Qubicl 0.2.0 is out.View all releases

Current releaseQubicl
0.2.0

Persistent computer identity, shared client state, explicit trust boundaries, stronger local security, and controlled remote access.

Apache 2.0CurrentLinuxmacOSWindows · WSL 2

Overview

Give an AI its own computer without giving it yours.

Qubicl 0.2 makes the computer the durable unit of work. Its home, Chromium profile, network policy, tools, credentials, and runtime configuration remain attached while agents disconnect, models change, clients reconnect, the computer restarts, or a supported upgrade is performed.

What shipped

Release highlights

01 / PERSISTENCE

Durable browser identity

Cookies, site data, local storage, preferences, sessions, and browser history stay attached to the computer alongside its files and workspaces.

02 / CLIENTS

Shared computer state

Compatible clients can connect to the same computer and continue its existing home, browser profile, policy, tools, credentials, and runtime configuration.

03 / BOUNDARY

Separate computers by trust

Agents on one computer share its persistent identity. Separate computers isolate agents, clients, projects, or users that should not trust one another.

04 / VIEWER

Authenticated internal viewing

Internal noVNC traffic is authenticated, raw VNC is not exposed, viewer credentials stay out of workloads and durable homes, and incompatible contracts fail closed.

05 / REMOTE ACCESS

Optional TLS listener

Remote access remains off by default and can be enabled with TLS, per-computer authentication, interface selection, allowlists, trusted origins, status, and revocation.

06 / STORAGE

Safer restore and cleanup

Filesystem operations resist path replacement and symlink escapes. Restores validate archive contents, links, checksums, entry types, and extraction limits.

07 / UPGRADE

Preview before changing

qubicl upgrade --all previews affected images, download and storage estimates, execution order, preserved settings, and runtime state before operator confirmation.

08 / COMPATIBILITY

More capable, still bounded

Open Terminal adds bounded process and file workflows, clients cover supported MCP and OpenAPI paths, and images remain lazy and layer-efficient.

Durable state

Reset tabs. Wipe profiles only on purpose.

The computer keeps both its durable home and Chromium profile through disconnects, restarts, model changes, client changes, and supported upgrades.

Reset tabs

The existing browser_reset API is presented as Reset tabs. It closes open tabs without erasing cookies, site data, local storage, history, preferences, sessions, or the rest of the durable browser profile.

Confirmed profile wipe

The host-only wipe command lists domains with stored cookies or site data, explains exactly what will be removed, preserves Downloads and files outside the profile, and requires explicit operator confirmation.

Wipe the Chromium profile

This destructive host-only command removes the browser profile only after showing the affected stored domains and receiving confirmation.

$ qubicl browser profile wipe COMPUTER

Shared state and trust

The computer is the boundary.

Codex, Claude, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Open WebUI, Cursor, VS Code, and other supported clients can continue the same computer. That continuity is intentional, and it is also the trust boundary.

Same computer, shared identity

Connected agents share the computer's home, browser profile, network policy, tools, credentials, and runtime configuration. Changing clients does not create a fresh computer or isolated session.

Separate computer, separate trust

Create different Qubicl computers whenever agents, clients, projects, or users should not trust one another. Disconnecting an agent is not a state reset or security boundary.

Security improvements

Fail closed at the viewer, filesystem, and lifecycle boundaries.

01 / VIEWER

Authenticated noVNC

Internal viewer traffic between the shared gateway and computer is authenticated. Missing or incompatible authentication contracts fail closed.

02 / FILESYSTEM

Path-safe operations

Durable file operations are hardened against pathname replacement, symlink escapes, and access across the intended computer boundary.

03 / RESTORE

Validated archives

Restore validates paths, links, entry types, checksums, archive contents, and extraction limits before writing a durable home.

04 / LIFECYCLE

Rechecked targets

Lifecycle operations preserve identity and state, while cleanup rechecks exact targets immediately before removal.

Off by default

Optional TLS remote access

Qubicl continues to bind only to loopback by default. Operators can explicitly configure a separate TLS-protected remote gateway listener with per-computer authentication, interface selection, client-network allowlists, trusted browser origins, status reporting, and revocation. Qubicl does not configure DNS, routers, host firewalls, or VPNs.

Upgrade behavior

See the full plan before v0.2 changes a computer.

Supported upgrades preserve computer identity, durable home and browser profile state, network policy, exposed tools, credentials, and runtime settings.

Preview and confirm every affected computer

qubicl upgrade --all shows affected images, download and storage estimates, execution order, preserved settings, and current runtime state before asking for confirmation.

$ qubicl upgrade --all

Clients, tools, platforms, and images

Broader compatibility without pretending every interface is the same.

Compatible client paths

Supported paths cover Codex, Claude, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Open WebUI, Cursor, VS Code, MCP, and OpenAPI integrations.

Open Terminal

Bounded execution, process listing and attachment, input, paginated output, cleanup, native file operations, and multi-file ZIP downloads. It is not presented as a full interactive terminal or notebook environment.

Efficient images

Images are acquired lazily, share layers across presets, and remove unnecessary workstation packages while retaining supported Writer, Calc, and Impress workflows.

Supported platforms

Linux with current Docker Engine, Apple Silicon macOS with Docker Desktop, and Windows x64 through WSL 2 with Docker Desktop.

Directly tested

Linux x64, Apple Silicon macOS with Docker Desktop, and Windows x64 through Ubuntu 24.04 on WSL 2 with Docker Desktop.

Best effort

Linux ARM64, Intel macOS, Windows on ARM, and other WSL 2 distributions.

Unsupported

Native Windows execution. Use Ubuntu 24.04 on WSL 2 with Docker Desktop integration on supported Windows x64 hosts.

Known limitations

Important boundaries remain.

  • Remote access is opt-in infrastructure. Qubicl can secure its listener, but it does not configure DNS, routers, host firewalls, or VPNs.
  • Open Terminal is bounded by design. It does not claim to be a full interactive terminal, PTY replacement, or notebook environment.
  • Disconnecting does not clear trust or state. Clients using one computer share its persistent identity until the operator resets or removes it.
  • Native Windows remains unsupported. Supported Windows use runs inside Ubuntu 24.04 on WSL 2 with Docker Desktop integration.
  • Qubicl is not a VM-grade hostile workload boundary. It is intended for trusted or operator-supervised local workloads.
  • Pre-1.0 interfaces may still evolve. Review release notes and back up important computer homes before upgrades.

Install or upgrade

Run Qubicl 0.2.

Install, set up, create, connect.

Requires Node.js 22.14+ or 24.x, Docker Engine 24+ or Docker Desktop 4.29+, and Docker Compose 2.24+. On Windows, use Ubuntu 24.04 on WSL 2 with Docker Desktop integration.

$ npm install -g qubicl-cli
$ qubicl setup
$ qubicl create computer-name --preset computer
$ qubicl connect computer-name --client open-webui