Covertly Installing Packages with Docker

The Problem: Workstations

At the OSL I use workstations which are provisioned by Chef to look more or less identical (packages are the same and global config files are consistent from machine to machine). This is nice because it allows everybody at the lab to jump from workstation to workstation without dreading the inevitable setup that usually comes with going to a new computer.

The only downside here is that to install a package you have to make a pull request to a GitHub Repository in which you modify a JSON file. This is almost always for my own good, but as a dev I am prone to avoiding things that the admins say are good for me (like broccoli, milk, and consistent workstation environments).

For instance, yesterday I wanted to use youtube-dl to grab a video I was watching on repeat*. I could have made a pull request to add the package, waited until 30 after for the workstations to refresh, used the package, and went about my day. This would have been the correct and bureaucratic way to do things.

I could have, and probably should have, done that... but I didn't.

* firefox kept crashing, I wasn't just stealing music for the sake of it.

Enter: Docker

In this case the solution to the 'problem' was Docker. I wrote a Dockerfile which provisioned a container to have youtube-dl installed, spun up the container with a shared directory ($PWD:/home/), and executed the youtube-dl command. The .mp4 video was downloaded to my current working directory and I was able to play it with my media player of choice, all without installing youtube-dl locally.

The Deets: Dockerfile and Commands

Dockerfile

FROM ubuntu:latest

RUN apt-get -y update
RUN apt-get -y upgrade
RUN apt-get -y install python-pip
RUN pip install youtube-dl

WORKDIR /home
RUN alias youtube-dl='/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl'

If you are in the directory containing the above Dockerfile, build the container with:

$ docker build -t yt-dl .

and run it with:

$ docker run -v $PWD:/home/ yt-dl youtube-dl <YOUTUBE-VID-URL>

This will download any url's video into the current working directory.

Pro-Tip: Add an Alias

Add the following content to your ~/.bashrc file and then run source ~/.bashrc to get rid the of long Docker bits of the above command.

export $VID_DIR=/path/to/downloaded/videos/
alias yt-dl='docker run -v $VID_DIR:/home/ yt-dl youtube-dl'

Wait This is Overly Complicated

You're probably thinking: "Hey, couldn't you have just run pip install --user youtube-dl?

Yes. I could have. But that wouldn't be fun and wouldn't have given me an excuse to write a blog, post now would it Ms. Smarty Pantz.

drink the coolaid. come to the docker side.