Problem Statement

System administrators currently lack a centralized way to set default configurations for rootless Podman across all users on a system. Each rootless user must configure their individual containers.conf file, making it difficult to set consistent policies, security settings, or operational defaults organization-wide.

Solution

Introduce a unified system-wide configuration file (e.g., /etc/containers/containers-rootless.conf) that provides default settings specifically for rootless Podman environments, while maintaining the ability for individual users to override these defaults through their personal configuration files.

Key Features & Benefits

For System Administrators

• Centralized Policy Management: Set organization-wide defaults for rootless containers
• Security Baseline: Establish consistent security configurations across all users
• Operational Standardization: Enforce common resource limits, registry settings, and runtime behaviors

For End Users

• Seamless Experience: Inherit sensible defaults without manual configuration
• Flexibility Maintained: Override system defaults through personal config files
• Backward Compatibility: No changes to existing user workflows or configurations