3 files changed, 35 insertions, 8 deletions

diff --git a/cmd/podman/containers/create.go b/cmd/podman/containers/create.go
index 7eed84f29..9e2d47d21 100644
--- a/cmd/podman/containers/create.go
+++ b/cmd/podman/containers/create.go
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 package containers
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/containers/common/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/containers/libpod/cmd/podman/common"
@@ -105,6 +107,10 @@ func create(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	if _, err := createPodIfNecessary(s); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	report, err := registry.ContainerEngine().ContainerCreate(registry.GetContext(), s)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -205,3 +211,25 @@ func openCidFile(cidfile string) (*os.File, error) {
 	}
 	return cidFile, nil
 }
+
+// createPodIfNecessary automatically creates a pod when requested.  if the pod name
+// has the form new:ID, the pod ID is created and the name in the spec generator is replaced
+// with ID.
+func createPodIfNecessary(s *specgen.SpecGenerator) (*entities.PodCreateReport, error) {
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(s.Pod, "new:") {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	podName := strings.Replace(s.Pod, "new:", "", 1)
+	if len(podName) < 1 {
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("new pod name must be at least one character")
+	}
+	createOptions := entities.PodCreateOptions{
+		Name:  podName,
+		Infra: true,
+		Net: &entities.NetOptions{
+			PublishPorts: s.PortMappings,
+		},
+	}
+	s.Pod = podName
+	return registry.ContainerEngine().PodCreate(context.Background(), createOptions)
+}
diff --git a/cmd/podman/containers/run.go b/cmd/podman/containers/run.go
index e3fe4cd0b..d0180840b 100644
--- a/cmd/podman/containers/run.go
+++ b/cmd/podman/containers/run.go
@@ -144,6 +144,10 @@ func run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	}
 	runOpts.Spec = s
 
+	if _, err := createPodIfNecessary(s); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	report, err := registry.ContainerEngine().ContainerRun(registry.GetContext(), runOpts)
 	// report.ExitCode is set by ContainerRun even it it returns an error
 	if report != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/specgen/generate/container_create.go b/pkg/specgen/generate/container_create.go
index 01ddcf9c8..f04e1548f 100644
--- a/pkg/specgen/generate/container_create.go
+++ b/pkg/specgen/generate/container_create.go
@@ -24,11 +24,10 @@ func MakeContainer(ctx context.Context, rt *libpod.Runtime, s *specgen.SpecGener
 	// If joining a pod, retrieve the pod for use.
 	var pod *libpod.Pod
 	if s.Pod != "" {
-		foundPod, err := rt.LookupPod(s.Pod)
+		pod, err = rt.LookupPod(s.Pod)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "error retrieving pod %s", s.Pod)
 		}
-		pod = foundPod
 	}
 
 	// Set defaults for unset namespaces
@@ -130,12 +129,8 @@ func createContainerOptions(rt *libpod.Runtime, s *specgen.SpecGenerator, pod *l
 		logrus.Debugf("setting container name %s", s.Name)
 		options = append(options, libpod.WithName(s.Name))
 	}
-	if s.Pod != "" {
-		pod, err := rt.LookupPod(s.Pod)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		logrus.Debugf("adding container to pod %s", s.Pod)
+	if pod != nil {
+		logrus.Debugf("adding container to pod %s", pod.Name)
 		options = append(options, rt.WithPod(pod))
 	}
 	destinations := []string{}