outrig container

outrig container groups commands that manage container-configs (the named Dockerfile + MCP-server bundles that host the agent’s tools). In v0 only outrig container add is implemented; the rest of the group (container ls, container rm) is reserved for later.

outrig container add

outrig container add scaffolds a new container-config. It writes a Dockerfile under .agents/outrig/containers/<name>/Dockerfile and appends matching [containers.<name>] and [containers.<name>.mcp] blocks to your repo’s config.toml.

Run it any time you want to add a container-config – e.g., a planning config alongside the <repo>-standard one outrig init creates by default. init calls container add in a loop for the first (and any further) containers you create during initial setup.

Bootstrapping a fresh repo

If you run outrig container add in a directory without an .agents/outrig/config.toml (neither here nor in any parent), outrig prompts before scaffolding:

[outrig] no .agents/outrig/config.toml found in /path/to/repo or any parent.
? Configure outrig in this directory now? [Y/n]:

Answering y walks the same repo-config prompts that outrig init uses (workspace, default agent, preamble), then continues with the container add flow. Answering n exits with the same error a strict find would have produced – run outrig init later when you’re ready.

Synopsis

outrig container add [<name>] [--force]

Run it

Every prompt shows the default in [default: ...]; press Enter to accept it. Type ? and Enter at any prompt for an explanation of what’s being asked plus the available options. The default container-config name is <repo-folder>-standard (kebab-cased), so the example below assumes a hello-outrig repo.

$ cd hello-outrig
$ outrig container add
? Container-config name [default: hello-outrig-standard]:
? Base image [default: debian:bookworm-slim]:
? Language toolchains [default: ]: rust, node
? MCP servers [default: fs]:

[outrig] wrote .agents/outrig/containers/hello-outrig-standard/Dockerfile
[outrig] added [containers.hello-outrig-standard] block to .agents/outrig/config.toml
[outrig] added [containers.hello-outrig-standard.mcp] entries: fs

Next: try `outrig build` to verify the image builds, then `outrig run`.

The prompts are intentionally limited – the goal is a known-good starting point you can edit by hand, not an exhaustive Dockerfile generator.

Help at any prompt

? Language toolchains [default: ]: ?

  Pick zero or more language toolchains to install in the image. The Dockerfile
  template adds the corresponding install steps; you can edit the file afterwards.

  rust    rustup + stable toolchain (cargo, rustfmt, clippy).
  node    Node 20 LTS via NodeSource.
  python  CPython 3.12 with pip and venv.
  go      Go 1.22.
  none    Just the base image -- nothing extra installed.

  See: https://tgockel.github.io/outrig/usage/container.html#known-toolchains

? Language toolchains [default: ]:

Known toolchains

The toolchain prompt offers curated options that cover the common cases:

You can pick more than one. The Dockerfile is a starting point – edit it freely afterwards.

Known MCP servers

• fs – installs @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem from npm; default [mcp] entry: { command = ["mcp-server-filesystem", "/workspace"] }.
• git – installs mcp-server-git from PyPI; default [mcp] entry: { command = ["mcp-server-git", "--repository", "/workspace"] }.

fs is the default. Add git for repo-aware tools, or wire up additional servers by editing the [containers.<name>.mcp] block directly – see Concepts -> MCP Servers. A shell MCP server is the usual next tool for coding containers; choose a package, install it in the Dockerfile, and declare its command in [containers.<name>.mcp].

TODO: Incomplete – the list of “known MCP servers” will grow as the ecosystem does. Anything not listed here you install in the Dockerfile by hand.

When templates do not fit

The prompt flow is intentionally small. If you need a container with a database, internal SDK, unlisted MCP server, or other custom package set, use outrig mcp self. It gives an MCP-capable AI tool the OutRig docs, config schema, suggested tools, and advisory validators so it can propose a Dockerfile and matching [containers.<name>] block without being limited to the built-in template menu.

What gets written

.agents/outrig/containers/hello-outrig-standard/Dockerfile (excerpt):

FROM docker.io/library/debian:bookworm-slim

RUN apt-get update \
 && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
      ca-certificates curl git build-essential passwd \
 && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# rust toolchain
RUN curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs \
       | sh -s -- -y --default-toolchain stable --profile default
ENV PATH=/root/.cargo/bin:$PATH

# node toolchain
RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash - \
 && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends nodejs \
 && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# MCP servers
RUN npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem

WORKDIR /workspace
CMD ["sleep", "infinity"]

The Dockerfile is generic – no USER directive, no hard-coded UID. outrig sets up a user matching your host UID/GID at run time (see Concepts -> Workspace). The passwd package keeps useradd/groupadd available for that bootstrap step.

Appended to .agents/outrig/config.toml:

[containers.hello-outrig-standard]
dockerfile = ".agents/outrig/containers/hello-outrig-standard/Dockerfile"
context    = ".agents/outrig/containers/hello-outrig-standard"

  [containers.hello-outrig-standard.mcp]
  fs = { command = ["mcp-server-filesystem", "/workspace"] }

Re-running

Without --force, outrig refuses if either the Dockerfile path or the config block already exists for that name:

$ outrig container add hello-outrig-standard
error: .agents/outrig/containers/hello-outrig-standard/Dockerfile
       already exists; pass --force to overwrite.

With --force, the Dockerfile is replaced and the [containers.<name>] block is rewritten in place (preserving surrounding TOML).

See also

• outrig init – runs container add in a loop as the last step of initial setup.
• Concepts -> Containers – Dockerfile conventions and named container-configs.
• Concepts -> MCP Servers – the MCP servers container add scaffolds.
• AI-assisted design – design a custom container-config with outrig mcp self.
• Reference -> Config – the [containers.<name>] schema.