docs(research): update landscape doc — SuperHQ, multi-backend, multi-provider, in-flight directions
- Broaden scope from "Claude Code in Docker" to "AI coding agents in isolated sandboxes" - Add SuperHQ (superhq.ai, v0.4.4) as a new adjacent-competitor entry: macOS-only microVM desktop app, overlaps on isolation/credential-proxy/multi-provider but has no manifest layer and no audit logging - Note SuperHQ's user-voiced audit gap (Brian Cheong, Dunialabs.io) and that bot-bottle already covers it - Update differentiation list to reflect three backends (Docker, Apple container, smolmachines) and three built-in providers (Claude Code, Codex, Pi) plus plugin system - Add in-flight directions for forge-native dispatch (#317) and paid web control plane (#327) with honest framing: lifecycle concept is not novel vs. cloud services (Devin, Copilot Workspace); differentiation is self-hosted + manifest-driven + stronger isolation
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# Landscape: containerized Claude Code agent tools
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# Landscape: containerized AI coding agent tools
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Research into whether bot-bottle is redundant with existing projects, and
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whether it's worth publishing.
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## Summary
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The "Claude Code in Docker" space is active but not saturated. bot-bottle
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occupies a distinct position: no surveyed project combines all five of its
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defining features. Publishing is likely worthwhile, with the main risk being
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claudebox expanding to absorb the same niche.
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The "AI coding agents in isolated sandboxes" space is active but not saturated.
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bot-bottle occupies a distinct position: no surveyed project combines all five
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of its defining features. Publishing is likely worthwhile, with the main risk
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being claudebox expanding to absorb the same niche.
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**Updated 2026-07-09:** bot-bottle now supports three isolation backends
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(Docker, Apple `container`, smolmachines/libkrun microVMs) and three built-in
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agent providers (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Pi) with an open plugin system for
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arbitrary providers. This meaningfully strengthens the differentiation against
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all surveyed competitors.
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## Closest competitor: claudebox
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@@ -43,28 +49,78 @@ manifest merge.
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Still marked early-development.
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- **E2B, Northflank, Cloudflare Sandbox SDK** — cloud-hosted SaaS sandbox
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runtimes; fundamentally different architecture.
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- **superhq.ai / SuperHQ** (v0.4.4, April 2026) — macOS desktop app (Rust/GPUI)
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that runs Claude Code, Codex, and Pi inside microVMs via Apple's
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Virtualization.framework (their own shuru-sdk / libkrun). Auth gateway
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injects API keys on the wire so the sandbox never sees them; tmpfs overlay
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stages agent writes for diff-and-accept review; mobile remote access via
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remote.superhq.ai. Early alpha, free on launch, Apple Silicon only.
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Overlap: both projects cover agent isolation, credential proxying, and
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multi-provider support (Claude Code / Codex / Pi). Differences: SuperHQ is a
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GUI desktop app with no manifest layer; bot-bottle is a CLI fleet manager with
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named agents, skills injection, per-agent system prompts, and cross-platform
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backends (Docker, Apple `container`, smolmachines). SuperHQ's microVM
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isolation story is now partially matched by bot-bottle's `macos_container` and
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smolmachines backends. Worth watching — it targets the same security-minded
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power-user audience and moves fast.
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**Known gap in SuperHQ (user-requested, as of 2026-07-09):** A named user
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(Brian Cheong, Founder, Dunialabs.io) explicitly called out the absence of
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per-run audit logging: tool calls and network egress. Bot-bottle covers both:
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network egress is logged by pipelock/mitmproxy, and per-run op-log/audit state
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is persisted to SQLite.
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## What no found project does
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None combine:
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1. Named-agent JSON manifest with per-agent env resolution (prompt / host-forward / literal)
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2. Claude Code skills directory injection
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1. Named-agent manifest with per-agent env resolution (prompt / host-forward / literal), supporting multiple providers (Claude Code, Codex, Pi, arbitrary plugins)
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2. Skills directory injection
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3. Per-agent system prompts
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4. SSH-agent key forwarding without copying private keys into the container
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5. Home + project manifest merge
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6. Pluggable isolation backends: Docker (Linux/macOS), Apple `container` (macOS microVMs), smolmachines/libkrun microVMs
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7. Per-run audit log: network egress via pipelock/mitmproxy + op-log persisted to SQLite
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**In-flight directions (not yet shipped):**
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- **Forge-native dispatch (issue #317):** Gitea webhook → orchestrator spins up a bottle
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with the issue body as prompt → agent works → bottle freezes awaiting review comment →
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rehydrates on comment → tears down on PR close. The issue-to-PR lifecycle concept is not
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novel (Devin, Copilot Workspace, SWE-agent all do this as cloud services); what's
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distinct is doing it self-hosted, manifest-driven, inside bot-bottle's isolation
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primitives.
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- **Paid web control plane (issue #327):** Browser-based multi-host agent launch and
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monitoring; account-scoped bottle and agent definitions; secret custody (encrypted at
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rest, injected into the sidecar at launch, never exposed to the agent or returned by any
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read API). Monetization model: OSS runtime free, control plane paid — a standard split
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(HashiCorp, Grafana) applied to a self-hosted agent sandbox. The principled secret
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custody model (agent never sees real credentials, even via printenv) is more rigorous
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than most surveyed tools but not unprecedented.
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## Publishing verdict
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Worth publishing. Differentiators that matter to the target audience (power
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users running parallel Claude Code sessions with distinct personas/tooling):
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users running parallel AI coding agent sessions with distinct personas/tooling):
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- The Python-stdlib-first, low-dependency design — competitors are npm-based or
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Kubernetes-native.
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- The Python-stdlib-first, low-dependency design — competitors are npm-based,
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Rust/GUI, or Kubernetes-native.
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- Named agents with distinct skills and system prompts, not just language profiles.
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- Multi-backend isolation: Docker, Apple `container` microVMs, and
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smolmachines/libkrun — single manifest works across all three.
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- Multi-provider: Claude Code, Codex, Pi, plus an open plugin system for
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arbitrary providers.
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- SSH forwarding without key copying.
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- Per-run audit log (tool calls + network egress) — an explicitly requested gap
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in SuperHQ as of 2026-07-09.
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- Forge-native dispatch and a paid control plane (in flight) bring bot-bottle
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into the same product category as cloud services like Devin and Copilot
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Workspace — but self-hosted, with stronger isolation guarantees and a
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manifest-driven fleet model those services don't have.
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Main risk: claudebox adds manifest/agent config. The space is moving fast
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enough that publishing sooner is better if establishing prior art matters.
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Main risk: claudebox adds manifest/agent config; SuperHQ is moving fast on the
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GUI / microVM side. The space is moving fast enough that publishing sooner is
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better if establishing prior art matters.
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Discovery will be slow without active promotion; an Anthropic Discord post or
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HN "Show HN" would do most of the work.
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@@ -73,4 +129,4 @@ HN "Show HN" would do most of the work.
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- GitHub search cannot surface private or very new repos comprehensively.
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- Counts (stars, forks) were not confirmed for every project.
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- Research conducted 2026-05-07; the space moves fast.
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- Initial research conducted 2026-05-07; SuperHQ entry added 2026-07-09; the space moves fast.
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