> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.boat.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use Boat from your coding agent

> Let Claude Code, Codex or Cursor on your computer start and drive Boat sandboxes: the boat CLI, the docs MCP server, llms.txt, skills, and an AGENTS.md snippet.

Your coding agent drives Boat with the `boat` CLI, the same as you. Give it three things:

1. The CLI, signed in.
2. The Boat docs, through the MCP server or `llms.txt`.
3. A short rule in `AGENTS.md` or `CLAUDE.md` that says when to use a sandbox.

This page is about an agent on your computer. For the agents inside a sandbox, read [Integrated agents](/integrated-agents).

## 1. Install the CLI and sign in

```bash theme={null}
curl -fsSL https://boat.dev/install | sh
```

On Windows, run `irm https://boat.dev/install.ps1 | iex` in PowerShell. Open a new terminal after the install.

An agent runs commands without a browser. Sign it in with an [API key](/api-keys):

```bash theme={null}
echo "$BOAT_API_KEY" | boat login --key-stdin
```

No account yet? The agent can make one itself. Read [Sign up from an agent](/agent-auth).

## 2. Give the agent the docs

| Source | URL | Use it when |
| - | - | - |
| MCP server | `https://docs.boat.dev/mcp` | The agent supports MCP. It can search the docs and read pages. |
| Index | `https://docs.boat.dev/llms.txt` | The agent can only fetch URLs. Every page, with a one-line summary. |
| Full text | `https://docs.boat.dev/llms-full.txt` | You want all the docs in one file. It is large: about 135,000 tokens. |
| One page as Markdown | Add `.md` to any page URL, for example `https://docs.boat.dev/quickstart.md` | The agent needs one page. |

Add the MCP server:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Claude Code theme={null}
  claude mcp add --transport http boat-docs --scope user https://docs.boat.dev/mcp
  ```

  ```bash Codex theme={null}
  codex mcp add boat-docs --url https://docs.boat.dev/mcp
  ```

  ```json Cursor theme={null}
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "boat-docs": { "url": "https://docs.boat.dev/mcp" }
    }
  }
  ```
</CodeGroup>

For Cursor, put the JSON in `~/.cursor/mcp.json`, or in `.cursor/mcp.json` in your project. The **⋯** menu on every docs page also has one-click entries for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code.

## 3. Add a rule to AGENTS.md

Put this in `AGENTS.md` (Codex, Cursor and most agents) or `CLAUDE.md` (Claude Code) in your project:

```markdown AGENTS.md theme={null}
## Cloud sandboxes (Boat)

Use a Boat sandbox for builds, tests, untrusted code, Docker, and long jobs. Never run them on this computer.
Docs: https://docs.boat.dev/llms.txt. Prices and limits: run `boat limits`; never quote prices from memory.

- Create: `id=$(boat new --json | jq -r 'select(.event=="ready") | .id')`
- Run: `boat exec "$id" --cwd my-app "npm test"` (30 s timeout; `--timeout 600` max)
- Long job or server: `boat exec "$id" --detach "npm run dev"`, then `boat exec "$id" --status <pid>`
- Copy files: `boat scp --recursive ./my-app "$id":/home/user/` or clone the repo inside the sandbox
- Public URL for a port: `boat ssh "$id" "host 3000 --private"`
- Always pass the sandbox id. `current` does not work in a non-interactive shell.
- When done: `boat stop "$id"` (keeps the disk) or `boat delete "$id" --yes` (erases it)
```

The `--json` output of `boat new` is one JSON object per line. The `ready` line holds the `id`.

## Skills

The open skill pack installs Boat skills for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other agents:

```bash theme={null}
npx skills add ariana-dot-dev/cloud-sandbox-vm-skills
```

It has 13 skills, for example `cloud-sandbox`, `parallel-agents`, `background-worker` and `public-url-hosting`. Each skill tells the agent when to use Boat and which commands to run.

<Warning>
  Some skills in the pack still show older values: the `on.ascii.dev` domain, an 80 GB disk and a fixed cap of 100 sandboxes. These docs are correct. Public URLs use `on.boat.dev`. For sizes and limits, read [Pricing](/pricing).
</Warning>

Inside a sandbox, every integrated agent already has a `boat` skill. You do not install it.

## Related

* [CLI reference](/cli-reference)
* [Run a coding agent on your repo](/recipes/agent-on-repo)
* [Run many agents in parallel](/recipes/parallel-agents)
* [API keys](/api-keys)


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