Onyx
Onyx is a MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that executes code securely inside Docker sandboxes. It supports multiple programming languages and integrates seamlessly with Claude Desktop or other MCP clients. Onyx makes it safe and easy to execute arbitrary code in a sandboxed MCP environment. Perfect for Claude Desktop power users or anyone building AI workflows with executable code.
Features
-
🔹 Multi-language support:
- Python (
python:3.11) - Java (
openjdk:17) - C (
gcc:12) - C++ (
gcc:12) - JavaScript / Node.js (
node:20) - Rust (
rust:1.72)
- Python (
-
🔹 Docker sandboxing:
- Network disabled (
--network none) - Read-only FS with tmpfs mounts for safe writes
- Limited CPU, memory, and process count
- Non-root execution (
--user 1000:1000)
- Network disabled (
-
🔹 MCP protocol: Exposes a
run_codetool for executing arbitrary code. -
🔹 Logging: All execution logs go to
stderr(safe for MCP clients). -
🔹 CI-ready: Automated tests for executors via GitHub Actions.
Project Structure
sandbox/
├── .github/
│ └── workflows/ci.yml # GitHub Actions CI
├── cmd/
│ └── server/
│ └── main.go # MCP server entrypoint
├── internal/
│ ├── model/ # Code params, executor interface, result types
│ ├── executor/ # Language-specific executors
│ └── utils/ # Docker availability checks
├── tests/
├── go.mod, go.sum
Setup Instructions
1. Prerequisites
- Go 1.20+
- Docker Desktop (Windows/macOS) or Docker Engine (Linux)
Verify both:
go version
docker --version
2. Pull Required Docker Images
To avoid delays during the first execution, pre-pull all language runtimes:
docker pull python:3.11
docker pull openjdk:17
docker pull gcc:12
docker pull node:20
docker pull rust:1.72
3. Build and Run the Server
From the root of the repo:
# Run directly
go run ./cmd/server/main.go
# Or build a binary (recommended for Claude Desktop)
go build -o sandbox_server ./cmd/server/main.go
You should now have sandbox_server (or sandbox_server.exe on Windows).
Connecting with Claude Desktop
-
Locate Claude Desktop’s config file:
code $env:AppData\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json -
Add an MCP server entry for Onyx:
{ "mcpServers": { "onyx": { "command": "<absolute path>/sandbox_server.exe", "args": [] } } } -
Restart Claude Desktop.
-
You should now see the
run_codetool available.
Usage
Extending to New Languages
Adding support for another language requires:
-
Choose a Docker image with the language’s compiler/runtime. Example:
golang:1.22for Go,php:8.2-clifor PHP. -
Implement an Executor in
internal/executor/<lang>.go:-
Define a struct (e.g.,
GoExecutor). -
Implement the
Executemethod to:- Pipe source code into the container.
- Compile/interpret it inside
/workspace. - Run the output binary/script.
-
-
Register it in
main.go:if args.Language == "go" { runtime = executor.GoExecutor{} } -
Write a test in
internal/executor/go_test.go. -
Pull the Docker image ahead of time (
docker pull golang:1.22).