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Cline

Cline is a VS Code coding agent that plans and runs shell commands and edits files on your behalf. By default those commands run directly on your development machine. Point Cline at IronClaw's sandbox_exec tool and the agent runs untrusted, AI-generated commands inside an isolated gVisor sandbox instead.

Why sandbox Cline?

A coding agent executes code the model wrote, not code you reviewed. A single bad command can read your SSH keys, exfiltrate a token, or wipe a directory. IronClaw contains each command in an ephemeral gVisor container: no host filesystem, no unexpected egress, destroyed after the session.

1. Install ironctl

brew install ironsecco/ironclaw/ironclaw

Verify:

ironctl version

2. Add the MCP server

In VS Code, open the Cline panel and click the MCP Servers icon, then Configure MCP Servers. This opens cline_mcp_settings.json. Add the ironclaw entry under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ironclaw": {
      "command": "ironctl",
      "args": ["mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

If you already have other MCP servers, add the "ironclaw" key alongside them.

Cline CLI

Using the Cline CLI instead of the VS Code extension? Put the same mcpServers block in ~/.cline/mcp.json.

3. Reload

Cline picks up the new server automatically. If the tool does not appear, click the refresh icon in the MCP Servers panel, or run Developer: Reload Window from the VS Code command palette.

What sandbox_exec does

  • Runs commands in an ephemeral container managed by IronClaw
  • Uses gVisor for kernel-level isolation -- the AI cannot read your host files or make unexpected network calls
  • Container is destroyed after the session ends

Troubleshooting

ironctl: command not found -- Make sure ironctl is on your $PATH. Run which ironctl to check. If you installed via Homebrew, run brew link ironsecco/ironclaw/ironclaw.

Tool does not appear -- Open the Cline MCP Servers panel and check the server status. Use the refresh icon, or reload the VS Code window.