FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Browse by category or use the troubleshooting quick links below.

Categories

Category	Questions	Description
Platform Comparisons	6	How COI differs from Docker, DevContainers, Distrobox, plain VMs, and Docker Sandboxes
Security and Trust	5	What COI protects against, credential handling, prompt injection, and trustworthiness
Setup and Operation	9	Platform support, configuration, Docker-in-COI, local AI models, and daily use

Troubleshooting Quick Links

Agent freezes or hangs mid-task - Almost always a full /tmp. See Agent Freezes Completely Mid-Task for diagnosis and fixes.

Container paused unexpectedly - The security monitor detected a HIGH-severity event. Check the audit log, then coi unfreeze <name>. See Container Paused by Security Monitoring.

Container killed unexpectedly - The security monitor detected a CRITICAL event (reverse shell, metadata endpoint access). See Container Killed by Security Monitoring.

coi shell fails with "security.privileged=true" - Remove privileged mode from the Incus default profile. See COI Refuses to Start.

Docker Compose fails inside the container - Update COI to get the three-step launch fix. See Docker Compose Fails Inside Session Containers.

DNS fails during coi build - systemd-resolved issue on Ubuntu. COI auto-fixes this; see DNS Issues During Build for permanent fix.

Many orphaned firewall (nftables) rules - Usually caused by Docker running on the host. Run coi clean --orphans. See Firewall Rules Accumulating.

More Questions?

Join the COI community on Slack for live discussion and support.

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See Also

• Troubleshooting - Diagnosis steps for common operational issues
• Security Monitoring - How COI detects and responds to threats
• Architecture and Security Model - How COI's defense layers work
• Getting Started - New to COI? Start here