US Patent 11983525 Automated container size reduction

A container image is received, the container image including a container manifest referencing a first base operating system layer and an application layer. An execution compatibility is determined between the application layer and a second base operating system layer, different from the first operating system layer. An updated container image, an updated container manifest, or the updated container image and the updated container manifest is generated in which the first base operating system layer is replaced with the second base operating system layer.