Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) with Podman

Learning path | 8 resources | 1 hr and 15 mins | Published on September 23, 2025
Sean Merrow

Learn how to create, update, and manage a custom, bootable Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) container image with Podman. 

No-cost RHEL for Developers subscription

  1. Overview: Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) with Podman
  2. Workstation preparation Page | 15 mins
  3. Create the container image definition and user files Page | 10 mins
  4. Build the custom image Page | 15 mins
  5. Build a disk image Page | 5 mins
  6. Deploy and verify the disk image Page | 10 mins
  7. Update hosts running image mode for RHEL Page | 10 mins
  8. Perform a system rollback Page | 10 mins

Overview: Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) with Podman

Featured image for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The goal of this learning path is to provide a command line-based workflow to create a bootc image that has been customized to include the desired application in addition to the host operating system. We then update the image post-deployment. In this case, we’ll build a bootable Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 container image that includes the necessary application software to run a web server on the host. When installed on a host, whether a virtual machine or bare-metal host, the operating system will run directly on the host, not in a container.

In this learning path, you will:

  • Provision a workstation that will be used to create the deployment and update images with the necessary tools and connectivity to package repositories and registries.
  • Create a Containerfile, or Dockerfile, that defines the contents of the container images.
  • Build a container image based on RHEL 9 bootc and with the application software installed.
  • Build a bootable disk image from the container image, suitable for the environment in which it will run.
  • Update the operating system of the host running Image mode for RHEL.
  • Update the application running the host.
  • Perform a system rollback.

The workflow in this learning path is done on a Linux host. If you are using Mac or Windows, it is recommended to use Podman Desktop.