Base Container

The base container is a minimal LXC instance built on python3.12:slim. It provides SSH access, dedicated resources, and a clean slate for installing your own tools and dependencies.

What is included

• Ubuntu-based environment with python3.12
• pip, git, curl, wget, build essentials
• SSH access via login.carolinacloud.io
• Persistent NVMe storage

When to use it

Use the base container when you want to build your own environment from scratch, or when none of the specialized flavors (genomics, datascience) fit your needs. Common uses:

• Custom Python/Node/Go/Rust development environments
• Running specific toolchains that conflict with pre-installed packages
• Lightweight microservices or background workers
• Testing and experimentation

Creating a base container

curl -X POST https://console.carolinacloud.io/api/instance/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "resource_type": "container",
    "flavor": "base",
    "n_vcpus": 4,
    "mem_gib": 8,
    "disk_size_gib": 50
  }'

Or via the CLI:

ccloud new container --cpus 4 --ram 8 --disk 50 --flavor base

Access

SSH only. No web interface.

ssh -p <port> ccloud@login.carolinacloud.io

S3 integration

Pass S3 credentials and an optional aws_prefill_bucket at creation time to pre-configure the aws CLI and pre-download data into ~/s3-prefill/. Carolina Cloud-managed buckets are also auto-mounted at ~/ccloud-s3/. See S3 Integration for details.

AI integration

The base container ships with the Claude Code CLI pre-installed. Pass an Anthropic API key at creation time to pre-authenticate it; otherwise claude will prompt you on first run. See AI Integration for details.

Live resizing

Base containers support live resizing of CPU and RAM without restart. See Live Resizing.

Auto-stop on idle

Enable auto-stop to have the container shut itself off after its CPU has been idle for a configurable timeout. Compute billing stops immediately, disk data is preserved, and you can start it back up anytime. See Auto-Stop on Idle.