# Using Containers
Using containers via **Podman** or **Docker** brings benefit, whether it is to build a container image or run a node
while keeping a minimum footprint on your local system.
This document mentions using `podman` or `docker`. Those are usually interchangeable and it is encouraged using
preferably **Podman**. If you have podman installed and want to use all the commands mentioned below, you can simply
create an alias with `alias docker=podman`.
There are a few options to build a node within a container and inject a binary inside an image.
## Parity built container image
Parity builds and publishes a container image that can be found as `docker.io/parity/polkadot-parachain`.
## Parity CI image
Parity maintains and uses internally a generic "CI" image that can be used as a base to build binaries: [Parity CI
container image](https://github.com/paritytech/dockerfiles/tree/main/ci-unified):
The command below allows building a Linux binary without having to even install Rust or any dependency locally:
```bash
-w /polkadot-sdk \
-v $(pwd):/polkadot-sdk \
$IMAGE \
cargo build --release --locked -p polkadot-parachain-bin --bin polkadot-parachain
sudo chown -R $(id -u):$(id -g) target/
```
To reproduce the clean CI environment locally you can use the following commands:
```bash
root@e2ff8a3f347b:/builds# git clone https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk.git && cd polkadot-sdk
root@e2ff8a3f347b:/builds# <your cargo command goes here>
```
## Injected image
Injecting a binary inside a base image is the quickest option to get a working container image. This only works if you
were able to build a Linux binary, either locally, or using a container as described above.
After building a Linux binary (`polkadot-parachain`) with cargo or with Parity CI image as documented above, the
following command allows producing a new container image where the compiled binary is injected:
```bash
ARTIFACTS_FOLDER=./target/release /docker/scripts/build-injected.sh
```
## Container build
Alternatively, you can build an image with a builder pattern. This options takes a while but offers a simple method for
anyone to get a working container image without requiring any of the Rust toolchain installed locally.
```bash
docker build \
--tag $OWNER/$IMAGE_NAME \
--file ./docker/dockerfiles/polkadot-parachain/polkadot-parachain_builder.Dockerfile .
```
You may then run your new container:
```bash
docker run --rm -it \
$OWNER/$IMAGE_NAME \
--collator --tmp \
--execution wasm \
--chain /specs/asset-hub-westend.json
```