README.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ live in a shared profile no template can touch, so `blank` is a box with
 nobody home — not a box with the safety off.
 
 **The tool knows nothing about your projects.** You just `git clone` inside a
-box. A repo can ship an optional [`.claudebox/`](docs/box-recipe.md)
+box. A repo can ship an optional [`.box/`](docs/box-recipe.md)
 runbook that Claude Code reads and acts on — there is no `install` step and no
 host-run setup. See [docs/box-design.md](docs/box-design.md) for the
 design rationale.
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ retires the old `claudebox` symlink. (No `git clone` needed.)
 ## One-time host setup (Ubuntu 24.04 / Debian 13)
 
 ```sh
-~/.local/share/box/host/setup-host.sh   # run twice if it adds you to incus-admin (re-login between)
+box setup-host   # run twice if it adds you to incus-admin (re-login between)
 ```
 
 Idempotent. Installs Incus and creates the isolation stack: the `boxnet` NAT
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ claude                           # then run /login — copy the URL (press c), o
                                  #   in YOUR browser, paste the code back. No host CLI needed.
 gh auth login                    # or drop a PAT in — your git credentials, your call
 git clone https://github.com/you/project && cd project
-claude                           # if the repo has .claudebox/, Claude reads it and sets up
+claude                           # if the repo has .box/, Claude reads it and sets up
 ```
 
 ## Templates
@@ -158,7 +158,8 @@ dev/test only.
 ## Boxes are just Incus instances
 
 A box is an ordinary Incus instance tagged `user.box=1` (pre-0.4.0 boxes
-carry `user.claudebox=1`, honored forever). box wraps the box lifecycle and the isolation model — not all of Incus. It owns a command
+carry `user.claudebox=1`, honored forever). box wraps the box lifecycle and
+the isolation model — not all of Incus. It owns a command
 when it must enforce something Incus can't see: that tag (it will not stop,
 rename or delete an instance it didn't mint), the isolation stack, or the
 creds-free snapshot workflow. For everything else, there's the door:
@@ -227,9 +228,9 @@ diagnoses the host faults that have actually happened: a wedged Incus daemon,
 a dnsmasq that silently isn't serving, a VPN resolver that boxes would
 inherit.
 
-## Recipes: the `.claudebox/` convention
+## Recipes: the `.box/` convention
 
-A repo that wants to be easy to stand up in a box ships an optional `.claudebox/`
+A repo that wants to be easy to stand up in a box ships an optional `.box/`
 folder — a runbook Claude reads and follows (install deps, start services,
 template env, seed data, smoke-test). It is agent-facing documentation, not a
 host-executed script. See [docs/box-recipe.md](docs/box-recipe.md).
@@ -237,9 +238,9 @@ host-executed script. See [docs/box-recipe.md](docs/box-recipe.md).
 ## Uninstall
 
 ```sh
-~/.local/share/box/host/teardown-host.sh               # boxes, network, ACL, profile, firewall
-~/.local/share/box/host/teardown-host.sh --purge-incus # ...and Incus itself
-rm -rf ~/.local/share/box ~/.local/bin/box             # the CLI
+box teardown-host                # boxes, network, ACL, profile, firewall
+box teardown-host --purge-incus  # ...and Incus itself
+rm -rf ~/.local/share/box ~/.local/bin/box   # the CLI itself
 ```
 
 ## Non-goals

bin/box

@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ CMDS=(
   "expose^<box> <port> [<host-port>] | --list | --remove <port>^box^Forward a box port to the host's loopback — see a dev server^fn:cmd_expose^"
   "incus^<box> -- <args...>^box^Escape hatch: run any incus command against a box^fn:cmd_incus^"
   "doctor^[--fix | --pin-dns]^^Is this host fit to mint boxes? Diagnose the daemon, network, DNS, isolation^fn:cmd_doctor^"
+  "setup-host^^^One-time host setup: Incus, the boxnet stack, the profile, the firewall^fn:cmd_setup_host^"
+  "teardown-host^[--purge-incus]^^Remove the box host stack (both name generations)^fn:cmd_teardown_host^"
+  "migrate-host^--box <n> | --all-boxes | --retire-legacy^^Move a host from the pre-0.4.0 stack onto box^fn:cmd_migrate_host^"
   "status^^^Deprecated alias for 'list'^fn:cmd_status^"
   "help^[<command>]^^This help, or 'box help <command>' for one command^fn:cmd_help^"
 )
@@ -119,7 +122,7 @@ EOF
   local r v sum
   for r in "${CMDS[@]}"; do
     IFS='^' read -r v _ _ sum _ _ <<<"$r"
-    printf '  %-9s %s\n' "$v" "$sum"
+    printf '  %-13s %s\n' "$v" "$sum"
   done
   cat <<'EOF'
 
@@ -371,6 +374,37 @@ cloud-init error that names none of them.
 Exit 0 = clean; 1 = problems found (each printed with its fix). Read-only
 unless --fix or --pin-dns is given.
 EOF
+;;
+    setup-host) cat <<'EOF'
+Prepare this host to mint boxes — one time. Installs Incus and builds the
+isolation stack: the boxnet NAT bridge (resolver pinned), the box-isolate
+ACL, the box-net profile, and the firewall rules, all re-applied at boot.
+Idempotent — safe to re-run after a box upgrade to pick up stack changes.
+
+If it has to add you to the incus-admin group it will say so and exit; log
+back in (or 'sg incus-admin') and run it again.
+
+  box setup-host
+EOF
+;;
+    teardown-host) cat <<'EOF'
+Remove the box host stack — all boxes, the boxnet/claudenet networks, the
+ACLs, the profiles, and the firewall rules of BOTH name generations (current
+and pre-0.4.0). Asks first.
+
+  box teardown-host                # the stack; leaves Incus installed
+  box teardown-host --purge-incus  # ...and uninstall Incus too
+EOF
+;;
+    migrate-host) cat <<'EOF'
+Move a host from the pre-0.4.0 'claudebox' stack onto 'box'. Re-homing
+preserves a box's authed state (no re-login) — it only re-tags and reassigns
+the profile, then verifies the box works on its new network leg.
+
+  box migrate-host --box <name>    # re-home one legacy box
+  box migrate-host --all-boxes     # re-home every legacy box
+  box migrate-host --retire-legacy # remove the old stack (once no legacy box remains)
+EOF
 ;;
     status) cat <<'EOF'
 Deprecated alias for 'box list'. It ignored the <box> argument it
@@ -424,6 +458,8 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
       if [ "$cmd" = doctor ]; then args+=("$1"); shift; continue; fi
       # expose's own flags (--list, --remove) are positional to it, not box's
       if [ "$cmd" = expose ]; then args+=("$1"); shift; continue; fi
+      # the host verbs delegate their flags to the scripts they wrap
+      case "$cmd" in setup-host|teardown-host|migrate-host) args+=("$1"); shift; continue ;; esac
       if [ "$cmd" = exec ] || [ "$cmd" = incus ]; then
         usage_error "unknown option: $1 — a command's own flags go after --, as in '$(synopsis_of "$cmd")'"
       fi
@@ -843,6 +879,19 @@ cmd_doctor() {
   exec bash "$script" "${args[@]}"
 }
 
+# The host lifecycle scripts, as first-class verbs — nobody should have to know
+# where the install tree keeps its scripts. Each execs the installed script
+# with its flags passed through; the script owns its own behavior (setup-host's
+# incus-admin re-login dance, teardown's confirmation, migrate's per-box work).
+host_script() {   # $1 = script basename under host/
+  local script="$root/host/$1"
+  [ -f "$script" ] || die "$1 not found at $script — re-run install.sh"
+  exec bash "$script" "${args[@]}"
+}
+cmd_setup_host()    { host_script setup-host.sh; }
+cmd_teardown_host() { host_script teardown-host.sh; }
+cmd_migrate_host()  { host_script migrate-host.sh; }
+
 cmd_help() { show_help "${args[0]:-}"; }
 
 # The escape hatch. The box is resolved and tag-checked; everything else is

docs/box-design.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ design decisions.
 
 - **The tool** mints isolated boxes with Claude installed but **unauthenticated**.
   It knows nothing about projects, secrets, recipes, or memory.
-- **The agent** (Claude Code, inside the box) reads an optional `.claudebox/`
+- **The agent** (Claude Code, inside the box) reads an optional `.box/`
   runbook in a cloned repo and acts on it. The recipe's consumer is the
   reasoning agent, not host machinery.
 
@@ -45,10 +45,10 @@ Log in once → snapshot → spin up authed boxes from it.
 
 cloud-init installs a global `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` in every box telling Claude it
 is running in a box (trust-less, ephemeral, creds-free) and to treat a
-repo's `.claudebox/` folder as its bootstrap runbook. No "tell it" step, no host
+repo's `.box/` folder as its bootstrap runbook. No "tell it" step, no host
 execution.
 
-## `.claudebox/` is optional, agent-facing documentation
+## `.box/` is optional, agent-facing documentation
 
 Not host-executed shell. A repo that wants to be easy to stand up in a sandbox
 ships a runbook (prose + optional scripts the agent may run). A repo that does
@@ -56,12 +56,12 @@ not, you set up by hand. The tool enforces no contract; there is no `install`.
 
 ## What box owns, and what it doesn't
 
-Boxes are ordinary Incus instances, tagged `user.claudebox=1`. That makes every
+Boxes are ordinary Incus instances, tagged `user.box=1`. That makes every
 Incus verb a candidate feature request — `rename`, `info`, `file push`, on
 forever — and wrapping them one at a time grows a worse `incus`. The rule:
 
 > **box owns a command when it must enforce an invariant Incus cannot see:**
-> the `user.claudebox=1` boundary (never touch an instance we didn't mint), the
+> the `user.box=1` boundary (never touch an instance we didn't mint), the
 > isolation stack (`claude-dev` profile + `claudenet` + ACL), or the creds-free
 > snapshot→clone workflow. Everything else is Incus's job.
 

docs/box-recipe.md

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# The `.claudebox/` convention
+# The `.box/` convention
 
 `box` mints trust-less, creds-free, isolated VMs with Claude Code already
 installed (`box new/shell/snapshot/restore/exec/down/start/rm/status`). The
@@ -6,13 +6,17 @@ tool knows **nothing** about your project. There is no `install` step and no
 host-run setup script.
 
 A project makes itself easy to stand up inside a box by shipping an optional
-`.claudebox/` folder. This folder is **agent-facing documentation** — read and
+`.box/` folder. This folder is **agent-facing documentation** — read and
 acted on by Claude Code (the reasoning agent) running inside the box. It is not
 shell that the host executes.
 
+> The folder was named `.claudebox/` before the 0.5.0 rename. Repos that still
+> ship `.claudebox/` keep working — the agent is told to read either — but new
+> projects should use `.box/`.
+
 ## What it is / what it is not
 
-- **Optional.** No `.claudebox/` is a perfectly valid state.
+- **Optional.** No `.box/` is a perfectly valid state.
 - **Agent-facing.** You are writing instructions to a reasoning agent, not a
   machine. Prose is fine; the agent adapts.
 - **Not a host contract.** The host never parses, sources, or runs anything in
@@ -23,34 +27,34 @@ shell that the host executes.
 ## How it's consumed
 
 Every box ships a global `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` telling Claude it is inside a
-box and to treat a repo's `.claudebox/` folder as its bootstrap runbook.
+box and to treat a repo's `.box/` folder as its bootstrap runbook.
 So the whole flow is:
 
 ```
 box new           # get a box
 box shell         # get in
 git clone <repo> && cd <repo>
-claude                  # Claude reads .claudebox/ and brings the project up
+claude                  # Claude reads .box/ and brings the project up
 ```
 
-The operator can also just say: *"set this project up per .claudebox"*.
+The operator can also just say: *"set this project up per .box"*.
 
 ## Suggested contents (all optional)
 
 Author everything here for a reasoning agent.
 
-- **`.claudebox/SETUP.md`** — the prose runbook. Prerequisites, how to install
+- **`.box/SETUP.md`** — the prose runbook. Prerequisites, how to install
   deps, how to start services, how to template the env, how to seed data, and
   how to smoke-test. Written as instructions to Claude.
-- **Helper scripts** (e.g. `.claudebox/dev-up.sh`) that the runbook tells Claude
+- **Helper scripts** (e.g. `.box/dev-up.sh`) that the runbook tells Claude
   to run. Claude decides to run them; the host never does.
-- **`.claudebox/env.template`** — example env the runbook explains how to fill.
+- **`.box/env.template`** — example env the runbook explains how to fill.
   Staging values the operator pastes in. **Never commit real secrets.**
-- **`.claudebox/compose.yml`** — optional services the runbook starts.
+- **`.box/compose.yml`** — optional services the runbook starts.
 
 ## Worked example
 
-A minimal `.claudebox/SETUP.md` for a Node + Postgres app:
+A minimal `.box/SETUP.md` for a Node + Postgres app:
 
 ```markdown
 # Setup
@@ -58,8 +62,8 @@ A minimal `.claudebox/SETUP.md` for a Node + Postgres app:
 This is a Node service backed by Postgres.
 
 1. Install deps: `npm ci`
-2. Start Postgres: `docker compose -f .claudebox/compose.yml up -d`
-3. Create the env file: copy `.claudebox/env.template` to `.env` and ask the
+2. Start Postgres: `docker compose -f .box/compose.yml up -d`
+3. Create the env file: copy `.box/env.template` to `.env` and ask the
    operator to fill in `DATABASE_URL` and `API_KEY` (staging values).
 4. Run migrations: `npm run migrate`
 5. Start the app: `npm run dev`
@@ -72,7 +76,7 @@ That's it — Claude reads it top to bottom and adapts if reality differs.
 
 - **Keep it declarative and resilient.** State intent and steps; let the agent
   adapt when the repo has drifted. Don't hard-code brittle assumptions.
-- **Never put real credentials in `.claudebox/`.** Templates and staging
+- **Never put real credentials in `.box/`.** Templates and staging
   placeholders only. The operator pastes real values at runtime.
-- **No `.claudebox/` is fine.** The operator can stand the project up by hand,
+- **No `.box/` is fine.** The operator can stand the project up by hand,
   or let Claude infer the steps from the repo's `README` / `CLAUDE.md`.

drill/doctor.sh

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ if incus network show boxnet >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     ok "dns.mode = none — a box cannot enumerate its siblings by name"
   else
     no "dns.mode = ${dns:-<unset>} — a box can RESOLVE its siblings' names and addresses"
-    inf "fix:  re-run  ~/.local/share/box/host/setup-host.sh"
+    inf "fix:  re-run:  box setup-host"
     [ "$FIX" = 1 ] && { incus network set boxnet dns.mode=none && inf "set: dns.mode=none"; }
   fi
   inf "ipv4.address = $(incus network get boxnet ipv4.address 2>/dev/null)"
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ if [ -n "$PROFILES" ]; then
       no "$p: security.port_isolation is NOT set — BOXES CAN REACH EACH OTHER"
       inf "an L3 ACL cannot do this: two boxes on one bridge are on the same L2"
       inf "segment, so their frames are switched, never routed past the ACL."
-      inf "fix:  re-run  ~/.local/share/box/host/setup-host.sh"
+      inf "fix:  re-run:  box setup-host"
     fi
     for k in security.mac_filtering security.ipv4_filtering; do
       v="$(incus profile device get "$p" eth0 "$k" 2>/dev/null)"
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ else
     no "the host resolves via a CGNAT/Tailscale resolver ($hostns), and boxes INHERIT it — see issue #33"
     inf "· box DNS breaks whenever the tailnet's resolver does (this is what kills cold mints)"
     inf "· and tailnet names RESOLVE from inside a box, though its ACL blocks connecting to them"
-    inf "fix:  re-run  ~/.local/share/box/host/setup-host.sh  (it pins the resolver)"
+    inf "fix:  re-run:  box setup-host  (it pins the resolver)"
     inf "      or quick-test the pin alone:  bash drill/doctor.sh --pin-dns"
   else
     inf "boxes inherit the host's resolver (unpinned — setup-host.sh pins this now; re-run it)"

templates/claude/user-data.yaml

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ write_files:
       - **Disposable.** Nothing here is backed up. State is discarded when the box is
         removed; the operator persists work via git push and via `box snapshot`.
       - **Bootstrap runbook.** If the repository you are working in contains a
-        `.claudebox/` folder, read it as your setup runbook — how to install
+        `.box/` folder (older repos may use `.claudebox/`), read it as your setup runbook — how to install
         dependencies, start services, template environment files, seed data, and
         smoke-test — and follow it. It is documentation for you, not a script the
         host runs.

templates/codex/user-data.yaml

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ write_files:
       - **Disposable.** Nothing here is backed up. State is discarded when the box
         is removed; the operator persists work via git push and via `box snapshot`.
       - **Bootstrap runbook.** If the repository you are working in contains a
-        `.claudebox/` folder, read it as your setup runbook — how to install
+        `.box/` folder (older repos may use `.claudebox/`), read it as your setup runbook — how to install
         dependencies, start services, template environment files, seed data, and
         smoke-test — and follow it. It is documentation for you, not a script the
         host runs.

templates/grok/user-data.yaml

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ write_files:
       - **Disposable.** Nothing here is backed up. State is discarded when the box
         is removed; the operator persists work via git push and via `box snapshot`.
       - **Bootstrap runbook.** If the repository you are working in contains a
-        `.claudebox/` folder, read it as your setup runbook — how to install
+        `.box/` folder (older repos may use `.claudebox/`), read it as your setup runbook — how to install
         dependencies, start services, template environment files, seed data, and
         smoke-test — and follow it. It is documentation for you, not a script the
         host runs.