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Lxroot
lxroot is a lightweight alternative to chroot, Docker, and other software virtualization tools.
lxroot allows a non-root user to quickly and easily create a "chroot-style" virtual software environment (via Linux namespaces), and then run one or more programs (a "guest userland") inside that environment.
While you can run lxroot directly, I recommend learning vland first.
vland is a virtual userland manager. vland is implemented as a convenience wrapper around lxroot. vland can automatically download, install, and configure a guest userland for use with lxroot. Both vland and lxroot operate without root access.
The below table summarizes the Linux distributions that I have used as guests with vland and lxroot.
| Distro | Can install root filesystem? | Can install packages? | Can build packages? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine | yes | yes | yes |
| Arch | yes | yes | yes |
| Ubuntu | work in progress | work in progress | unknown |
| Void | yes | probably yes? | maybe?? |
Other Linux distributions may also work inside lxroot. (Some level of custom shimming may be required.)
Due to lxroot's safety, simplicity, efficiency, and ability to run without root access, lxroot has some limitations that may not be present in more heavyweight virtualization tools. These limitations may or may not affect your particular use case.