% podman-init 1

## NAME
podman\-init - Initialize one or more containers

## SYNOPSIS
**podman init** [*options*] *container* [*container*...]

**podman container init** [*options*] *container* [*container*...]

## DESCRIPTION
Initialize one or more containers.
You may use container IDs or names as input.
Initializing a container performs all tasks necessary for starting the container (mounting filesystems, creating an OCI spec, initializing the container network) but does not start the container.
If a container is not initialized, the `podman start` and `podman run` commands initialize it automatically prior to starting it.
This command is intended to be used for inspecting a container's filesystem or OCI spec prior to starting it.
This can be used to inspect the container before it runs, or debug why a container is failing to run.

## OPTIONS

#### **--all**, **-a**

Initialize all containers. Containers that have already initialized (including containers that have been started and are running) are ignored.

@@option latest

## EXAMPLE

Initialize specified container with a given ID.
```
podman init 35480fc9d568
```

Initialize specified container with a given name.
```
podman init test1
```

Initialize the latest container. (This option is not available with the remote Podman client, including Mac and Windows (excluding WSL2) machines)
```
podman init --latest
```
## SEE ALSO
**[podman(1)](podman.1.md)**, **[podman-start(1)](podman-start.1.md)**

## HISTORY
April 2019, Originally compiled by Matthew Heon <mheon@redhat.com>