default to separate Distrobox home directories

[boredsquirrel]

Issues

https://github.com/89luca89/distrobox/issues/1304

Idea

Distrobox supports a well working config to automatically create a separate HOME directory for all boxes.

When entering the box, your directory will not change. But with cd ~ && echo $PWD you see that your home is different, and all the dotfiles are now separate and clean.

Prevented issue

This is crucial to prevent messups between dotfiles. If users run different operating systems in the same HOME, this will cause breakages over time. /var is mutable, dotfiles are messy and scattered all around. This is a complete horror scenario and nobody seems to care currently.

Doing this is an easy and elegant fix.

Testing

I use this config and tested it. Without adding any arguments, every newly created Distrobox will have a separated HOME directory in ~/distrobox/BOXNAME. It works so well I have no idea why this is not the default. So I request this in one of the most used downstream configurations.

Using linking or copying you can move the dotfiles to that directory.

# nerdfonts required

~ ❯❯❯ cd ~/distrobox/
~/distrobox ❯❯❯ ls
 CentOS   Fedora
# empty "CentOS" directory created
~/distrobox ❯❯❯ #after entering the new CentOS box
~/distrobox ❯❯❯ ls
 CentOS   Fedora
# "CentOS" directory now populated with dotfiles
~/distrobox ❯❯❯ cd CentOS/
~/distrobox/CentOS ❯❯❯ ls -a
 .   ..  󱆃 .bash_logout  󱆃 .bash_profile  󱆃 .bashrc

Scope

This will only affect the creation of new boxes, current boxes will not be modified.

further ideas

A command to modify existing boxes, to use a separate home could be added to just. But this would either make them lose all their configs, or copy all the dotfiles from the userhome, which may not be needed.

Also, SELinux Confined Users will get interesting, here a restorecon may be needed, to label the ~/distrobox directory exactly like home.

[fiftydinar]

Distrobox leaving files in $HOME is why I don't use it.

But if this solution turns out to be good, I will consider using distrobox again.

I wonder how are the containers going to be named if you use multiple different versions of same container distribution.

Like "CentOS 7", "CentOS 8", etc.

[storopoli]

My use case is totally the opposite. I prefer the default as it is. If I want to I can always create a distrobox that has a different $HOME with distrobox create --name test --image your-chosen-image:tag --home /your/custom/home.

Concept NACK. I think this should be discussed and, if possible, based on a user survey and not random people subjective use cases.

[castrojo]

We're not going to deviate from upstream distrobox on this as it effectively breaks the primary use case for it.

If data isolation is important to you you should be using containers directly via podman/docker.

[KyleGospo]

I'm -1 on this as well, The average user is already confused about containers and doesn't need further isolation. People will open support requests because they can't find their files in a box.

Users with enough experience to know they want their dot files clean are going to know they can do this, or be able to figure it out quickly.

I would be open to this being an optional question during the creation of a box with our ujust command, so long as it adequately explains that you won't be able to see files in your home directory if you set a custom one.