ACES: Containers for Scientific Workflows (Singularity / Apptainer)
Overview
Instructor(s): Richard Lawrence
Time: March 2026
Location: Online using Zoom
Prerequisite(s): Current ACCESS ID, basic Linux/Unix skills. Python skills recommended.
This short course provides an overview of container features for the purpose of helping the user determine whether containers are a useful tool for their workflow. This course covers Singularity syntax, the use of container repositories, practices for working with container images, and some example use cases for containers in the HPC setting. Exercises will be performed through the command line, but other workflows such as batch and GUI will be showcased.
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Course Materials
Participation
During the training, attendees are expected to log in to an HPRC cluster using their own computer and complete the instructor-led examples and exercises.
Learning Objectives and Agenda
In this course, participants will:
- Use the Singularity runtime effectively
- Retrieve and utilize container images from online repositories
- Inspect and execute software within complex pre-built container images
- Modify existing container images to suit specific needs
- Apply container usage in various workflows, including command line, batch, and GUI environments
The course will be organized as follows:
- Overview of containers
- Singularity on HPRC
- Getting a container image
- Container usage basics
- More container examples
- Modifying container images