Helios Code
Helios Code runs Claude Code inside an environment you define with a Dockerfile. Launch from the dashboard or the CLI, watch it boot, and attach.
Helios Code gives a coding agent a real computer in the cloud. You define the computer as an environment. Helios builds it, starts it, signs the agent in, and lets you attach to it from your terminal or your browser.
Two pieces make it work.
- Environments. A Dockerfile image plus secrets, a cloud-init script, integrations, and the coding agent to enable. Helios builds the sandbox image and keeps every version.
- Claude Code. The coding harness that runs inside the environment. Helios signs it in with your Claude account, so the sandbox never holds a long-lived key.
How a session runs
Define an environment
Write a Dockerfile that installs your toolchain and Claude Code. Create an image from it in the dashboard, or write it as YAML and apply it from the CLI. See IaC.
Launch an agent
From the CLI, pick the environment and optionally a repository to clone.
helios code launch <environment-id> --git-repo https://github.com/acme/api --attachHelios starts a sandbox from the image, runs your cloud-init, injects secrets, and starts the harness. The boot logs stream to your terminal.
Attach and work
Attach from the terminal app or from the browser. In the terminal you get the harness in one tab and a live diff of each repository the agent edits in a files tab. In the browser you get a terminal pane and a git pane.
helios code attachPress ctrl-x to detach. The agent keeps running.
Where to manage it
| Task | Dashboard | CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Create an image from a Dockerfile | Environments, then Create sandbox image | helios code apply with an image YAML |
| See versions and build logs | Image detail page, Versions tab | helios code images get <id> |
| Rebuild an image | Image detail page | helios code images build <id> |
| Create an environment | CLI only | helios code environments create or helios code apply |
| Launch and attach | CLI only. The Code page shows the running sandbox | helios code launch, helios code attach |
| Stop an agent | Code page for the image | helios code kill <agent-id> |
Limits
- Claude Code is the only harness.
- The image must include
helios-agentand the Claude Code CLI. The starter Dockerfile fromhelios code iac scaffoldhas both. - One agent uses one environment. Secrets and integrations are set once on the environment and apply to every launch.
Pages
Last updated on
Library limits
What the Library does not do today, the size limits on previews and writes, and what happens to staged files after a review.
Environments
Environments are built from a Dockerfile into a sandbox image. See versions and build logs in the dashboard, then open a browser terminal and git pane on a running sandbox.