Really cool tool!
I am building a self-hosted tool (OpenClaw-like) to solve the same problem (running agents 24/7 and access from monile), which I think is the main alterative approach to cloud tools. I'm glad that other people have recognized the problem.
We currently use worktrees btw. We have a port allocation system that sends ports to the agent automatically, which suffices for smoke testing web projects in parallel but requires some configuration. We've also found that asking agents to find a free port works as well. There's no way to get security-relevant isolation without a containerized system, but everything else can be worked around, and IMO more easily than the setup required to make a project ready for VM/container development.
Nice -- yeah I definitely think it's possible to get configuration figured out for worktrees, but does require a some setup. Glad you all are in a good place on that front.
RE: setup required to make a project ready for VM deployment, not sure how complex your app is, but we've found that coding agents do a pretty good job at finding your dependencies locally, installing them on the remote, and ensuring your app runs on the remote end. If you have a few minutes, try out our auto-setup. Most people haven't had to lift a finger to get their apps running in VMs.