Headless & remote execution.

What is headless mode?

Headless mode runs the Rabbit agent without any GUI. It uses the same agent loop, tools, and rules as the IDE but operates entirely via stdin/stdout or over SSH.

Remote via SSH

# Connect to a remote server and run a task
ssh dev-server "rabbit run 'optimize the database queries in src/db/'"

# Or use the built-in ssh_pool tool from the IDE
# The agent connects, runs commands, and streams output back

Background agents

The IDE supports spawning background agents that run in isolated git branches. Each background agent:

• Creates a working branch automatically
• Runs up to 3 concurrent agents
• Respects budget caps per agent
• Can auto-create a pull/merge request on completion

Docker / devcontainer

Rabbit IDE supports VS Code devcontainers. The agent operates inside the container, ensuring tools run in the correct environment. Shell commands execute in the container, not on the host.

API access

rabbit-cli exposes a local HTTP API (--serve flag) that accepts JSON task payloads. This lets you integrate the agent into custom automation tooling, Slack bots, or internal dashboards.