claude-code-sandbox/README.md

Claude Code Sandbox

Warning

• This work is alpha and might have security issues, use at your own risk.
• Check TODO.md for the roadmap.
• Email dev@textcortex.com for inquiries.

Run Claude Code as an autonomous agent inside Docker containers with automatic GitHub integration. Bypass all permissions safely.

Why Claude Code Sandbox?

The primary goal of Claude Code Sandbox is to enable full async agentic workflows by allowing Claude Code to execute without permission prompts. By running Claude in an isolated Docker container with the --dangerously-skip-permissions flag, Claude can:

• Execute any command instantly without asking for permission
• Make code changes autonomously
• Run build tools, tests, and development servers
• Create commits and manage git operations
• Work continuously without interrupting the user

Access Claude through a browser-based terminal that lets you monitor and interact with the AI assistant while you work on other tasks. This creates a truly autonomous development assistant, similar to OpenAI Codex or Google Jules, but running locally on your machine with full control.

Overview

Claude Code Sandbox allows you to run Claude Code in isolated Docker containers, providing a safe environment for AI-assisted development. It automatically:

• Creates a new git branch for each session
• Monitors for commits made by Claude
• Provides interactive review of changes
• Handles credential forwarding securely
• Enables push/PR creation workflows
• Runs custom setup commands for environment initialization

Installation

Install Claude Code Sandbox globally from npm:

npm install -g @textcortex/claude-code-sandbox

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 18.0.0
• Docker or Podman
• Git
• Claude Code (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest)

Usage

Quick Start

Simply run in any git repository:

claude-sandbox

This will:

1. Create a new branch (claude/[timestamp])
2. Start a Docker container with Claude Code
3. Launch a web UI at http://localhost:3456
4. Open your browser automatically

Commands

claude-sandbox (default)

Start a new container with web UI (recommended):

claude-sandbox

claude-sandbox start

Explicitly start a new container with options:

claude-sandbox start [options]

Options:
  -c, --config <path>    Configuration file (default: ./claude-sandbox.config.json)
  -n, --name <name>      Container name prefix
  --no-web               Disable web UI (use terminal attach)
  --no-push              Disable automatic branch pushing
  --no-pr                Disable automatic PR creation

claude-sandbox attach [container-id]

Attach to an existing container:

# Interactive selection
claude-sandbox attach

# Specific container
claude-sandbox attach abc123def456

Options:
  --no-web               Use terminal attach instead of web UI

claude-sandbox list

List all Claude Sandbox containers:

claude-sandbox list
claude-sandbox ls        # alias

Options:
  -a, --all              Show all containers (including stopped)

claude-sandbox stop [container-id]

Stop containers:

# Interactive selection
claude-sandbox stop

# Specific container
claude-sandbox stop abc123def456

# Stop all
claude-sandbox stop --all

claude-sandbox logs [container-id]

View container logs:

claude-sandbox logs
claude-sandbox logs abc123def456

Options:
  -f, --follow           Follow log output
  -n, --tail <lines>     Number of lines to show (default: 50)

claude-sandbox clean

Remove stopped containers:

claude-sandbox clean
claude-sandbox clean --force  # Remove all containers

claude-sandbox config

Show current configuration:

claude-sandbox config

Configuration

Create a claude-sandbox.config.json file (see claude-sandbox.config.example.json for reference):

{
  "dockerImage": "claude-code-sandbox:latest",
  "dockerfile": "./custom.Dockerfile",
  "detached": false,
  "autoPush": true,
  "autoCreatePR": true,
  "autoStartClaude": true,
  "envFile": ".env",
  "environment": {
    "NODE_ENV": "development"
  },
  "setupCommands": ["npm install", "npm run build"],
  "volumes": ["/host/path:/container/path:ro"],
  "mounts": [
    {
      "source": "./data",
      "target": "/workspace/data",
      "readonly": false
    },
    {
      "source": "/home/user/configs",
      "target": "/configs",
      "readonly": true
    }
  ],
  "allowedTools": ["*"],
  "maxThinkingTokens": 100000,
  "bashTimeout": 600000,
  "containerPrefix": "my-project",
  "claudeConfigPath": "~/.claude.json"
}

Configuration Options

• dockerImage: Base Docker image to use (default: claude-code-sandbox:latest)
• dockerfile: Path to custom Dockerfile (optional)
• detached: Run container in detached mode
• autoPush: Automatically push branches after commits
• autoCreatePR: Automatically create pull requests
• autoStartClaude: Start Claude Code automatically (default: true)
• envFile: Load environment variables from file (e.g., .env)
• environment: Additional environment variables
• setupCommands: Commands to run after container starts (e.g., install dependencies)
• volumes: Legacy volume mounts (string format)
• mounts: Modern mount configuration (object format)
• allowedTools: Claude tool permissions (default: all)
• maxThinkingTokens: Maximum thinking tokens for Claude
• bashTimeout: Timeout for bash commands in milliseconds
• containerPrefix: Custom prefix for container names
• claudeConfigPath: Path to Claude configuration file
• dockerSocketPath: Custom Docker/Podman socket path (auto-detected by default)

Mount Configuration

The mounts array allows you to mount files or directories into the container:

• source: Path on the host (relative paths are resolved from current directory)
• target: Path in the container (relative paths are resolved from /workspace)
• readonly: Optional boolean to make the mount read-only (default: false)

Example use cases:

• Mount data directories that shouldn't be in git
• Share configuration files between host and container
• Mount build artifacts or dependencies
• Access host system resources (use with caution)

Features

Podman Support

Claude Code Sandbox now supports Podman as an alternative to Docker. The tool automatically detects whether you're using Docker or Podman by checking for available socket paths:

• Automatic detection: The tool checks for Docker and Podman sockets in standard locations
• Custom socket paths: Use the dockerSocketPath configuration option to specify a custom socket
• Environment variable: Set DOCKER_HOST to override socket detection

Example configuration for Podman:

{
  "dockerSocketPath": "/run/user/1000/podman/podman.sock"
}

The tool will automatically detect and use Podman if:

• Docker socket is not available
• Podman socket is found at standard locations (/run/podman/podman.sock or $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock)

Web UI Terminal

Launch a browser-based terminal interface to interact with Claude Code:

claude-sandbox --web

This will:

• Start the container in detached mode
• Launch a web server on http://localhost:3456
• Open your browser automatically
• Provide a full terminal interface with:
  • Real-time terminal streaming
  • Copy/paste support
  • Terminal resizing
  • Reconnection capabilities

Perfect for when you want to monitor Claude's work while doing other tasks.

Automatic Credential Discovery

Claude Code Sandbox automatically discovers and forwards:

Claude Credentials:

• Anthropic API keys (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)
• macOS Keychain credentials (Claude Code)
• AWS Bedrock credentials
• Google Vertex credentials
• Claude configuration files (.claude.json, .claude/)

GitHub Credentials:

• GitHub CLI authentication (gh auth)
• GitHub tokens (GITHUB_TOKEN, GH_TOKEN)
• Git configuration (.gitconfig)

Sandboxed Execution

• Claude runs with --dangerously-skip-permissions flag (safe in container)
• Creates isolated branch for each session
• Full access to run any command within the container
• Files are copied into container (not mounted) for true isolation
• Git history preserved for proper version control

Commit Monitoring

When Claude makes a commit:

1. Real-time notification appears
2. Full diff is displayed with syntax highlighting
3. Interactive menu offers options:
   • Continue working
   • Push branch to remote
   • Push branch and create PR
   • Exit

Working with Multiple Containers

Run multiple Claude instances simultaneously:

# Terminal 1: Start main development
claude-sandbox start --name main-dev

# Terminal 2: Start feature branch work
claude-sandbox start --name feature-auth

# Terminal 3: List all running containers
claude-sandbox list

# Terminal 4: Attach to any container
claude-sandbox attach

Docker Environment

Default Image

The default Docker image includes:

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Git, GitHub CLI
• Node.js, npm
• Python 3
• Claude Code (latest)
• Build essentials

Custom Dockerfile

Create a custom environment:

FROM claude-code-sandbox:latest

# Add your tools
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    rust \
    cargo \
    postgresql-client

# Install project dependencies
COPY package.json /tmp/
RUN cd /tmp && npm install

# Custom configuration
ENV CUSTOM_VAR=value

Reference in config:

{
  "dockerfile": "./my-custom.Dockerfile"
}

Workflow Example

1. Start Claude Sandbox:

   cd my-project
   claude-sandbox
   

2. Interact with Claude:

   > Help me refactor the authentication module to use JWT tokens
   

3. Claude works autonomously:

   • Explores codebase
   • Makes changes
   • Runs tests
   • Commits changes

4. Review and push:

   • See commit notification
   • Review syntax-highlighted diff
   • Choose to push and create PR

Security Considerations

• Credentials are mounted read-only
• Containers are isolated from host
• Branch restrictions prevent accidental main branch modifications
• All changes require explicit user approval before pushing

Troubleshooting

Claude Code not found

Ensure Claude Code is installed globally:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest

Docker permission issues

Add your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in for changes to take effect

Container cleanup

Remove all Claude Sandbox containers and images:

npm run purge-containers

Credential discovery fails

Set credentials explicitly:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key
export GITHUB_TOKEN=your-token

Or use an .env file with envFile config option.

Build errors

Ensure you're using Node.js >= 18.0.0:

node --version

Development

Building from Source

To build and develop Claude Code Sandbox from source:

git clone https://github.com/textcortex/claude-code-sandbox.git
cd claude-code-sandbox
npm install
npm run build
npm link  # Creates global 'claude-sandbox' command

Available Scripts

• npm run build - Build TypeScript to JavaScript
• npm run dev - Watch mode for development
• npm start - Run the CLI
• npm run lint - Run ESLint
• npm test - Run tests
• npm run purge-containers - Clean up all containers

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests: npm test
5. Run linter: npm run lint
6. Submit a pull request

License

MIT