Sign in and defaults · DevCapsule

Agents authenticate from a terminal inside the running capsule using your own provider account or API key. Each agent's settings and local session files live in a persistent directory for that checkout. DevCapsule creates managed agent directories with mode 0700. Processes running as the same capsule user can still read them.

Signing in interactively

Agent	Command in the capsule terminal	Persistent slot inside the capsule
Claude Code	`claude` (follow the sign-in flow)	`/home/devcapsule/.claude` (`CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`, slot `claude-code/home`)
OpenAI Codex	`codex login` (or `codex login --device-auth`; check with `codex login status`)	`/home/devcapsule/.codex` (`CODEX_HOME`, slot `codex/home`)
Antigravity CLI	`antigravity` (follow its authentication flow)	`/home/devcapsule/.gemini` (settings and sessions, slot `antigravity-cli/home`; credentials use its keyring or arrive per run)

When an agent prints or opens an OAuth URL:

Without host-browser: copy the URL out through the desktop tab's left sidebar clipboard box, open it in your computer's browser, and paste any authorization code back the same way (Clipboard, keys and browser).
With host-browser authorized (devcapsule project config authorize host-browser true or one-run devcapsule project run --authorize host-browser true): links opened through BROWSER or xdg-open reach your host browser through DevCapsule's URL-only broker. A printed URL does not open automatically. This authorization does not forward OAuth callback ports; use the agent's device or code flow, or configure the needed network access.

The managed directories above are stored under your local DevCapsule data directory (projects/by-path/<checkout>/components/<agent>/home). They stay outside the repository. A directory you explicitly bind or adopt can live elsewhere.

Binding API keys explicitly

DevCapsule never forwards OPENAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY from your host shell automatically. Use an explicit binding or environment setting for API-key authentication.

Select the agent first. Run the following devcapsule commands in a host terminal from the project directory. A binding stores the variable's name, not its value. The variable need not exist when you bind it, but it must be exported in the host shell that runs devcapsule project run.

Codex (OPENAI_API_KEY): bind the declared secret input to your host environment variable. Alternatively, codex login --with-api-key reads a key from standard input inside the capsule:
```
devcapsule project config bind codex/openai-api-key host-environment:OPENAI_API_KEY
# Withdraw later with:
devcapsule project config unbind codex/openai-api-key
```

Antigravity CLI (GEMINI_API_KEY for headless gemini provider flows):

devcapsule project config bind antigravity-cli/gemini-api-key host-environment:GEMINI_API_KEY

Other provider variables (such as ANTHROPIC_API_KEY): store a literal per-checkout value with hidden input (devcapsule project config env set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY) or pass it for one run (devcapsule project run --env ANTHROPIC_API_KEY).

Through the web console, bind waits for host confirmation with config console apply ID or the next interactive launch. unbind is recorded immediately. Both affect future launches; stop the current capsule to end its access to an already supplied key.

Environment delivery exposes keys to capsule processes and Docker inspection. Interactive sign-in avoids that environment exposure, but does not hide credentials from other agents running as the same user.

The defaults DevCapsule seeds

Before an agent's first launch in a checkout, DevCapsule seeds minimal settings so tools run without interactive permission prompts inside the container. These defaults apply to managed state; explicitly bound or adopted directories keep their existing contents.

Agent	File in the capsule	Seeded settings
Claude Code	`~/.claude/settings.json`	`{"permissions": {"defaultMode": "bypassPermissions"}, "skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt": true}`
OpenAI Codex	`~/.codex/config.toml`	`approval_policy = "never"`, `sandbox_mode = "danger-full-access"`, and `use_legacy_landlock = true`
Antigravity CLI	`~/.gemini/antigravity-cli/settings.json`	`{"toolPermission": "always-proceed"}`

Claude Code also runs with DISABLE_UPDATES=1 so the binary matches the pinned artifact in your lock rather than self-updating inside the container; update agents through DevCapsule (Component upgrades).

Changing or opting out of seeded defaults

DevCapsule treats these files as initial defaults, never forced overrides:

Claude Code and Antigravity CLI: on launch, DevCapsule merges only missing keys into a valid JSON file. Change permissions.defaultMode or toolPermission to another value and your choice stays; deleting the key restores the capsule default on the next launch. Malformed JSON files are left untouched with a warning.
OpenAI Codex: ~/.codex/config.toml is written once, only when the file does not exist yet. Edit or remove keys (including use_legacy_landlock if a newer Codex build marks it deprecated) freely. Keep any top-level keys you add above the first [table] header. Keys below a table header belong to that table.

Model entitlements and rate limits come from your vendor account; upgrading an agent binary in DevCapsule does not by itself change which models your plan can access.