vakna run: create a box and run a command in it

Verified against vakna 0.0.0-mock on 2026-10-20 · generated from the CLI's own definitions

vakna run: create a box and run a command in it; the box's name goes to stderr.

Synopsis

vakna run [box] -- <command>

Flags

Flag	Default	What it does
`--rm`	`off`	delete the box when the command exits
`--format <format>`	`text`	text, or json: one JSON object per line
`--json`	`off`	the same as --format json
`-h, --help`	`off`	this help

Examples

Example

vakna run api-2 -- make test

prints created api-2 · started in 0.41s · cold boot ran make test · exit 0 0.40s

Exit code 0.

Another example

vakna run --rm -- pytest

prints created box-1 · started in 0.41s · cold boot 208 passed, 4 failed ran pytest · exit 1 52.11s deleted box-1

Exit code 1.

When it fails

vakna run api-2

prints vakna: the mock can't open an interactive shell; give a command after -- hint: vakna run --help

Exit code 2.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	ok
2	usage: a missing argument, an unknown flag or command
255	vakna failed under shell, run, try or fork

JSON output

With --format json (or --json) every line is one JSON object. v is the format's version; mocked marks numbers from the mock.

vakna run api-2 --json -- make test

prints {"v":1,"event":"created","box":"api-2","id":"sbx_eu1a_01JB83A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8J9K0","ms":405,"from":"cold","mocked":true} {"v":1,"event":"ran","box":"api-2","id":"sbx_eu1a_01JB83A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8J9K0","command":"make test","exit":0,"ms":400,"mocked":true}

Errors

vakna: unknown command, unknown flag or missing argument: Run vakna <command> --help and fix the command line it points to.
vakna: a box named <box> already exists: Pick another name, or delete the old box with vakna delete <box> first.
vakna: lockdown blocked <host>: Run vakna net allow <host> with the host the error names, then run your command again.

--help

This page and the help text come from one definition.

vakna run · create a box and run a command in it; the box's name goes to stderr usage vakna run [box] -- <command> flags --rm delete the box when the command exits (default: off) --format <format> text, or json: one JSON object per line (default: text) --json the same as --format json (default: off) -h, --help this help (default: off) examples vakna run api-2 -- make test vakna run --rm -- pytest exit codes 0 ok 2 usage: a missing argument, an unknown flag or command 255 vakna failed under shell, run, try or fork