OrbStack Development Sandbox

sDisposable, isolated Linux VMs for running Claude Code with --dangerously-skip-permissions. One command creates a fully provisioned environment. Blow it away and recreate it in minutes.

The VM is a real Linux machine with its own filesystem, network, and process space — but you edit files from your Mac, access services on *.orb.local, and SSH in without any key setup. All the isolation of a container with none of the friction.

Why This Exists

Running claude --dangerously-skip-permissions on your host machine means Claude can execute arbitrary commands, install packages, modify system files, and access everything on your disk. That's powerful for autonomous coding but risky on a machine with your SSH keys, credentials, and personal files.

This script creates throwaway VMs where Claude can run unrestricted:

• Isolated filesystem — Claude can't touch your macOS files, keys, or configs
• Isolated network — services run on their own IP, no port conflicts with your host
• Disposable — orb delete my-sandbox wipes everything; recreate in one command
• Multiple VMs — run separate sandboxes per project with shared git credentials
• Full access from Mac — edit files in your editor, browse databases, view running apps

# Create a sandbox, SSH in, run Claude unrestricted
./setup_env.sh my-project
ssh my-project@orb
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions

If anything goes wrong: orb delete my-project && ./setup_env.sh my-project

Quick Start

# Create and provision a VM (one command from macOS)
./setup_env.sh my-sandbox

On first run, you'll be prompted for git commit author name and email. These are saved to config.env and reused for all future VMs. You'll also get an interactive checklist to select which components to install. If you select VNC, you'll be prompted for a VNC password (this is never stored and must be entered each time).

# Create additional VMs — reuses config.env, shows component picker
./setup_env.sh my-other-project
./setup_env.sh elixir-playground

When run manually inside a VM, you're prompted for each component individually:

# Inside a VM — interactive, prompts per component
./setup_env.sh

# Inside a VM — accept all without prompting
./setup_env.sh -y
./setup_env.sh --yes

Requirements

• macOS with Apple Silicon (ARM64)
• OrbStack installed (brew install orbstack)

What Gets Installed

All components are optional — deselect what you don't need in the interactive picker.

Tool	Version	Purpose
mise	latest	Version manager for runtimes
Node.js	LTS	JavaScript runtime
Erlang	latest	BEAM VM
Elixir	latest	Elixir language
Chromium	system	Browser automation target
Playwright	latest	Browser testing framework
PostgreSQL	system default	Database
Ollama	latest	Local LLM inference
Claude Code	latest	AI coding assistant
yq	latest	YAML processor
watchexec	latest	File watcher (via cargo)
TigerVNC + XFCE	system	VNC access for browser login flows

Connecting from macOS

SSH

# Shell into the VM (no key setup required)
ssh my-sandbox@orb

# Run a command directly
ssh my-sandbox@orb -- ls ~/projects

# Run Claude unrestricted
ssh my-sandbox@orb -- claude --dangerously-skip-permissions

OrbStack handles SSH key configuration automatically.

Editing Files

Your editor connects to the VM over SSH. You edit files as if they were local — full LSP support, syntax highlighting, file tree, integrated terminal.

Zed:

1. Cmd+Shift+P -> "Open Remote Folder"
2. Enter: my-sandbox@orb:~/projects

VS Code / Cursor:

1. Install the "Remote - SSH" extension
2. Cmd+Shift+P -> "Remote-SSH: Connect to Host"
3. Enter: my-sandbox@orb
4. Open folder: ~/projects

Finder (direct filesystem access):

/Volumes/OrbStack/my-sandbox/home/<user>/

Viewing Running Apps

Services running in the VM are accessible from your Mac via <vm-name>.orb.local:

# Phoenix/Rails/Next.js dev server running on port 4000 inside the VM
open http://my-sandbox.orb.local:4000

# Or use port forwarding if the app only binds to localhost
ssh -L 4000:localhost:4000 my-sandbox@orb

PostgreSQL, Redis, or any service listening on the VM's interfaces is reachable at my-sandbox.orb.local:<port> from your Mac — no extra configuration.

VNC (Browser Access)

For tasks requiring a visible browser (e.g., Claude Code OAuth login):

# Start VNC server inside the VM
ssh my-sandbox@orb -- vnc-start

# Connect from macOS (opens Screen Sharing.app)
open vnc://my-sandbox.orb.local:5901

# Stop when done (saves resources)
ssh my-sandbox@orb -- vnc-stop

macOS Screen Sharing (built-in)

open vnc://my-sandbox.orb.local:5901

Enter your VNC password when prompted.

RealVNC Viewer

1. Download from https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/
2. Enter address: my-sandbox.orb.local:5901
3. When prompted for credentials, enter your VNC password (username can be left blank)

TigerVNC Viewer

# Install via Homebrew
brew install tiger-vnc

# Connect
vncviewer my-sandbox.orb.local:5901

Enter your VNC password when prompted.

Connection details for any VNC client

• Host: my-sandbox.orb.local
• Port: 5901 (display :1)
• Password: the VNC password from config.env
• Resolution: 1280x800 (configurable in ~/bin/vnc-start)

PostgreSQL

A superuser matching your Linux username and a dev database are created automatically.

Auth model:

• Local socket (psql dev): peer auth (OS username must match PG role)
• Localhost TCP (127.0.0.1): scram-sha-256 (password required)
• Host network (192.168.0.0/16, i.e., from macOS): scram-sha-256

From inside the VM

psql dev                    # Connect to dev database
psql -l                     # List databases
createdb myapp_dev          # Create a new database

From macOS

# Direct (requires: brew install libpq)
psql -h my-sandbox.orb.local -U <user> -d dev

Connection strings

# Elixir/Phoenix
postgres://<user>@my-sandbox.orb.local/myapp_dev

# Generic
host=my-sandbox.orb.local port=5432 dbname=dev user=<user>

DataGrip

1. New Data Source -> PostgreSQL
2. SSH/SSL tab: Check "Use SSH tunnel", Host: my-sandbox@orb, Auth: Key pair
3. General tab: Host: localhost, Port: 5432, User: your VM username, Database: dev, No password
4. Test Connection -> Apply

DBeaver

1. New Database Connection -> PostgreSQL
2. SSH tab: Check "Use SSH Tunnel", Host: my-sandbox.orb.local, Port: 22, Auth: Public Key
3. Main tab: Host: localhost, Port: 5432, Database: dev, Username: your VM username, no password
4. Test Connection -> Finish

Creating additional databases

# From inside the VM
createdb myapp_dev
createdb myapp_test

# From macOS
ssh my-sandbox@orb -- createdb myapp_dev

Claude Code Plugins

The script installs these plugins at user scope:

Anthropic marketplace (anthropics/claude-code):

• code-review, code-simplifier, feature-dev, pr-review-toolkit, security-guidance, frontend-design

Superpowers marketplace (obra/superpowers):

• double-shot-latte, elements-of-style, superpowers, superpowers-chrome, superpowers-lab

MCP Servers:

• playwright - Browser automation and screenshots
• superpowers-chrome - Direct Chrome/Chromium control (headless)

Configuration

All tools are configured to use the latest versions by default. Erlang and Elixir versions can be customized in setup_env.sh:

ERLANG_VERSION="latest"  # or pin to specific version like "28.3.1"
ELIXIR_VERSION="latest"  # or pin to specific version like "1.19.5-otp-28"

Shared credentials

Git credentials (name, email) are stored in config.env (gitignored). VNC passwords are never stored and must be entered each time you create a VM with VNC enabled.

To reset git credentials:

rm config.env
./setup_env.sh my-sandbox   # will prompt again

Or copy the example and edit:

cp config.env.example config.env
# Edit config.env with your values

Managing VMs

# List all VMs
orb list

# Delete a VM (instant cleanup)
orb delete my-sandbox

# Stop a VM (preserves state, frees resources)
orb stop my-sandbox

# Start a stopped VM
orb start my-sandbox

# Nuclear option — delete and recreate
orb delete my-sandbox && ./setup_env.sh my-sandbox

Idempotency

The VM provisioning script is safe to run multiple times. It checks for existing installations before re-installing and avoids appending duplicate configuration lines.

Logs

Each provisioning run creates a log file at /tmp/setup_env_<timestamp>.log inside the VM with detailed output from package installations and any errors. Log files are created with mode 600 (owner-only access).

Security

The script includes several security hardening measures:

• Input validation: VM names, VNC passwords, and git credentials are validated against strict patterns
• No credential storage: VNC passwords are prompted each time and never written to disk
• Safe credential passing: Values are base64-encoded when passed to the VM to prevent shell injection
• Config file security: config.env is created with mode 600 and parsed safely (not sourced)
• Secure temp files: Uses mktemp with restrictive permissions for all temporary files
• Host filesystem isolation: macOS home directory access is disabled inside the VM
• PostgreSQL hardening: Uses peer auth for local sockets, scram-sha-256 for network connections