banger/README.md

# banger

One-command development sandboxes on Firecracker microVMs.

![banger demo](assets/banger.gif)

Spin up a clean Linux VM with your repo and tooling preloaded, drop
into ssh, and tear it down — all from one command. banger is built
for the dev loop, not the server use case: guests are short-lived,
single-user, reachable at `<name>.vm` from your host, and disposable.

## Quick start

**Requirements**:
- Linux x86_64 with KVM
- Systemd
- [Firecracker >= v1.5](https://github.com/firecracker-microvm/firecracker)

Install:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://releases.thaloco.com/banger/install.sh | bash
```

The installer downloads the signed release, then prompts for sudo for install.
[Read more about how banger uses sudo](#Security)

Verify host configuration:
```bash
banger doctor
```

First VM:
>The first run may take a couple minutes for the bundle download.
>Subsequent `vm run`s are expected to take from 1 to 3 seconds.

```bash
banger vm run --name my-vm
```

This auto-pulls the default image and drops you into an interactive ssh session.
Disconnecting an interactive session leaves the VM running,
`--rm` auto-deletes the VM when the session or command exits.

## `vm run`

```bash
banger vm run ./my-repo                # copy /my-repo into /root/repo — drops into ssh
banger vm run ./repo -- make test      # workspace + run command, exits with its status
banger vm run --rm -- script.sh        # ephemeral: VM is deleted on exit
banger vm run -d ./repo --nat          # detached: prep + bootstrap, exit (no ssh attach)
```

If a repository is passed, banger copies your repo's git-tracked files
into `/root/repo` and runs a `mise` bootstrap from `.mise.toml` /
`.tool-versions` if either is present. The bootstrap reaches the
public internet, so workspaces with mise manifests require `--nat`;
pass `--no-bootstrap` to skip the install entirely. Untracked files
are skipped by default — pass `--include-untracked` to ship them
too, or `--dry-run` to preview the file list.

In **command mode** (`-- <cmd>`), the exit code propagates through
`banger`. In **detached mode** (`-d`), banger creates the VM, runs
workspace prep + bootstrap synchronously, then exits — no ssh
attach. Reconnect later with `banger vm ssh <name>`.

### Other VM verbs

The CLI tries to feel familiar — every command and subcommand has
`--help`. Beyond `vm run`: `vm list` shows running VMs (`--all` for
every state), `vm ssh <name>` reconnects to one, `vm exec <name> --
<cmd>` runs a command without a shell, `vm stop` / `vm kill` shut a
VM down (graceful / hard), `vm delete` removes a stopped one, and
`vm prune` sweeps every non-running VM.

### `--nat`: outbound internet

By default, a guest can't reach the internet.
Pass `--nat` to enable it (host-side MASQUERADE):

```bash
banger vm run --nat ./repo -- npm install
```

`--nat` works on `vm run` and `vm create`. To toggle on an existing
VM: `banger vm set --nat <name>` (or `--no-nat` to remove it).

## Hostnames: `<vm>.vm`

banger's daemon runs a DNS server for the `.vm` zone. With host-side
DNS routing, `curl http://sandbox.vm:3000` works from anywhere on
the host — no IP juggling. On systemd-resolved hosts, banger wires
this up automatically; everywhere else there's a manual recipe in
[`docs/dns-routing.md`](docs/dns-routing.md).

For `ssh sandbox.vm` (instead of `banger vm ssh sandbox`):

```bash
banger ssh-config --install
```

That adds a marker-fenced `Include` line to `~/.ssh/config`.
`banger ssh-config --uninstall` reverses it.

## Config

`~/.config/banger/config.toml`. All keys are optional:

```toml
[vm_defaults]
vcpu = 4
memory_mib = 4096
disk_size = "16G"

[[file_sync]]
host = "~/.config/git/config"
guest = "~/.config/git/config"

[[file_sync]]
host = "~/.aws"
guest = "~/.aws"
```

`vm_defaults` overrides banger's host-derived sizing. `file_sync`
copies host files into the VM's work disk at create time — handy
for credentials and dotfiles you want in every sandbox. Full
reference: [`docs/config.md`](docs/config.md).

## Updating

```bash
banger update --check        # is a newer release available?
sudo banger update           # download, verify, swap, restart, run doctor
```

The release tarball is cosign-verified against a public key embedded
in the running binary. On any post-swap failure, banger auto-restores
the previous install. See [`docs/privileges.md`](docs/privileges.md)
for the trust model.

## Uninstalling

```bash
sudo banger system uninstall          # remove services + binaries; keep state
sudo banger system uninstall --purge  # also wipe VMs, images, caches under /var/lib/banger
```

User config (`~/.config/banger/`) and SSH key
(`~/.local/state/banger/ssh/`) stay put either way — delete them by
hand if you want a full clean slate.

## Security

Guest VMs are single-user dev sandboxes, not multi-tenant servers.
sshd accepts only the host SSH key (no passwords, no
kbd-interactive), and guests are reachable only through the host
bridge (`172.16.0.0/24`). Don't expose the bridge or guest IPs to
an untrusted network.

The privileged surface lives entirely in `bangerd-root.service` and
is documented in [`docs/privileges.md`](docs/privileges.md).

## Further reading

- [`docs/config.md`](docs/config.md) — full config reference.
- [`docs/dns-routing.md`](docs/dns-routing.md) — `<vm>.vm` host-side resolution.
- [`docs/image-catalog.md`](docs/image-catalog.md) — image bundles and how to publish.
- [`docs/kernel-catalog.md`](docs/kernel-catalog.md) — kernel bundles.
- [`docs/oci-import.md`](docs/oci-import.md) — pulling arbitrary OCI images.
- [`docs/advanced.md`](docs/advanced.md) — `vm create`, scripting, custom rootfs.
- [`docs/privileges.md`](docs/privileges.md) — trust model, capability set, daemon split.
- [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](CONTRIBUTING.md) — building from source, running tests.