Agent sandboxes / boat.dev alternative

A boat.dev alternative when an agent outgrows its machine

Boat provides full Linux machines and incremental disk snapshots. For an agent that keeps installing tools and collecting data, compare the machine-size ceiling and stopped-disk retention alongside the hourly rate.

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Reviewed 2026-10-18 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When boat.dev fits

Boat fits teams that want its bundled Linux tools, desktop access, Docker workflow, and fixed machine prices. Its plans convert the subscription payment into usage credit, which can suit regular monthly execution.

When to consider Sandbox0

Sandbox0 fits a persistent per-user agent environment whose entire writable RootFS must grow online. You control pause and deletion policies, and can inspect or edit persistent files during filesystem-only pauses.

Capabilities

boat.dev and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeboat.devNot established in this reviewSandbox0ttl 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 filesboat.devIncremental disk snapshots; ordinary stopped disks are retained for 14 days.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSboat.devDisk snapshots preserve the environment; runtime exclusions still apply.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 stateboat.devStop releases machine time; resume restores disk and starts programs again.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateboat.devSnapshots exclude memory and running programs.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.

Boat changes among fixed machine sizes through stop/resume. Its published disk allowance tops out at 251 GB for user files, distinct from the preinstalled operating system and tools.

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.

See paused file operations →

Disk continuity already exists on Boat

Boat saves incremental disk snapshots during execution and on stop. Resuming restores disk state, while running programs and memory need a fresh start. Sandbox0 also defaults to filesystem-only resume; explicit experimental memory checkpoints add compatible process restoration.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Account for the stopped-data retention policy

Boat retains an ordinary stopped sandbox disk for 14 days. Save a named snapshot before that deadline when the agent must return later. Named snapshots do not expire; the first ten are included. Sandbox0 retention follows the sandbox deletion policy and retained storage remains billable.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Size changes interrupt the running machine

Boat publishes four sizes, with 12–251 GB for user files. Moving to another size requires stop and resume, or a fork. Sandbox0 online growth on enabled imports is useful when dependencies and outputs expand during one running agent task.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

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.

boat.dev

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Small machine
$0.018/hour
2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 12 GB user disk; billed per second while running.
Rate source ↗
Default machine
$0.036/hour
4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 50 GB user disk.
Rate source ↗
Entry plan
$20/month in usage credit
Included credit expires monthly. Organizations pay the plan per seat.
Rate source ↗
Additional named snapshots
$1.70/month each beyond the first 10
Rate source ↗

Machine, plan, seat, and snapshot units are separate. Large is $0.072/hour; xlarge is $0.200/hour and requires the $100 plan or higher. This is a rate-card comparison, not an equal-performance benchmark.

Check current boat.dev 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 boat.dev

  1. Save a named Boat snapshot before the 14-day stopped-disk deadline and export the files needed for migration.
  2. Recreate installed packages, system configuration, background-service startup, and secrets in a Sandbox0 template.
  3. Test a workload that exceeds the initial RootFS capacity, then pause, read and edit persistent files, and resume.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in boat.dev replacement?

Evaluate API compatibility and product scope. A shared sandbox category does not make SDKs, lifecycle semantics, or limits interchangeable.

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 ↗docs.boat.dev/snapshots ↗/docs/sandbox/pause-resume ↗docs.boat.dev/pricing ↗/pricing ↗docs.boat.dev/machines ↗/docs/sandbox/template/configuration ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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