Two coding-CLI templates mirroring claude's shape: a box.env + verbatim
cloud-init, inheriting the box-net placement contract structurally, no
new design.
- codex: OpenAI Codex CLI via 'npm i -g @openai/codex' (the SCOPED
package; needs Node 22), symlinked onto the non-interactive exec PATH
via 'npm prefix -g' — the same PATH fix the claude template needed.
- grok: xAI Grok Build via the official 'curl x.ai/cli/install.sh',
run AS the grok user (the installer drops into $HOME); the binary is
found and symlinked to /usr/local/bin.
Install commands verified upstream at implementation time, per the
issue's rule (npmjs.com/package/@openai/codex, x.ai/cli). Each gets an
AGENTS.md-style context file telling the agent it lives in a
disposable, isolated, creds-free box.
Drill: templates listing now expects four; a compact per-template smoke
(mint, '<cli> --version' via box exec, remove) validates each payload
installs and lands on the exec PATH — the generic mechanic is already
proven by blank+claude and not repeated.
Closes#54
The tool underneath was already generic: a thin, honest wrapper over
Incus. What was Claude-specific was welded on — one image, one profile,
one cloud-init file, one hardcoded 'sudo -u claude'. The weld is now a
template.
The mechanic: 'box new' stamps the template's identity onto the
instance (user.box=1, user.box.template, user.box.user); shell/exec/
tmux read the user back off the instance, and 'incus copy' carries
user.* keys (audit B2), so a clone knows what it is without consulting
the template. Templates are box.env (parsed against a strict allowlist,
never sourced — no key for a network exists, on purpose) plus a
verbatim cloud-init. Every template launches with the shared box-net
profile: the isolated NIC and root disk, nothing template-controlled —
resources land per-instance from box.env, overridable via BOX_CPU/
BOX_MEMORY/BOX_DISK (which is also how the drill shrinks boxes on a
small host now that profile edits can't).
The three open calls, taken as recommended: clean cut at 0.4.0 (no
claudebox shim; the installer retires the old symlink); default
template = claude (muscle memory survives); repo stays heavy-duty/
claudebox, binary is box.
Compat is the tag, not the name: resolve_box and list honor the legacy
user.claudebox=1 forever, and the legacy tag maps to the claude user —
a pre-rename box lists, shells, clones, unchanged.
Deliberate divergence from #17's table: the host-stack resource names
(claudenet, claude-isolate, nft tables, claudebox-firewall.*) are NOT
renamed — they are host-internal, invisible to users, and renaming
them breaks every provisioned host for zero user-visible gain.
claude-dev is no longer created; setup-host creates box-net, teardown
removes both.
Closes#17