exe.dev Platform Knowledge

exe.dev is a subscription VM service. SSH is the CLI — there is no binary to install. VMs get persistent disks, instant HTTPS, and built-in auth. Also has an HTTPS API for programmatic access.

Documentation

Upstream docs for the latest information:

• Docs index: https://exe.dev/docs.md
• All docs in one page: https://exe.dev/docs/all.md

Detailed reference files in references/:

• api-tokens.md — HTTPS API endpoint, exe0/exe1 token generation, VM-scoped tokens
• shelley-details.md — Full Shelley capabilities, BYOK, subagents, skills, browser profiling
• idea-templates.md — Template gallery, available templates, custom images

The reference below covers the full platform. If something seems outdated, fetch the upstream docs.

Core Concepts

• VMs run on bare metal via Cloud Hypervisor with container images (default: exeuntu)
• Default user is exedev (not root) — home directory is /home/exedev/
• Always use ~ or $HOME in paths, never hardcode /root/ or /home/exedev/
• VM creation takes ~2 seconds
• Persistent disks survive restarts
• VMs share CPU/RAM within subscription tier
• No dedicated public IP — exe.dev terminates TLS and proxies traffic

Two SSH Destinations

This is the most important concept. There are two distinct SSH targets:

1. ssh exe.dev <command> — the lobby. A management interface for VM lifecycle, sharing, and configuration. Does not support scp, sftp, or arbitrary shell commands.
2. ssh <vmname>.exe.xyz — a direct VM connection. Full SSH: shell, scp, sftp, port forwarding, everything.

Never mix these up. scp and sftp only work against <vmname>.exe.xyz, not exe.dev.

SSH CLI Reference (Lobby)

All commands use the pattern ssh exe.dev <command> [args]. Append --json to ls and new for machine-readable output.

VM Lifecycle

ssh exe.dev new                              # create VM (default image)
ssh exe.dev new --image=<image>              # create VM with custom image
ssh exe.dev ls                               # list VMs
ssh exe.dev ls --json                        # list VMs (JSON)
ssh exe.dev rm <vmname>                      # delete VM
ssh exe.dev restart <vmname>                 # restart VM
ssh exe.dev rename <old> <new>               # rename VM
ssh exe.dev cp <source> <dest>               # clone VM (copy-on-write, near-instant)
ssh exe.dev tag <vmname> <tag>               # tag a VM

Other Lobby Commands

ssh exe.dev whoami                           # show account info
ssh exe.dev ssh-key                          # manage SSH keys (add/list)
ssh exe.dev shelley install <vmname>         # upgrade Shelley agent
ssh exe.dev browser <vmname>                 # open VM in browser
ssh exe.dev help                             # show help
ssh exe.dev doc                              # show docs

Connecting to VMs (Direct)

Target <vmname>.exe.xyz for shell access and file transfer. You connect as the exedev user (home: /home/exedev/).

ssh <vmname>.exe.xyz                         # SSH into VM (as exedev)
scp <localfile> <vmname>.exe.xyz:~/          # copy file to VM home
scp <vmname>.exe.xyz:~/file <local>          # copy file from VM

Non-Interactive & Agent Environments

Coding agents and sandboxed environments hit common SSH pitfalls:

• Hung connections: Non-interactive SSH blocks on host key prompts with no visible output. Use -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new on first connection to a new VM.
• scp/sftp failures: Ensure you target <vmname>.exe.xyz, not exe.dev. The lobby does not support file transfer.
• SSH config: Both destinations must be configured to use the right key (see SSH Configuration below).
• JSON output: Use --json with ls and new for machine-parseable output instead of scraping text.

HTTP Proxy

Every VM gets https://<vmname>.exe.xyz/ with automatic TLS.

• Default port: auto-detected from Dockerfile EXPOSE (prefers 80, falls back to smallest port >= 1024)
• Change target port: ssh exe.dev share port <vmname> <port>
• Ports 3000-9999 forwarded transparently at https://<vmname>.exe.xyz:<port>/
• Only the primary port can be made public; alternate ports require VM access

Proxy Headers

Proxied requests include:

• X-Forwarded-Proto, X-Forwarded-Host, X-Forwarded-For (standard)
• X-ExeDev-UserID — stable unique user ID (authenticated requests only)
• X-ExeDev-Email — user email (authenticated requests only)

Auth URLs

• Login: https://<vmname>.exe.xyz/__exe.dev/login?redirect={path}
• Logout: POST https://<vmname>.exe.xyz/__exe.dev/logout

Sharing & Access Control

Default: private (login required). Manage with ssh exe.dev share subcommands:

ssh exe.dev share set-public <vmname>        # anyone can access
ssh exe.dev share set-private <vmname>       # require login (default)
ssh exe.dev share add <vmname> <email>       # invite by email
ssh exe.dev share add-link <vmname>          # generate share link
ssh exe.dev share remove-link <vmname>       # revoke share link
ssh exe.dev share remove <vmname> <email>    # revoke user access
ssh exe.dev share show <vmname>              # view current sharing status
ssh exe.dev share port <vmname> <port>       # change proxy port

Custom Domains

Subdomains: CNAME app.example.com → vmname.exe.xyz

Apex domains: ALIAS example.com → exe.xyz + CNAME www.example.com → vmname.exe.xyz

TLS certificates provisioned automatically.

LLM Gateway

Built-in proxy to LLM providers at http://169.254.169.254/gateway/llm/<provider>. No API keys required. Subscription includes monthly token allocation; additional tokens available as pay-as-you-go credits.

Providers: anthropic, openai, fireworks

Example (Anthropic):

curl -s http://169.254.169.254/gateway/llm/anthropic/v1/messages \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{"model":"claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929","max_tokens":256,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello!"}]}'

Email

Receiving

Enable: ssh exe.dev share receive-email <vmname> on Disable: ssh exe.dev share receive-email <vmname> off

Mail delivers to ~/Maildir/new/ in Maildir format. Use the Delivered-To: header (not To: or CC:) for the recipient address. Max 1MB per message, no spam filtering. Auto-disables if 1,000+ unprocessed files accumulate.

Sending

Send to your registered email via the internal gateway:

curl -X POST http://169.254.169.254/gateway/email/send \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "you@example.com", "subject": "...", "body": "..."}'

All three fields (to, subject, body) are required. to must match your registered email. Returns {"success": true} or {"error": "message"}.

Shelley

Web-based, multi-modal coding agent on all default exeuntu VMs. Open source (github.com/boldsoftware/shelley). Runs on port 9999 at https://<vmname>.shelley.exe.xyz/.

Key capabilities: natural language task execution, browser tool with profiling, subagents with context continuation, skills system, conversation distillation (LLM-powered context optimization), diff viewer, HTML iframe output (Vega-Lite, etc.), shell commands in chat (!bash, !git show HEAD), multi-language support, self-upgrade from UI, BYOK (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, z.ai) or LLM Gateway by default.

Guidance files (priority order): ~/.config/shelley/AGENTS.md → AGENTS.md → CLAUDE.md → DEAR_LLM.md

Upgrade: ssh exe.dev shelley install <vmname> or from Shelley's UI.

See references/shelley-details.md for full feature documentation.

HTTPS API

Programmatic VM management via POST https://exe.dev/exec with bearer token auth. The args array mirrors the SSH CLI:

curl -X POST https://exe.dev/exec \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer exe0...." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"args": ["ls", "--json"]}'

Tokens (exe0 format) are generated locally by signing permissions JSON with your SSH key — no web UI needed. Supports expiration, command restrictions, and custom context. VM-scoped tokens work with Bearer and Basic auth (git-compatible).

See references/api-tokens.md for token generation, permissions, and VM-scoped tokens.

Idea Templates

Pre-configured VM templates at exe.dev/idea (also exe.new/<template>). Templates include a container image and a Shelley prompt that auto-configures the app with auth.

Available: Gitea, VS Code, Ghost, Minecraft, Grafana, Outline, OpenClaw, Marimo, and more. Check exe.dev/idea for the current list.

See references/idea-templates.md for details.

VSCode Integration

Connect VS Code directly to a VM:

vscode://vscode-remote/ssh-remote+<vmname>.exe.xyz/home/exedev

Also available from the exe.dev dashboard.

Tab Completion

VM name tab completion available for zsh, bash, and fish. Check upstream docs for setup instructions.

SSH Configuration

Host key fingerprint: SHA256:JJOP/lwiBGOMilfONPWZCXUrfK154cnJFXcqlsi6lPo

Recommended ~/.ssh/config:

Host exe.dev *.exe.xyz
  IdentitiesOnly yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Cross-VM Networking

VMs are isolated from each other, even within one account. Use Tailscale, SSH forwarding, or the HTTP proxy for inter-VM communication.

Docker

Fully supported on exeuntu images. docker run --rm alpine:latest echo hello works out of the box.

GitHub on VMs

Use HTTPS URLs (not SSH) with fine-grained personal access tokens:

gh auth login --with-token < token
gh auth setup-git
git clone https://github.com/USER/REPO