The subid sources can be specified via the --subid-source=(auto|dynamic|static) flag.
The auto source is the default since RootlessKit v1.1.0.
Prior to v1.1.0, only the static source was supported.
The auto source (--subid-source=auto) tries the dynamic source and fall backs to the static source on an error.
The dynamic source (--subid-source=dynamic) executes the /usr/bin/getsubids binary to get the subids.
The getsubuids binary is known to be available for the following distributions:
- Fedora, since 35 (
dnf install shadow-utils-subid) - Alpine, since 3.16 (
apkg install shadow-subids) - Ubuntu, since 22.10 (
apt-get install uidmap)
The getsubids binary typically reads subids from /etc/subuid and /etc/subgid as in the static mode,
but it can be also configured to use SSSD by specifying subid: sss in /etc/nsswitch.conf.
See also https://manpages.debian.org/testing/uidmap/getsubids.1.en.html .
The static source (--subid-source=static) reads subids from /etc/subuid and /etc/subgid.
/etc/subuid and /etc/subgid should contain more than 65536 sub-IDs. e.g. penguin:231072:65536. These files are automatically configured on most distributions.
$ id -u
1001
$ whoami
penguin
$ grep "^$(whoami):" /etc/subuid
penguin:231072:65536
$ grep "^$(whoami):" /etc/subgid
penguin:231072:65536See also https://rootlesscontaine.rs/getting-started/common/subuid/