sandlot

A CLI for branch-based development using git worktrees and Apple Container. Each branch gets its own worktree and isolated container.

Prerequisites

• macOS on Apple Silicon
• Bun
• Apple Container (brew install container)
• Git

First-time setup

After installing Apple Container, run container system start in your terminal. It will prompt to install the Kata kernel — say yes. This is a one-time step.

Install

git clone https://github.com/your/sandlot
cd sandlot
bun install
bun link
alias sl=sandlot

Usage

Run all commands from inside a cloned git repo.

Start a session

sandlot new fix-POST

Creates a worktree, boots a container, and launches Claude Code inside it.

Other commands

sandlot list           # show all sessions
sandlot open <branch>  # re-enter a session
sandlot stop <branch>  # stop a container without destroying it
sandlot rm <branch>    # tear down session (container, worktree, local branch)

Use git directly for commits, pushes, merges, etc. The worktree is a normal git checkout.

Configuration

sandlot config              # show all options and current values
sandlot config memory       # show current memory setting
sandlot config memory 32G   # set container memory limit

Config is stored in ~/.config/sandlot/config.json.

Key	Default	Description
memory	16G	Container memory limit (e.g. 4G, 16G, 32G, 64G)
hosts	[]	Hostnames to resolve on the host and inject into the container

Local network hosts

The container can't resolve .local (mDNS) hostnames natively. To make local network hosts reachable from inside the container, add them to the hosts config:

sandlot config hosts add claude.toes.local
sandlot config hosts add myserver.local
sandlot config hosts rm myserver.local
sandlot config hosts                        # list configured hosts

Hostnames are resolved on the Mac via mDNS and written to the container's /etc/hosts every time the VM starts.