[JENKINS-68955] Implement .inside{} wrapper for Container object

Currently the workflow described in docs is something like this:

docker.image('alpine').inside {

  sh 'X'

  sh 'Y'

}

It does not address the situations when you need to:

1. run X  in container


2. run Y in host agent


3. run Z in the same container, preserving changes from 1

The only solution to that, AFAIK, is something like this:

docker.image('alpine').withRun { container ->

  sh "docker exec ${container.id} X"

  sh "Y"

  sh "docker exec ${container.id} Z"

}

As mentioned in JENKINS-39746 , this is kinda ugly, even if it could be rewritten as container.exec("X").

It would be nice to have the ability to use .inside{...} not only on Image objects (source), but also on Container objects, to allow workflow like this:

docker.image('alpine').withRun { container ->

  container.inside {

    sh "X"

  }

  sh "Y"

  container.inside {

    sh "Z"

  }

}

---
Originally reported by artalus, imported from: Implement .inside{} wrapper for Container object

• status: Open
  
• priority: Minor
  
• component(s): docker-workflow-plugin
  
• resolution: Unresolved
  
• votes: 0
  
• watchers: 1
  
• imported: 2025-12-07
  

Raw content of original issue

Currently the workflow described in docs is something like this:



docker.image('alpine').inside {

  sh 'X'

  sh 'Y'

}



It does not address the situations when you need to:



	
run X  in container

	
run Y in host agent

	
run Z in the same container, preserving changes from 1



The only solution to that, AFAIK, is something like this:



docker.image('alpine').withRun { container ->

  sh "docker exec ${container.id} X"

  sh "Y"

  sh "docker exec ${container.id} Z"

}



As mentioned in JENKINS-39746 , this is kinda ugly, even if it could be rewritten as container.exec("X").


It would be nice to have the ability to use .inside{...} not only on Image objects (source), but also on Container objects, to allow workflow like this:



docker.image('alpine').withRun { container ->

  container.inside {

    sh "X"

  }

  sh "Y"

  container.inside {

    sh "Z"

  }

}