diff --git a/container/agent-runner/src/db/messages-in.ts b/container/agent-runner/src/db/messages-in.ts
index 88906ed..3fcb226 100644
--- a/container/agent-runner/src/db/messages-in.ts
+++ b/container/agent-runner/src/db/messages-in.ts
@@ -124,6 +124,30 @@ export function getMessageIn(id: string): MessageInRow | undefined {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Find a pending CLI response (by requestId in content).
+ * Reads from inbound.db, checks processing_ack to skip already-handled responses.
+ */
+export function findCliResponse(requestId: string): MessageInRow | undefined {
+  const inbound = openInboundDb();
+  const outbound = getOutboundDb();
+
+  try {
+    const response = inbound
+      .prepare("SELECT * FROM messages_in WHERE status = 'pending' AND content LIKE ?")
+      .get(`%"requestId":"${requestId}"%`) as MessageInRow | undefined;
+
+    if (!response) return undefined;
+
+    const acked = outbound.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM processing_ack WHERE message_id = ?').get(response.id);
+    if (acked) return undefined;
+
+    return response;
+  } finally {
+    inbound.close();
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Find a pending response to a question (by questionId in content).
  * Reads from inbound.db, checks processing_ack to skip already-handled responses.
diff --git a/container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/cli.ts b/container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/cli.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..868eee3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/cli.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/**
+ * CLI MCP tool — lets the container agent invoke host CLI commands.
+ *
+ * Follows the ask_user_question blocking pattern: writes a system message
+ * to outbound.db, polls inbound.db for the response.
+ */
+import { findCliResponse, markCompleted } from '../db/messages-in.js';
+import { writeMessageOut } from '../db/messages-out.js';
+import { registerTools } from './server.js';
+import type { McpToolDefinition } from './types.js';
+
+function log(msg: string): void {
+  console.error(`[mcp-tools] ${msg}`);
+}
+
+function generateId(): string {
+  return `cli-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`;
+}
+
+function sleep(ms: number): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+}
+
+export const ncCommand: McpToolDefinition = {
+  tool: {
+    name: 'nc',
+    description:
+      'Run a NanoClaw CLI command on the host. Returns the command result as JSON. Use `nc list-groups` to see available agent groups. Run with command "help" to list all available commands.',
+    inputSchema: {
+      type: 'object' as const,
+      properties: {
+        command: { type: 'string', description: 'Command name (e.g. "list-groups")' },
+        args: {
+          type: 'object',
+          description: 'Command arguments (command-specific)',
+          additionalProperties: true,
+        },
+        timeout: { type: 'number', description: 'Timeout in seconds (default: 30)' },
+      },
+      required: ['command'],
+    },
+  },
+  async handler(args) {
+    const command = args.command as string;
+    const commandArgs = (args.args as Record<string, unknown>) ?? {};
+    const timeout = ((args.timeout as number) || 30) * 1000;
+
+    if (!command) {
+      return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text: 'Error: command is required' }], isError: true };
+    }
+
+    const requestId = generateId();
+
+    writeMessageOut({
+      id: requestId,
+      kind: 'system',
+      content: JSON.stringify({
+        action: 'cli_request',
+        requestId,
+        command,
+        args: commandArgs,
+      }),
+    });
+
+    log(`nc: ${requestId} → ${command} ${JSON.stringify(commandArgs)}`);
+
+    const deadline = Date.now() + timeout;
+    while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+      const response = findCliResponse(requestId);
+      if (response) {
+        markCompleted([response.id]);
+        const parsed = JSON.parse(response.content);
+        const frame = parsed.frame;
+
+        if (frame.ok) {
+          log(`nc response: ${requestId} → ok`);
+          return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text: JSON.stringify(frame.data, null, 2) }] };
+        } else {
+          log(`nc response: ${requestId} → error: ${frame.error.message}`);
+          return {
+            content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text: `Error (${frame.error.code}): ${frame.error.message}` }],
+            isError: true,
+          };
+        }
+      }
+      await sleep(500);
+    }
+
+    log(`nc timeout: ${requestId}`);
+    return {
+      content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text: `CLI command timed out after ${timeout / 1000}s` }],
+      isError: true,
+    };
+  },
+};
+
+registerTools([ncCommand]);
diff --git a/container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/index.ts b/container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/index.ts
index bdaef5c..672a637 100644
--- a/container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/index.ts
+++ b/container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/index.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import './scheduling.js';
 import './interactive.js';
 import './agents.js';
 import './self-mod.js';
+import './cli.js';
 import { startMcpServer } from './server.js';
 
 function log(msg: string): void {
diff --git a/src/cli/delivery-action.ts b/src/cli/delivery-action.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c693be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/delivery-action.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/**
+ * Delivery action handler for CLI requests from container agents.
+ *
+ * When an agent writes a `cli_request` system message to outbound.db,
+ * the delivery poll picks it up and calls this handler. We dispatch
+ * the command and write the response back to inbound.db.
+ */
+import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
+
+import { registerDeliveryAction } from '../delivery.js';
+import { insertMessage } from '../db/session-db.js';
+import { log } from '../log.js';
+import { dispatch } from './dispatch.js';
+import type { RequestFrame } from './frame.js';
+import type { Session } from '../types.js';
+
+registerDeliveryAction('cli_request', async (content, session, inDb) => {
+  const requestId = content.requestId as string;
+  const command = content.command as string;
+  const args = (content.args as Record<string, unknown>) ?? {};
+
+  if (!requestId || !command) {
+    log.warn('cli_request missing requestId or command', { sessionId: session.id });
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const req: RequestFrame = { id: requestId, command, args };
+  const ctx = {
+    caller: 'agent' as const,
+    sessionId: session.id,
+    agentGroupId: session.agent_group_id,
+    messagingGroupId: session.messaging_group_id ?? '',
+  };
+
+  log.info('CLI request from agent', { requestId, command, sessionId: session.id });
+
+  const response = await dispatch(req, ctx);
+
+  // Write response to inbound.db so the container can read it.
+  // trigger=0: don't wake the agent — this is an inline response to a tool call.
+  insertMessage(inDb, {
+    id: `cli-resp-${requestId}`,
+    kind: 'system',
+    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
+    platformId: null,
+    channelType: null,
+    threadId: null,
+    content: JSON.stringify({
+      type: 'cli_response',
+      requestId,
+      frame: response,
+    }),
+    processAfter: null,
+    recurrence: null,
+    trigger: 0,
+  });
+
+  log.info('CLI response written', { requestId, ok: response.ok, sessionId: session.id });
+});
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index c13ef11..3d39dd8 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ import './modules/index.js';
 // CLI command barrel — populates the `nc` registry before the CLI server
 // accepts connections.
 import './cli/commands/index.js';
+import './cli/delivery-action.js';
 import { startCliServer, stopCliServer } from './cli/socket-server.js';
 
 import type { ChannelAdapter, ChannelSetup } from './channels/adapter.js';