CASA Container

This repository contains the necessary files to build containerized environments for running different versions of CASA.

Container Details

• Base Image: Ubuntu 22.04
• CASA Versions:
  • 6.5.4 (Refer to casa_6.5.4_apptainer.def)
  • 6.4.1 (Refer to casa_6.4.1_apptainer.def)
  • 6.2.1 (Refer to casa_6.2.1_apptainer.def)

Makefile Usage

The Makefile contains several targets for building and running the CASA containers:

General

• make all: Build all CASA Apptainer images (6.5.4, 6.4.1, and 6.2.1).

CASA Version 6.5.4

• make casa_6.5.4_pipeline.sif: Build Apptainer image for CASA 6.5.4.

CASA Version 6.4.1

• make casa_6.4.1_pipeline.sif: Build Apptainer image for CASA 6.4.1.

CASA Version 6.2.1

• make casa_6.2.1.sif: Build Apptainer image for CASA 6.2.1.

Downloads

• make casa-6.4.1-12-pipeline-2022.2.0.64-py3.6.tar.xz: Download CASA 6.4.1.
• make casa-6.2.1-7-pipeline-2021.2.0.128.tar.xz: Download CASA 6.2.1.

Build Requirements

Building Apptainer containers requires either:

• sudo access (default): The Makefile uses sudo by default for building containers
• Unprivileged build setup: If you don't have sudo access, you need:
  • The uidmap package installed (provides newuidmap utility)
  • Proper user namespace configuration
  • Build without sudo: make APPTAINER_SUDO= all

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository.
2. Run make all to build all Apptainer images (requires sudo by default).
3. Use the .sif files as needed for your CASA tasks.

Building Without Sudo

If you have the uidmap package installed and proper user namespace setup, you can build without sudo:

make APPTAINER_SUDO= all

If you encounter the error newuidmap was not found in PATH, install the uidmap package:

sudo apt install uidmap

Working with Data

Apptainer automatically mounts the current working directory (PWD) inside the container at the same path, allowing you to easily access and work with your local data. By default, Apptainer changes to the $HOME directory when a container starts. To make it stay in the PWD, use the --pwd flag:

apptainer exec --pwd $(pwd) casa_6.4.1.sif your_command

Mounting PWD to Container and Setting as Initial Working Directory

If your current working directory (PWD) is different from $HOME, you can use the --bind and --pwd flags together to both mount the PWD and set it as the initial working directory:

apptainer exec --bind $PWD:$PWD --pwd $(pwd) casa.sif your_command

Best Practices for Running Alternative Commands

Overriding the CASA Command

To run an external script using CASA, you can use the -c flag like so:

apptainer exec casa_6.4.1.sif casa -c 'execfile("your_script.py")'

Running Custom Commands

You can run any command inside the container by prefixing it with apptainer exec:

apptainer exec casa_6.4.1.sif your_command