# Singularity Tips and Tricks The following are some handy quick tips for users just getting started with Singularity: * Default images will automatically bind your $HOME and /tmp/ (among a few other locations). This will not automatically bind your data/ or scratch/ directories, so you may want to review the [Mounting and binding](/oscar/singularity-containers/accessing-oscar-filesystem.md) documentation. * Your environment will include your $HOME which comes with anything user-specific installed in your .local directories. I point this out for any python users who have installed packages using pip --user. I was building a tensorflow singularity image which was having issues as there were previously existing custom numpy installs in my .local causing conflicts. * Avoid making very large images. No need to build a 5g container most of the time. Keep it lean and only include the tools/packages you need to do your work. Bloat is bad! * Keep your data out of your containers where possible. It is always faster to mount volumes in `/oscar/data` or `/oscar/scratch` rather than try and bundle the data into the container. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.ccv.brown.edu/oscar/singularity-containers/singularity-tips-and-tricks.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.