A minimal debian for machinectl

2026-05-15

I sometime need a quick, minimal debian server to test a package without compromising my main workstation. This machine has an uncommon networking setup, so I need systemd-resolved installed on the guest early.

# /etc/systemd/nspawn/my-container.nspawn
#
# This strip down sample shows the container network configuration.
# It needs to be named as the container. Here: my-container.nspawn

[Network]
VirtualEthernet=yes

[Exec]
ResolvConf=bind-uplink

# First, we create the minimal base system

sudo debootstrap                   \
  --variant=minbase                \
  --include=dbus,systemd-container \
  stable                           \
  /var/lib/machines/my-container   \
  https://deb.debian.org/debian/

# Then, we start the container and open a sheel

sudo machinectl start my-container
sudo machinectl shell my-container

# Lastly, we make sure the the networkd service is enabled and running

systemctl enable --now systemd-networkd

networkctl
IDX LINK  TYPE     OPERATIONAL SETUP     
  1 lo    loopback carrier     unmanaged
  2 host0 ether    routable    configured

2 links listed.