# queer/boxxy

boxxy puts bad Linux applications in a box with only their files.

Repository: https://github.com/queer/boxxy
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/boxxy
Language: Rust
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: help-wanted
Last push: 2026-01-18T01:58:26+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 49/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 62, release rhythm 8, longevity 93
- inputs: {"age_days": 1302, "days_push": 228, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1745, forks 32 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:30.675594+00:00)

## What it is
boxxy is a Rust-based Linux CLI tool that uses namespaces to sandbox misbehaving applications and redirect their file reads/writes to specified paths without symlinks. It supports YAML-configured rules, context-dependent boxing, env var injection, and homedir scanning to suggest rules.

## Use cases
- force the AWS CLI to store config in ~/.config/aws instead of ~/.aws
- make non-XDG-compliant apps follow XDG base directory conventions
- keep project-specific configs separate per directory
- sandbox an app so only whitelisted paths are writable
- redirect where a program writes its dotfiles without symlinks
- load .env files and inject env vars when running boxed commands

## When to choose
- you're on Linux and an app insists on cluttering $HOME with dotfiles
- you need path redirection without symlinks
- you want lightweight, low-overhead per-application sandboxing
- you need context-dependent rules that change based on the working directory

## When to avoid
- you're on macOS, Windows, or BSD — boxxy is Linux-only via namespaces
- you need full sandboxing with sudo or privilege escalation inside the box
- you need a hardened security boundary rather than convenience redirection
- you need a mature 1.x tool — boxxy is still 0.x.y

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: security, file-system, configuration-management, cli
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems, privacy
- platform: cli, rust
- tags: sandboxing, linux-namespaces, xdg-compliance, path-rewriting, dotfile-management, command-line, linux

## Member repositories
- queer/boxxy (main) score 49

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:30.675594+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:29:16.489070+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/queer/boxxy (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:30.675594+00:00, sha 3652d43c3333)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.