Agent sandboxes / InstaVM alternative

An InstaVM alternative for an agent that returns to growing state

InstaVM preserves variables, files, and packages across calls inside a session, and offers full-state live clones. Session teardown is a different boundary. Compare how long the application retains each artifact and where data should live when compute ends.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

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

When InstaVM fits

InstaVM fits teams that want Firecracker execution, warm session reuse, OCI-based snapshot builds, live clone fan-out, and its browser or computer-use workflows. Full VM capabilities may matter for tools that require a guest kernel.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when the application needs one durable per-user RootFS that accumulates system tools and data across tasks, expands online, and supports persistent-file operations during compute pauses.

Capabilities

InstaVM and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeInstaVMNot 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 filesInstaVMIndependent allocated volumes are a retained-storage product; ordinary session teardown destroys the session filesystem.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSInstaVMThe live-clone workflow captures source disk and memory; ordinary new sessions start clean.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 stateInstaVMSession reuse, termination, and clone workflows are documented; a general stable-identity pause contract is not established here.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateInstaVMLive VM cloning is explicitly described as full disk plus memory state.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.

OCI snapshot builds and live full-state cloning are useful reuse primitives. The reviewed product guides do not establish automatic online expansion of the complete mounted RootFS as an agent fills it.

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 →

Session reuse does not imply persistence after teardown

InstaVM code execution retains variables, files, and installed packages inside the same session. Its guide says a new session starts clean and closing the session destroys that filesystem. Retain an appropriate snapshot or independent volume when later work must reuse state.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

A live clone includes more than a prepared image

InstaVM’s clone product describes disk-and-memory state copied from a live source into a new VM while leaving the source running. OCI snapshot builds prepare a reusable image through a separate asynchronous workflow. Choose the artifact according to whether the agent needs saved files, configured software, or captured execution state.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Pro is a base subscription plus usage

InstaVM explicitly prices Pro at $100 per month before resource usage. Both Free and Pro include a volume allowance, with excess charged on allocated capacity rather than bytes written. Idle compute and retained allocated volume storage therefore need separate cost assumptions.

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.

InstaVM

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Compute CPU
$0.000014 per vCPU-second
Rate source ↗
Compute RAM
$0.0000045 per GB-second
Rate source ↗
Allocated volume storage above allowance
$0.0002 per GB-hour
First 10 GB allocated volume capacity included on Free and Pro; billing is allocated size, not used bytes.
Rate source ↗
Pro base subscription
$100 per month plus usage
This is a base fee rather than a $100 usage credit.
Rate source ↗

The current rate card describes no idle compute charges, while allocated volume storage has its own meter. Confirm running-resource basis, saved snapshot charges, effective quotas, and egress entitlement for the selected plan. The OCI build page’s disk specification is not treated as a universal runtime-disk ceiling.

Check current InstaVM 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 InstaVM

  1. Inventory live sessions, clones, OCI-built snapshots, volumes, and files that must survive session teardown.
  2. Export required state and port images, command/file calls, credentials, network rules, and browser or desktop dependencies.
  3. Validate system changes across tasks, growing outputs, RootFS expansion, paused file access, process requirements, and subscription plus retained-capacity cost.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in InstaVM 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 ↗instavm.io/solutions/code-execution ↗instavm.io/pricing ↗instavm.io/solutions/live-vm-clone ↗instavm.io/solutions/run-any-oci ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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