Development environments / Hoplite alternative

A Hoplite.sh alternative for the computer behind a coding thread

Hoplite is a coding-agent product with cloud threads and development workspaces. Follow-up runs reuse a thread’s workspace identity, even when the underlying runtime changes. That thread continuity has a narrower state guarantee than preserving every machine-global change or live process.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

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

When Hoplite fits

Hoplite fits teams that want managed coding threads, multiplayer and Slack workflows, automations, repository setup, and preview integrations. It can select runtime profiles for Docker-dependent projects while keeping the task’s worktree behind the same thread.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when you are building the agent application and need durable full-system state, online RootFS growth, and supported persistent-file operations during compute pauses. You supply the coding thread, repository UI, collaboration, and automation layers.

Capabilities

Hoplite and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeHopliteNot 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 filesHopliteRetained thread workspace files survive normal archive/restore; failure recovery may lose work after the last snapshot.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSHopliteProvider replacement explicitly does not retain machine-global state; complete persistent RootFS coverage is not established uniformly across profiles.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 stateHopliteRuntime archive can suspend or save/replace depending on provider, behind a retained thread identity.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateHopliteNative suspension is an alternate provider behavior; ordinary snapshot-replace and runtime restart interrupt processes.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.

A retained repository worktree and replaceable runtime are different from automatic online growth of one complete durable RootFS. The reviewed guide does not establish that whole-system growth contract across Hoplite’s provider profiles.

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 →

Thread identity outlives some runtime replacements

The current workspace guide says follow-up runs reuse a workspace, while runtime archive may suspend or snapshot and replace the provider machine. Runtime replacement can retain the repository worktree, including uncommitted files, but machine-global state and running processes do not carry across. Reconstruct global tools deliberately.

Source 1 ↗

Recovery can return to an older filesystem cut

Hoplite can restore a retained recovery snapshot after runtime failure. The guide explicitly warns that newer unpushed work can be lost; normal archive/restore and failure recovery have different guarantees. A process or preview may need restarting after return to an archived thread.

Source 1 ↗

Seat and included-usage prices do not specify raw VM cost

The current public page offers Free with a card and a usage allowance, Team priced per seat, and Enterprise contract terms. It advertises thread/concurrency entitlements but does not quantify every included token or CPU-hour allowance. Avoid converting the seat price into unlimited raw machine usage.

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.

Hoplite

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Free
$0 with a monthly usage allowance
Card required; 5 concurrent cloud sessions and 5 projects advertised.
Rate source ↗
Team monthly
$60 per seat per month
Current page advertises 50 concurrent sandboxes per seat and a 250-new-threads/hour limit.
Rate source ↗
Team annual commitment
$50 per seat per month equivalent
Annual billing, not the monthly cancellation price.
Rate source ↗
Enterprise
Custom annual terms
Rate source ↗

The public page references Plus in the Team description without a complete visible Plus price table; no Plus rate is inferred. Verify effective included usage, provider profile, capacity, and overage before a numerical workload comparison.

Check current Hoplite 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 Hoplite

  1. Export required worktree files and thread outputs, and inventory setup/archive scripts, preview behavior, runtime profiles, model paths, and recovery expectations.
  2. Build compatible tools in a Sandbox0 template and provide the surrounding coding-agent, collaboration, repository, and automation functions.
  3. Validate worktree and machine-global state separately, then test RootFS growth, paused file access, process restoration requirements, and seat plus effective usage cost.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Hoplite 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 ↗hoplite.sh/docs/sandboxes/ ↗hoplite.sh/pricing ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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