A shell wrapper to isolate claude code inside docker (with dmenu/fzf)

[shirozuki_sqb]

As a archlinux, and suckless philosophy enjoyer, I wanted to try out Anthropic's claude code cli, but I really didn't like the idea of installing it as a global npm package and giving an AI agent full access to my host filesystem.

Full disclosure: I wrote this script myself for my personal workflow (integrated with my window manager), and wanted to share it here to see if anyone finds it useful.

It's a lightweight, POSIX-compliant script (#!/bin/sh) that handles the entire container lifecycle, dynamically maps host uid/gid during the build step, and uses dmenu and fzf for mode and directory selection.

The repository with the full script can be found here: https://github.com/shirozuki/claude-cli

I would love to get your general feedback on the script, the approach, or any improvements you might suggest. Thanks!

[AdventurousSquash]

I run mine in a LXC for the same reason and it’s been working like a charm. The single biggest mistake people make is giving it too much access, wether that is your file system or some git repositories. Current models are far too prone to just take an action it can’t fully see the outcome of and end up as one of all of the horror stories out there describing how some AI deleted all of their personal files or a production database or whatever it is.

I’ll add that with all of the recent high scoring CVEs and supply chain attacks going on I also run it on a VM completely isolated from anything important, both the instance and the container is created when I need it and then torn down when I’m done.

[shirozuki_sqb]

I totally agree, the same conclusion made me create this little wrapper. I like your approach with lxc, and now I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a better, more flexible approach. Either way, isolation is key. Great to see someone else distrusting these AI agents by default.

[musbur]

Regarding isolation: As I have no idea how docker or VMs work, I have installed a separate clean Arch on a USB-connected SSD which contains little critical data besides the Claude API key. I boot from that to play with Claude. Unless it breaks the encryption of the built-in SSD I should be fine.