fix: dir-mount a dedicated Claude config dir for the CLI backend#90
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The CLI backend mounted the host's `~/.claude/.credentials.json` as a single file. The Claude CLI refreshes its short-lived OAuth token via atomic rename (new inode), but a single-file bind mount is pinned to the inode resolved at container start — so the container keeps reading the stale, expired token and fails with "authentication expired" until the stack is restarted. Switch to mounting a dedicated config *directory* (`~/clayde-claude`), which resolves the path live and picks up refreshes with no restart. The README previously claimed host refreshes were "immediately reflected" — they were not; this corrects the docs and the compose mount. Using a dedicated login (separate `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`) also isolates the container from the host's personal `~/.claude` state and gives it its own OAuth refresh-token lineage, so container refreshes can't invalidate the host login (refresh tokens are single-use). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Problem
With
CLAYDE_CLAUDE_BACKEND=cli, the container fails intermittently with "claude authentication expired". Restarting the Docker Compose stack temporarily fixes it.Root cause:
docker-compose.ymlbind-mounted the host's~/.claude/.credentials.jsonas a single file. The Claude CLI refreshes its short-lived OAuth token by writing a temp file and atomicallyrename()-ing it into place — which changes the file's inode. A single-file bind mount is pinned to the inode resolved at container start, so the container keeps reading the stale, expired token forever. A restart re-resolves the mount → works again, until the next refresh.The README also documented this as working — "Token refreshes... are immediately reflected" — which is the opposite of the actual behavior.
Fix
~/clayde-claude→/home/clayde/.claude) instead of the single credentials file. A directory mount resolves the path live, so refresh atomic-renames are picked up — no restart needed.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/clayde-claude claude login) rather than the host's personal~/.claude. This isolates the container from the host's sessions/projects/history, and gives it its own OAuth refresh-token lineage so its refreshes can't invalidate the host login (refresh tokens are single-use).Changed
docker-compose.yml— file mount → dedicated dir mount (with rationale comment)README.md— CLI backend setup steps + corrected mount explanationCLAUDE.md— CLI backend requirements lineVerified
Applied the same change to a live deployment, recreated the stack, confirmed the container reads the token via the directory mount, and the Pebble webhook works. Host login remained intact (separate lineage).
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