One command to an always-on agent box
dev-boxer takes a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 machine, whether that’s a $5 VPS, a home server or a Raspberry Pi, and builds the whole environment: Claude Code, the Matron bridge, and a proper set of dev tools. It comes out hardened and reachable from anywhere, and it stays yours.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/matronhq/dev-boxer/main/install.sh | sudo bash
That’s the whole install: run it on a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 box and answer the wizard. Prefer to read first? dev-boxer on GitHub · get the Matron app
What you get
Claude Code, always on
Your agent lives on a persistent box, so long-running work keeps going with your laptop shut. Codex works too.
Wired into Matron
The box runs matron-bridge, and can bundle its own matron-journal or join one you already run. It appears in the apps as soon as setup finishes.
Hardened by default
SSH key-only auth on a custom port, UFW firewall, fail2ban, unattended upgrades. It’s locked down from the first boot.
Reachable, not exposed
Bring a domain and Cloudflare Tunnel gives you HTTPS with no open ports and optional zero-trust SSO. Or skip the domain entirely and use a plain IP with self-signed TLS.
A real desktop, optional
XFCE over RDP, riding an SSH tunnel, for the moments a GUI beats a terminal. Browsers and VS Code are already on it.
Dev tools included
Docker, Node.js 22, Git, Python, the GitHub CLI, Chrome and Firefox. The box is a full dev machine in its own right.
One command, eleven modules
A short wizard asks for the essentials (username, SSH key, domain or no domain, where the journal lives), then eleven idempotent modules do the rest. Each one can be re-run on its own, so you can pick up from a failure or skip what you don’t need.
What you need
- A fresh Ubuntu 24.04 box with sudo access: a ~$5 VPS, a spare machine at home, or a VM (Multipass, OrbStack, Hyper-V).
- An SSH key pair.
- A Claude subscription for Claude Code to sign in with; it runs on the allowance your plan already includes.
- Domain route: a Cloudflare account with your domain on it and a zone DNS API token, plus optionally a one-time setup token so dev-boxer can create the tunnel and Access app for you.
- No domain: nothing extra; IP mode works with self-signed TLS.
- Optional: a GitHub fine-grained access token, so the box can clone your private repos from the first boot.
Run the installer
Paste the install command from the top of this page into a shell on the fresh box. It downloads dev-boxer and starts the wizard.
Answer the wizard
It prompts for everything it needs and writes the config; setup then runs end to end, security first, apps last.
Sign in from Matron
When it finishes, the box is publishing to your journal. Open Matron on your phone or desktop and the new machine is there, online.
No VPS? Use what’s in the drawer
Cloudflare Tunnel can expose a home box without port forwarding or a static IP, so a NUC, a retired laptop, or a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with 8 GB runs dev-boxer just as well as a rented server. Install Ubuntu Server 24.04, run the same command, and keep it plugged in.
The box is one half — Matron is the other
dev-boxer builds the machine; the Matron apps are where you use it. Every agent session on the box becomes a chat on your Mac, iPhone and Android, synced live wherever you are.