Development environments / exe.dev alternative

An exe.dev alternative for the lifecycle and storage your agent needs

exe.dev already gives agents persistent Linux VMs with their own disks, SSH, and managed HTTPS access. Its reserved pools and standalone VMs have distinct billing models. Compare those lifecycle choices, system storage, and idle costs with the application you are building.

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

When exe.dev fits

exe.dev fits developers and teams that want long-lived full-kernel VMs, SSH-centric management, shared reserved capacity, private HTTPS proxies, and the Shelley integration. A pool can make sense when work keeps using the reserved capacity throughout the day.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for a per-user durable RootFS with automatic online growth and supported persistent-file operations while compute stays paused. Check full-kernel, Docker, network, and developer-tool requirements before moving from exe.dev’s VM environment to gVisor.

Capabilities

exe.dev and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeexe.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 filesexe.devThe VM filesystem is persistent; standalone stopped VMs retain disk and still count toward VM limits.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSexe.devThe documented VM disk holds a normal Linux filesystem, not only a mounted workspace.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 stateexe.devA stopped standalone VM retains disk and stops reserved CPU/RAM metering. A pool remains billed independently.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateexe.devStopped disk retention and VM copying do not establish process-memory restoration in the reviewed contract.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.

exe.dev’s persistent disk is a real whole-system storage option. The reviewed pool and VM guides do not establish automatic online expansion of the complete mounted RootFS; confirm disk-capacity and growth behavior separately from CPU/RAM resize and included filesystem-usage allowance.

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 →

exe.dev persistence covers the VM filesystem

exe.dev describes a regular persistent VM filesystem suitable for software, databases, logs, and files. Its architecture streams local disk changes to another part of the regional cluster. Do not reduce this to workspace-only persistence or treat local NVMe as the sole durable copy. Compare the recovery contract and growth behavior with your workload rather than assume identical storage performance.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Stopping a VM is different from releasing a reserved pool

A pool is billed as long as it exists, even when empty; stopped member VMs leave capacity available to other VMs without ending the pool charge. Standalone sandboxes reserve their own CPU/RAM and stop that meter while stopped. Personal standalone usage adds to the subscription, while Work shares its included capacity across pools and standalone VMs.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Compute allowance, disk allowance, and model spend are separate

Current Personal and Work plans replace the no-longer-sold Individual/Team plans. Work includes a capacity allowance; extra capacity is metered by the second with no minimum runtime. Disk and outbound bandwidth have their own allowances and overages. Shelley credit is not a recurring included model allowance on the current plans.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗Source 3 ↗

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.

exe.dev

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Personal reserved capacity
From $15 per month
Starting pool is 2 vCPUs / 4 GiB, shared across the account’s pool VMs; not $15 for each such VM.
Rate source ↗
Work subscription
$75 per month at the regular price
Includes 2 vCPUs / 4 GiB across team pools and standalone VMs. A new team’s first subscription is $37.50/month for three months.
Rate source ↗
Standalone and applicable extra Work capacity
$0.105 per 2 vCPU / 4 GiB unit-hour
Second-level time, no minimum runtime; Personal adds standalone usage to the subscription, while Work applies its shared included capacity.
Rate source ↗
Additional filesystem usage
$0.08 per GiB-month
Above the applicable allowance; usage is averaged over the billing cycle.
Rate source ↗
Additional outbound bandwidth
$0.05 per GiB
Rate source ↗

Resource pools reserve CPU/RAM, not an individual fixed VM shape or one disk allowance per new VM. A stopped pool VM does not stop the pool bill. The Work intro discounts the subscription, not metered pool/standalone capacity, disk, bandwidth, model credits, or tax. Current plan docs sometimes label allowances GB while the public price table labels GiB; verify effective accounting without silently treating those units as identical.

Check current exe.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 exe.dev

  1. Inventory pool versus standalone placement, system files, local databases, images, proxy access, integrations, and actual plan allowances; export required state.
  2. Rebuild compatible tools in a Sandbox0 template and port SSH/control-plane workflows to the intended command, file, credential, and service interfaces.
  3. Validate system-package retention, growing RootFS data, paused file access, full-kernel dependencies, process expectations, and costs at the actual active/idle pattern.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in exe.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 ↗exe.dev/docs/serverful ↗exe.dev/llms-full.txt ↗exe.dev/docs/pools ↗exe.dev/docs/standalone-vms ↗exe.dev/docs/billing/overview ↗exe.dev/docs/billing/usage ↗exe.dev/pricing ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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