Microsoft Dev Box is retiring at 17:00 UTC on September 18, 2028. Its closing-down period began September 14, 2026; existing deployments remain supported during transition. Verify current resource-creation availability. Read the source ↗

Windows compute / Microsoft Dev Box (retiring 2028) alternative

Microsoft Dev Box alternative for portable developer-agent work

Microsoft Dev Box is in its retirement transition: closing-down began September 14, 2026 and retirement is scheduled for September 18, 2028. Existing deployments remain supported during the transition. Plan a replacement around native Windows requirements, current resource availability and the state of each existing developer machine.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

Reviewed 2026-10-19 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Microsoft Dev Box (retiring 2028) fits

Existing Dev Box customers can use supported deployments temporarily while validating their transition. Microsoft recommends Windows 365, while explicitly noting that architecture, licensing, management and developer self-service differ.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for the compatible Linux agent portions of developer workflows, with whole writable RootFS persistence, automatic online growth and supported paused files. Keep Windows-native tools and managed desktop requirements on an appropriate supported target.

Capabilities

Microsoft Dev Box (retiring 2028) and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeMicrosoft Dev Box (retiring 2028)Existing deployments are in a closing-down transition, with retirement scheduled for September 18, 2028. Plan data export and replacement before offboarding.View evidence ↗Sandbox0ttl and hard_ttl default to 0 (disabled). Configure idle pause and deletion policies for the same persistent sandbox identity; an idle running sandbox still accrues compute charges.Read documentation →
Persistent filesMicrosoft Dev Box (retiring 2028)An existing dev box retains its installed developer environment; required files must be exported before retirement/offboarding.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSMicrosoft Dev Box (retiring 2028)The configured Windows machine can preserve installed system/application state, rather than only a repository mount.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Persistence extends beyond /workspace to paths such as /usr/local, /etc, and /home. Runtime tmpfs and virtual filesystems are excluded.Read documentation →
Release compute, keep stateMicrosoft Dev Box (retiring 2028)Hibernation-enabled images/definitions support resume; it cannot simply be enabled on an already existing dev box.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateMicrosoft Dev Box (retiring 2028)Eligible configured hibernation preserves open application/window state; ordinary stop and unsupported images differ.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Experimental memory checkpoints can preserve compatible process state. Use memory: true on both pause and resume on a compatible deployment. A filesystem checkpoint alone does not preserve running processes.Read documentation →

Online RootFS growth

On growth-enabled images, Sandbox0 automatically expands the writable RootFS as free space runs low, within a configured sparse logical ceiling up to 64 TiB. Agent processes keep running. Growth is enabled in the qualified Cloud region; confirm activation for other regions. Existing images and snapshots retain their captured storage geometry. The ceiling is logical capacity, not preallocated host disk.

Dev Box retains a configured Windows developer machine and supports eligible hibernation. Those capabilities do not establish automatic online low-space growth of a whole durable RootFS; verify current size/storage options during the retirement transition.

Files while compute is paused

Sandbox0's Files API reads persistent files without resuming compute. Filesystem-only pauses also permit edits; retained-memory pauses are read-only and reject mutations with 409. SSH, SFTP, file watching, and runtime-only mounts require running compute.

Hibernation preserves an eligible machine’s process state. The cited Dev Box guides do not establish native arbitrary file reads/mutations across its whole paused system filesystem without running the guest.

See paused file operations →

The retirement deadline governs the migration

Microsoft schedules retirement for 17:00 UTC on September 18, 2028. Its guide advises moving workflows, checking target features/licenses/capacity and offboarding old resources. Current product/subscription experience determines whether new resource creation is available; do not build new long-lived dependencies around an assumed open-ended Dev Box future.

Source 1 ↗

Hibernation requires the right image and definition

Dev Box can preserve open applications/windows through hibernation when enabled on its image and definition. The guide says you cannot enable it on an existing dev box, and guest-initiated Windows hibernation is unsupported. Inventory existing eligibility before assuming an idle machine can retain RAM.

Source 1 ↗

Existing contract costs need a current account quote

The retirement transition is not a new public hosted-runtime offer. Confirm the effective existing compute/storage and licensing terms plus the replacement platform’s costs. Do not reuse launch-preview credits or old public examples as a current unrestricted Dev Box tariff.

Source 1 ↗

Pricing

Compare billing models, then price your workload

CPU allocation, memory, billing minimums, disk, plan fees, and supported workload differ. These meters are not equal-performance machine quotes. Confirm region, resource units, and included allowances before estimating a total.

Microsoft Dev Box (retiring 2028)

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Existing Dev Box deployment
Verify the effective account/contract quote
No current universal numeric tariff is established by the retirement guide.
Rate source ↗
Windows 365 transition
Separate target licenses and capacity
Microsoft’s recommended path has different architecture and commercial requirements.
Rate source ↗
Other replacement stages
Price the actual Windows/Linux deployment
Retirement planning is not a promise that every developer workload runs on Linux.
Rate source ↗

Use the existing deployment’s invoice and terms, then validate replacement licensing, storage, management and networking. Confirm current commercial availability during the retirement transition rather than relying on historical launch rates.

Check current Microsoft Dev Box (retiring 2028) pricing ↗

Sandbox0

$0.015/GiB-hour compute (billed by the second at approximately $0.000004167/GiB-second), plus $0.02/GiB-month of retained incremental RootFS and memory checkpoint data. Shared base images and platform recovery retention are excluded; paused sandboxes accrue storage charges only.

Compute / GiB-hour
$0.015
Retained data / GiB-month
$0.02
Paused compute
$0.00

A 4 GiB agent, 100 running hours

$6.00 compute

4 GiB × 100 hours, billed by the second. Keeping 20 GiB of billable incremental data for a full billing month adds $0.40. CPU is derived from memory by the platform; choose a tier that fits your workload.

Understand storage billing →

Before migrating from Microsoft Dev Box (retiring 2028)

  1. Inventory current dev boxes, images/definitions, files, hibernation eligibility, Windows dependencies, invoices and the 2028 retirement deadline.
  2. Export needed state and validate an appropriate Windows target for native tools, moving only compatible Linux agent stages to Sandbox0.
  3. Test workflow/identity/network differences, persistent tools, growth, paused files and full existing-plus-replacement costs before offboarding.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Microsoft Dev Box (retiring 2028) replacement?

Evaluate API compatibility and product scope. These products serve different core workflows, so a change may require a different architecture.

Does keeping files also keep a running agent?

Filesystem state and volatile process state are separate. Sandbox0 requires explicit compatible memory checkpoints to preserve running processes; its default filesystem resume starts fresh processes.

Sources and review scope

The Boat team's Battleships directory is the discovery source. References below describe the product and plan discussed on this page. Check current availability, regional terms and billing units before migrating. Where the cited material does not establish a capability or price, the comparison identifies that uncertainty.

Battleships research record ↗learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/dev-box-retirement-guide ↗learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-dev-box-hibernation ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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