact locally:
The following example will download the SIF artifact in the current working directory.
docker run -u $(id -u) -v `pwd`:/work --rm \
-e SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN=${SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN} \
sylabsio/scs-build \
build docker://alpine:3 /work/alpine_3.sifUse scs-build in a CI/CD workflow to build “pristine” base images containing operating system of choice and required base packages and/or configuration.
For example, the following DEF file can be used to create a Ubuntu “focal” base SIF image:
# ubuntu_base.def
Bootstrap: docker
From: registry.mydomain.com/ubuntu:focal
%post
export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
# update package index
apt-get upgrade
# install latest packages
apt-get --quiet --assume-yes update
# add vim
apt-get install --quiet --assume-yes vim
# clean up a bit
apt-get cleanexport SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN=xxx # obtained through Sylabs Cloud web UI
scs-build build ubuntu_base.def library:<myuser>/default/ubuntu:focalexport SYLABS_URL=https://cloud.mydomain.com
export SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN=xxx
scs-build build ubuntu_base.def library:library/default/ubuntu:focalWhen using a “strategic” library reference library:library/default/ubuntu:focal, the base image can then be referenced in derivative images as follows:
singularity shell library://ubuntu:focalNote: this only works with an “admin” token on Singularity Enterprise. Regular Sylabs Cloud users do not have write access to the project named “library”.
Create a DEF file for the “derivative” image:
# derivative.def
Bootstrap: library
Library: https://library.mydomain.com # omit this line if using Sylabs Cloud
From: ubuntu:focal # change this to "<myuser>/default/ubuntu:focal" if using Sylabs Cloud
%post
export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
apt-get update && apt-get install --quiet --assume-yes vim-pathogen
apt-get --quiet --assume-yes cleanBuild derivative SIF using scs-build:
export SYLABS_URL=https://cloud.mydomain.com
export SYLABS_AUTH_TOKEN=xxx
scs-build build derivative.def library:myuser/custom/imageThe build artifact can then be pulled/executed as follows:
singularity pull custom.sif library://myuser/custom/image:latestor…
singularity shell library://myuser/custom/image:latestWe have also provided example configuration files for both GitHub Actions and GitLab that can be used as a starting point for integrating this into your existing CI/CD workflows.
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