Installation
Run the full Zephex CLI inside a container when you cannot install Node.js on the host, or you want an isolated environment. Mount your home directory so setup can write editor MCP configs and ~/.zephex/credentials.json on your real machine.
# No Node.js on the host — use official Node image + npxdocker pull node:22-alpine # Interactive setup (writes ~/.cursor, ~/.claude.json, ~/.zephex on your machine)docker run -it --rm \ -v "$HOME:/root" \ -w /root \ node:22-alpine \ npx -y zephex setup # Terminal tools after setup (same volume mount)docker run -it --rm \ -v "$HOME:/root" \ -w "$(pwd):/work" \ -w /work \ node:22-alpine \ npx -y zephex get-context docker run -it --rm \ -v "$HOME:/root" \ -w /root \ node:22-alpine \ npx -y zephex doctorWhy mount $HOME? Setup writes paths like ~/.cursor/mcp.json and ~/.zephex/credentials.json. Without the volume, configs stay inside the ephemeral container and disappear when it exits.
Terminal tools upload your current directory as inline_files by default. Mount the project path as the working directory:
cd /path/to/your-app docker run -it --rm \ -v "$HOME:/root" \ -v "$(pwd):/work" \ -w /work \ node:22-alpine \ npx -y zephex get-context docker run -it --rm \ -v "$HOME:/root" \ -v "$(pwd):/work" \ -w /work \ node:22-alpine \ npx -y zephex find-code "auth middleware"Public OSS without a local clone: npx zephex get-context github:owner/repo (network from container must reach GitHub and zephex.dev).
Avoid typing the long docker run line every time:
# ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc — use zephex like a local binaryalias zephex='docker run -it --rm -v "$HOME:/root" -w /root node:22-alpine npx -y zephex' zephex setup --cursorzephex logoutzephex find-code "middleware"For project-scoped commands, extend the alias with -v "$(pwd):/work" -w /work or wrap in a small shell function.
Install zephex globally in the image so startup is faster than npx every run:
FROM node:22-alpineRUN npm install -g zephexENTRYPOINT ["zephex"]docker build -t zephex-cli .docker run -it --rm -v "$HOME:/root" -w /root zephex-cli setupdocker run -it --rm -v "$HOME:/root" -w /root zephex-cli listdocker run -it --rm -v "$HOME:/root" -w /root zephex-cli logout/root/.zephex/credentials.json maps to your mounted home.npx zephex with Node for fewer mount issues, or use WSL for Docker workflows.Platform guide: Windows.
npx -y zephex on the host unless you configure HTTP-only.Other install paths: Install methods · npx zephex · Connect MCP.