GoogleCloudPlatform/container-diffArchived
Container Diff
container-diff is an OCI container image analysis and differencing tool used to audit image composition and identify changes between images. It functions as an image analysis tool for listing files, sizes, and metadata, and as a comparison utility to detect differences in file systems, layer histories, and installed packages.
The project distinguishes itself through a plugin-based architecture that allows for custom image analyzer extensions. It utilizes dedicated package-manager parsers to audit software versions and sizes, and employs a layer-based approach to analyze the sequence of creation commands and file system modifications.
The tool covers a broad range of capabilities including container build verification, security auditing, and version comparison. It supports multi-dimension image comparison across files, configuration, and size, and integrates with registry credential helpers for secure image acquisition.
Analysis results can be exported via JSON serialization or customized through template-driven output formatting for use in programmatic auditing and compliance reporting.
Features
- Image Differencing - Identifies differences in files and packages between two container images to verify updates or changes.
- Container Image Analysis - Identifies differences in history, file systems, and installed packages between two container images.
- Package Composition Analysis - Detects version mismatches and size changes by inspecting the composition of installed packages.
- Package Parsers - Uses dedicated parsers for various package managers to audit installed software versions and sizes.
- Security Auditing - Provides capabilities to detect unexpected package version changes and filesystem modifications to ensure image consistency and security.
- Cross-Image File Differencing - Compares the contents of specific files across two different images to determine exact changes.
- Package Version Comparators - Compares software versions and sizes across different package managers to find discrepancies between images.
- Layer Analysis - Analyzes container image layers to detect file system additions, deletions, and modifications.
- Container Image Layer Analyzers - Analyzes the sequence of layer creation commands to identify how images were built and changed.
- Image Diffing Tools - Compares two container images to identify differences in their file systems, layer histories, and installed packages.
- Image Composition Analysis - Lists files, sizes, and metadata within a container image to audit its composition and structure.
- Multi-Dimension Image Comparison - Identifies changes in size, files, and configuration by comparing images across various dimensions.
- Image Content Auditing - Lists file names, paths, and sizes within an image to detect structural differences.
- Analyzer Extensions - Allows the creation of custom analyzers through specific interfaces to collect image-specific metadata.
- Container Build Troubleshooting - Validates build processes by investigating layer history and configuration metadata to ensure expected output.
- Image Governance - Generates structured reports on container image changes for programmatic auditing and compliance tracking.
- Plugin-Based Architectures - Implements a plugin-based architecture to allow the addition of custom image analysis modules.
- Image Build and Analysis - Analyzes and compares container image contents.
