---
layout: docs
page_title: plugin runtime - Command
description: |-
  The "plugin runtime" command groups subcommands for interacting with
  Vault's plugin runtimes, configuring the context within which external
  plugins can be run.
---

# plugin runtime

The `plugin runtime` command groups subcommands for interacting with
and configuring the context within which your external plugins run.

<Note title="Limited type support">
  Support for runtime types is currently limited to `container`.
</Note>

<Note title="Limited OS support">
  Support for the 'container` runtime is currently limited to Linux.
</Note>

If you register a container plugin without referencing a plugin runtime, it will
use [gVisor's](https://gvisor.dev/) OCI runtime `runsc` by default, with no
resource limits. You can use plugin runtimes to configure other OCI-compliant
runtimes such as `runc`. Vault does not come packaged with any supporting
container runtimes, and you must separately install whichever you want to use.

To use a registered plugin runtime, use the `-runtime` option with the
[plugin registration command](/vault/docs/commands/plugin/register).

See [containerized plugins](/vault/docs/plugins/containerized-plugins) for more
details on running external plugins in containers.

## Examples

Register a new plugin runtime to the catalog:

```shell-session
$ vault plugin runtime register -type=container -oci_runtime=runc runc
Success! Registered plugin runtime: runc
```

List all available plugin runtimes in the catalog:

```shell-session
$ vault plugin runtime list

Name    Type         OCI Runtime    Parent Cgroup    CPU Nanos    Memory Bytes
----    ----         -----------    -------------    ---------    ------------
runc    container    runc           n/a              0            0
```

Get information about a plugin runtime in the catalog:

```shell-session
$ vault plugin runtime info -type=container runc
Key              Value
---              -----
cgroup_parent    n/a
cpu_nanos        0
memory_bytes     0
name             runc
oci_runtime      runc
type             container
```

## Usage

```text
Usage: vault plugin runtime <subcommand> [options] [args]

  # ...

Subcommands:
    deregister    Deregister an existing plugin runtime in the catalog
    info          Read information about a plugin runtime in the catalog
    list          Lists available plugin runtimes
    register      Registers a new plugin runtime in the catalog
```

For more information, examples, and usage about a subcommand, click on the name
of the subcommand in the sidebar.
