Shifter

What it does

Architecture

The project includes a compute-node utility, an image gateway that pulls and repacks registry images, and example scripts or plugins for batch scheduler integration.checked 11 Oct 2026

Authentication

Access to the image gateway API requires authentication using Munge.checked 11 Oct 2026

Batch integration

The repository includes example integrations for workload managers, and NERSC's usage documentation shows Shifter jobs submitted with Slurm.checked 11 Oct 2026

Container images

Users can create their software environments typically with Docker, and Shifter supports sharing HPC software through Docker and the Docker Hub community.checked 11 Oct 2026

Contribution channel

The README directs contributors to a Slack channel and says code can be submitted through GitHub pull requests.checked 11 Oct 2026

Current status

NERSC says it still supports Shifter but eventually plans to phase it out in favor of podman-hpc.checked 11 Oct 2026

How it works

Shifter has a compute-node utility, an image gateway that pulls and repacks registry images, and example scripts or plugins for batch schedulers.checked 11 Oct 2026

Image format

The image gateway repacks images into a format suitable for the HPC system, typically squashfs.checked 11 Oct 2026

Image limits

NERSC says images larger than about 20 GB will likely time out when uploaded to Docker Hub and recommends contacting support for images over 20 GB.checked 11 Oct 2026

Image registries

NERSC documentation says users can pull images from Docker Hub or NERSC's private registry, which the image manager converts to a flattened format for compute nodes.checked 11 Oct 2026

Intended outcomes

The project aims to simplify software deployment, enable portable environments, support repeatable science, and improve system utilization by optimizing software delivery and I/O bottlenecks.checked 11 Oct 2026

License

The repository license permits redistribution and use in source and binary forms subject to stated conditions and disclaimers.checked 11 Oct 2026

MPI

NERSC documents an MPICH integration that swaps Cray libraries into images at runtime for multi-node communication, subject to image compatibility requirements.checked 11 Oct 2026

Performance

NERSC says Shifter's loop-mount approach moves metadata operations to compute nodes and improves performance for workloads that load many shared libraries.checked 11 Oct 2026

Purpose

Shifter adapts Linux container concepts for extreme-scale high-performance computing and lets users run their own software environments at supercomputing facilities.checked 11 Oct 2026

Runtime privilege

The security documentation says container processes are stripped of privileges after launch and should not be able to regain them.checked 11 Oct 2026

Scheduler integration

The project provides example scripts and plugins for integrating Shifter with batch scheduler systems.checked 11 Oct 2026

Security controls

The project documentation describes nosuid mounts, restricting process capabilities to the null set, and attempting to apply Linux no_new_privs on newer systems.checked 11 Oct 2026

Security guidance

The documentation recommends avoiding privileged processes in containers and using the most recent Shifter version.checked 11 Oct 2026

Security model

Shifter uses privileged operations to set up containers; its security documentation says processes launched in a container have privileges stripped and should not be able to re-escalate.checked 11 Oct 2026

Support

The project README directs users to its Google Groups email list for updates and community support.checked 11 Oct 2026

Volume mounts

Users can mount existing directories into an image with a volume option, including paths for data and job output.checked 11 Oct 2026