diff --git a/docker/agent-sandbox/Dockerfile b/docker/agent-sandbox/Dockerfile
index 7f2a5c86..642abe4c 100644
--- a/docker/agent-sandbox/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/agent-sandbox/Dockerfile
@@ -72,6 +72,15 @@ RUN curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash \
 # root-owned and unwritable to that uid.
 RUN mkdir -p /home/agent && chmod 777 /home/agent
 
+# Point user-level installs (`npm i -g`, `pip install --user`) into the
+# persistent home volume so tools installed via `agent docker shell` survive
+# across runs; npm's default global prefix (/usr/local) lives in the
+# container's --rm'd layer and isn't writable by a non-root uid anyway.
+# Appended (not prepended) to PATH so a stale install in the shared home can
+# never shadow the image's own binaries (e.g. the native `claude`/`codex`).
+ENV NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX=/home/agent/.npm-global
+ENV PATH=$PATH:/home/agent/.npm-global/bin:/home/agent/.local/bin
+
 # `iptables` above is used by the short-lived network-namespace-holder
 # container (see start_netns_holder in docker_sandbox.rs), which uses this
 # same image — the actual agent container never runs iptables itself and
diff --git a/src/cmd/agent.rs b/src/cmd/agent.rs
index a894d05e..43aa7149 100644
--- a/src/cmd/agent.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/agent.rs
@@ -71,11 +71,24 @@ pub enum AgentDockerSubcommand {
     Build(AgentDockerBuildCommand),
     /// Check whether the Docker sandbox backend can run on this machine
     Doctor(AgentDockerDoctorCommand),
+    /// Open an interactive shell in the sandbox image with the persistent agent home mounted (e.g. to log in or install tools under $HOME)
+    Shell(AgentDockerShellCommand),
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Args)]
 pub struct AgentDockerDoctorCommand {}
 
+#[derive(Debug, Args)]
+pub struct AgentDockerShellCommand {
+    /// Image to start the shell in instead of the built-in default sandbox image
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub image: Option<String>,
+
+    /// Run the shell as root instead of the user agent runs use (only differs on Linux; files created in $HOME may become unwritable for agent runs)
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub root: bool,
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Args)]
 pub struct AgentDockerCleanupCommand {
     /// Remove every leftover resource without prompting for confirmation
diff --git a/src/handlers/agent/docker.rs b/src/handlers/agent/docker.rs
index 23f92ecf..738b9623 100644
--- a/src/handlers/agent/docker.rs
+++ b/src/handlers/agent/docker.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ use anyhow::Result;
 
 use crate::cmd::agent::{
     AgentDockerBuildCommand, AgentDockerCleanupCommand, AgentDockerDoctorCommand,
-    AgentDockerStatusCommand,
+    AgentDockerShellCommand, AgentDockerStatusCommand,
 };
 use crate::handlers::run::docker_sandbox::ExistingRunNetwork;
 use crate::utils::output::{get_formatted_json_string, ColorizeIfColoredOutput};
@@ -449,6 +449,55 @@ pub async fn handle_docker_doctor_command(
     Ok(!all_ok)
 }
 
+pub async fn handle_docker_shell_command(command: AgentDockerShellCommand) -> Result<()> {
+    use std::io::IsTerminal;
+
+    use crate::handlers::run::docker_sandbox::{
+        docker_enforcement_error, docker_shell_command_args, sandbox_image_exists, AgentImageSource,
+    };
+
+    if let Some(error) = docker_enforcement_error() {
+        anyhow::bail!("Docker sandbox backend unavailable: {error}");
+    }
+
+    let source = match command.image {
+        Some(image) => AgentImageSource::Image(image),
+        None => AgentImageSource::Default,
+    };
+    if !sandbox_image_exists(&source) {
+        match source {
+            AgentImageSource::Default => {
+                anyhow::bail!(
+                    "Default sandbox image is not built yet. Run `agent docker build` first."
+                )
+            }
+            _ => anyhow::bail!("Image '{}' was not found locally.", source.image_tag()),
+        }
+    }
+
+    eprintln!(
+        "{}",
+        "Only $HOME (/home/agent) persists after exit — system packages (apt) belong in a custom sandbox Dockerfile."
+            .yellow_if_tty()
+    );
+
+    let args = docker_shell_command_args(
+        &source.image_tag(),
+        command.root,
+        std::io::stdin().is_terminal(),
+    );
+    let status = std::process::Command::new("docker")
+        .args(&args)
+        .status()
+        .map_err(|error| anyhow::anyhow!("failed to start `docker`: {error}"))?;
+    // Mirror the shell's own exit code (e.g. `exit 3`, or 130 after Ctrl-C)
+    // rather than turning it into an error message.
+    if !status.success() {
+        std::process::exit(status.code().unwrap_or(1));
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
diff --git a/src/handlers/entry/root.rs b/src/handlers/entry/root.rs
index d2107452..5040cb69 100644
--- a/src/handlers/entry/root.rs
+++ b/src/handlers/entry/root.rs
@@ -633,6 +633,10 @@ pub async fn handle_cli(args: Cli) {
                             Err(error) => Err(error),
                         }
                     }
+                    crate::cmd::agent::AgentDockerSubcommand::Shell(command) => {
+                        crate::handlers::agent::docker::handle_docker_shell_command(command)
+                            .await
+                    }
                 },
                 AgentSubcommand::Logs(mut agent_logs) => match agent_logs.subcommand.take() {
                     Some(AgentLogsSubcommand::List(list)) => {
diff --git a/src/handlers/run/docker_sandbox.rs b/src/handlers/run/docker_sandbox.rs
index 31ae56d5..96bd7bc3 100644
--- a/src/handlers/run/docker_sandbox.rs
+++ b/src/handlers/run/docker_sandbox.rs
@@ -665,6 +665,40 @@ pub(crate) fn read_persistent_home_file(image: &str, relative_path: &str) -> Opt
     String::from_utf8(output.stdout).ok()
 }
 
+/// Builds the `docker run` args for `agent docker shell`: an interactive
+/// admin shell in `image` with the persistent home volume mounted exactly
+/// as agent runs mount it. Deliberately none of a run's sandboxing (no
+/// per-run network/firewall, no working-directory mount) — it's for
+/// maintaining the shared home (logins, config, tools installed under
+/// $HOME), not for doing work. Runs as the same user agent runs do unless
+/// `as_root`, so files it creates in the volume stay writable for them.
+pub(crate) fn docker_shell_command_args(
+    image: &str,
+    as_root: bool,
+    stdin_is_terminal: bool,
+) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut args = vec!["run".to_owned(), "--rm".to_owned(), "-i".to_owned()];
+    if stdin_is_terminal {
+        args.push("-t".to_owned());
+    }
+    args.push("--init".to_owned());
+    if !as_root {
+        args.extend(docker_run_user_flag_args());
+    }
+    args.extend([
+        "-v".to_owned(),
+        format!("{PERSISTENT_HOME_VOLUME}:{CONTAINER_HOME}"),
+        "-e".to_owned(),
+        format!("HOME={CONTAINER_HOME}"),
+        "-w".to_owned(),
+        CONTAINER_HOME.to_owned(),
+        "--entrypoint".to_owned(),
+        "bash".to_owned(),
+        image.to_owned(),
+    ]);
+    args
+}
+
 /// Builds the image for `source` (`Default` or `Dockerfile` only — `Image`
 /// has nothing to build and is rejected). Writes the Dockerfile to a
 /// temporary build context directory (Docker needs a real directory to
@@ -2002,6 +2036,33 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(args.contains(&format!("HOME={CONTAINER_HOME}")));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn docker_shell_command_mounts_home_volume_and_runs_bash_in_image() {
+        let args = docker_shell_command_args("my/image:tag", false, true);
+        let joined = args.join(" ");
+        assert!(joined.starts_with("run --rm -i -t "));
+        assert!(joined.contains(&format!("-v {PERSISTENT_HOME_VOLUME}:{CONTAINER_HOME}")));
+        assert!(joined.contains(&format!("-e HOME={CONTAINER_HOME}")));
+        assert!(joined.contains(&format!("-w {CONTAINER_HOME}")));
+        assert!(joined.ends_with("--entrypoint bash my/image:tag"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn docker_shell_command_omits_pty_flag_when_stdin_is_not_a_terminal() {
+        let args = docker_shell_command_args("img", false, false);
+        assert!(!args.contains(&"-t".to_owned()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn docker_shell_command_uses_agent_run_user_unless_root() {
+        let user_args = docker_run_user_flag_args();
+        let args = docker_shell_command_args("img", false, false);
+        assert!(user_args.iter().all(|arg| args.contains(arg)));
+
+        let root_args = docker_shell_command_args("img", true, false);
+        assert!(!root_args.contains(&"--user".to_owned()));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn docker_run_command_drops_capabilities_and_denies_new_privileges() {
         let network = DockerRunNetwork {