Container Use

Official

Isolated, containerized dev environments for coding agents — each agent works in its own git branch.

Unverified

stdio (local)

No auth

View repo 3.9k Website

Add to your client

Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.

Install / run

brew install dagger/tap/container-use

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "container-use": {
      "command": "container-use",
      "args": [
        "stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step-by-step guides: Add to Claude Desktop · Add to Cursor · Add to Windsurf

Before you start

Docker (or a compatible container runtime) for Dagger to run containers
Git repository (run inside the repo you want agents to work in)
An MCP-compatible agent (Claude Code, Cursor, VSCode, Goose, etc.)
container-use binary installed via Homebrew or the install script

About Container Use

Container Use gives coding agents isolated, containerized development environments. Add container-use stdio as an MCP server to your agent and each agent works in a fresh container on its own git branch, letting multiple agents run in parallel safely. Powered by Dagger, it provides real-time visibility into agent actions and lets you intervene directly or review work via standard git. Install with Homebrew (brew install dagger/tap/container-use) or the install script, then register it with your agent (e.g. claude mcp add container-use -- container-use stdio).

Tools & capabilities (13)

environment_create

Creates a new development environment — the result of the setup commands run on top of the base image.

environment_open

Opens an existing environment. Return format is the same as environment_create.

environment_list

List available environments.

environment_update_metadata

Update environment metadata such as the title describing what work is being done in the environment.

environment_config

Make environment config changes such as base image and setup commands.

environment_run_cmd

Run a terminal command inside a new container within the environment.

environment_file_read

Read the contents of a file, specifying a line range or the entire file.

environment_file_list

List the contents of a directory.

environment_file_edit

Find and replace text in a file.

environment_file_write

Write the contents of a file.

environment_file_delete

Deletes a file at the specified path.

environment_checkpoint

Checkpoints an environment in its current state as a container.

environment_add_service

Add a service to the environment (e.g. database, cache, etc.).

When to use it

Running multiple coding agents in parallel without their changes conflicting
Letting an agent experiment safely in a disposable container, then discarding failures instantly
Reviewing exactly what an agent did via complete command history and logs
Dropping into an agent's terminal to take over when it gets stuck
Reviewing agent work with a standard git workflow (git checkout the agent's branch)
Spinning up backing services (databases, caches) for an agent's environment

Security notes

Early development / experimental (stability badge: experimental). Agents execute arbitrary commands inside containers; each environment is isolated in its own container and git branch. No authentication is required for the local stdio MCP server.

Container Use FAQ

How do I add Container Use to Claude Code?

From inside your repository run: `claude mcp add container-use -- container-use stdio`. Optionally append the agent rules with `curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dagger/container-use/main/rules/agent.md >> CLAUDE.md`.

Does it work with agents other than Claude Code?

Yes. It works with any MCP-compatible agent (Cursor, VSCode, Goose, and others). The setup is always the same: add `container-use stdio` as an MCP server. See the quickstart and agent-integrations docs at container-use.com.

Is there a command shortcut?

Yes — the `container-use` command is also available as `cu`. Both work identically, e.g. `cu stdio`.

Is it production-ready?

No. The project is in early development and marked experimental; it is actively evolving. The maintainers (Dagger) invite issues and discussion in the #container-use channel on their Discord.

#coding-agents #containers #dagger #sandbox #git #dev-environments #isolation #claude-code #cursor

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