Development environments / boxes.dev alternative

A boxes.dev alternative for building your own returning agent computer

boxes.dev already gives coding agents whole cloud computers and keeps files and memory through ordinary sleep. Template snapshots create prepared machines for future tasks. Compare that coding-product workflow with a runtime API for your own agent experience, including online storage growth and file access while compute stays paused.

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

When boxes.dev fits

boxes.dev fits teams that want its Claude Code/Codex workbench, templates, mobile and terminal access, Slack/Linear integrations, and scheduled agent work. Its machine sleep and template preparation can retain considerably more than a Git worktree.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for a hosted Linux runtime under your own product, with a durable whole writable RootFS, automatic online growth, and supported persistent-file operations during compute pauses. Plan the surrounding coding-agent and collaboration features independently.

Capabilities

boxes.dev and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeboxes.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 filesboxes.devNormal sleep retains machine files; reboot keeps disk but resets volatile state.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSboxes.devThe product documents whole computers and filesystem-plus-memory template snapshots, beyond a repository-only worktree.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 stateboxes.devNormal sleep retains files and memory; reboot and file-only recovery are distinct paths.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateboxes.devTemplate memory is captured, but agents/terminals and their children do not continue on newly created devboxes.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.

boxes.dev documents fixed existing-machine resource configuration and a disk-pressure cleanup workflow. These do not establish automatic online RootFS expansion. Sandbox0’s enabled RootFS growth expands the existing filesystem while the agent runs.

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.

With automatic waking disabled, boxes.dev can show saved conversations without compute, while Files/Terminal/Git/Ports offer wake controls. The reviewed guide does not establish paused complete-RootFS file reads and edits equivalent to Sandbox0’s persistent Files API.

See paused file operations →

Sleep, reset and reboot preserve different state

Normal sleep keeps files and memory while work stops. Reset stops processes on a running machine; reboot keeps disk files but discards saved memory and connections. Recovery notices can report either memory or file-only restoration. Choose the intended operation and inspect recovery evidence instead of assuming every wake is an exact continuation.

Source 1 ↗

A template snapshot is not a cloned running agent

Template snapshots save files and memory, including independently running services such as Docker containers or system databases. New devboxes do not continue agents, terminals, or processes launched by them; startup scripts can restart required work. Existing devboxes also keep their own state when a new template snapshot is saved.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

A box-hour includes size and template usage

The reference box-hour is one awake 4 vCPU/8 GiB machine for one hour. Larger shapes consume multiples, and the ordinary Template box consumes hours while awake even though it does not use a devbox capacity slot. Included hours are per person, while prepaid overage is a shared team pool. Team Template source-maintenance wakes have separate billable behavior.

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.

boxes.dev

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Starter seat
$19 per person/month with 40 box-hours per billing period
Rate source ↗
Pro seat
$99 per person/month with 250 box-hours per billing period
Rate source ↗
Starter overage
$0.75 per box-hour
Uses shared prepaid credits after that person’s included allowance.
Rate source ↗
Pro overage
$0.60 per box-hour
Rate source ↗
Reference machine
4 vCPU / 8 GiB = 1 box-hour per awake hour
Rate source ↗
8 vCPU / 16 GiB machine
2 box-hours per awake hour
Rate source ↗
Sleeping machine
No active box-hour charge
Rate source ↗

Awake idle time still uses box-hours. Template boxes, larger-machine multipliers and separately purchased model/subscription usage belong in the total. Starter allows four awake devboxes per person and Pro ten, plus Template capacity; projects and credit-purchase limits remain independent. Resource changes apply to newly created Template boxes and do not resize existing machines.

Check current boxes.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 boxes.dev

  1. Export required files and system setup, inspect template snapshots and shared /project storage, and inventory agent/thread, sleep and recovery expectations.
  2. Port compatible tools, exec/files, credentials and network policies; provide the required workbench, coding-agent and integration features around Sandbox0.
  3. Validate whole-system retention, growth, paused file operations, memory expectations and actual seat, template, shape and model usage costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in boxes.dev 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 ↗boxes.dev/help/sleep-wake-recover ↗boxes.dev/help/template-box-snapshots ↗boxes.dev/ ↗boxes.dev/help/plans-and-box-hours ↗boxes.dev/help/billing-and-usage ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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