Alpine is a super small linux distribution. I am using it for all my new VMs running a docker instance.

Install alpine

  • Download alpine (virtual edition) ISO from https://alpinelinux.org/downloads/
  • Boot ISO and login with root and no password.
  • Start setup with setup-alpine command and follow instructions

Add SSH Key

apk add curl
mkdir -p /root/.ssh
curl -L https://<yourserver>/ssh_key > /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

Install docker

apk add nano
nano /etc/apk/repositories

Enable edge-community repository.

apk add docker docker-compose
service docker start
rc-update add docker

Shell helpers

Add ll alias

nano ~/.profile

Add following line:

alias ll="ls -la"

To shutdown alpine user

poweroff