Development environments / Kasm Workspaces alternative

A Kasm Workspaces alternative for a durable agent computer

Kasm Workspaces streams desktops, browsers and applications and can connect users to other remote assets. Its containerized sessions are ephemeral by default, with configurable persistent home profiles and mounted storage. Compare that desktop/session platform with a hosted Linux machine designed for programmatic agent execution.

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

When Kasm Workspaces fits

Kasm fits browser-delivered desktops, application streaming, remote access, workspace policies and deployment on your own infrastructure or Kasm-managed service. Retain those user access and display requirements when evaluating a headless agent runtime.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for compatible Linux agents that need installed tools, system settings and data in one growing durable RootFS, plus supported files during compute pauses. Provide desktop streaming, remote access and organizational policy functions separately where users need them.

Capabilities

Kasm Workspaces and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeKasm WorkspacesNot 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 filesKasm WorkspacesPersistent home profiles and volume mappings retain configured data; ephemeral container defaults and external remote assets differ.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSKasm WorkspacesHome/profile and selected mount retention do not establish complete RootFS durability for every Kasm deployment.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 stateKasm WorkspacesRestoring a home profile into another session does not establish a compute-free whole-machine checkpoint.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateKasm WorkspacesThe documented S3/home profile saves files, not arbitrary execution memory.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.

Kasm can retain profiles and mounted data, including S3-backed home state. That is not the same contract as automatic online growth of the complete writable RootFS. Host/volume capacity and profile-size/filter policies should be assessed separately; no claim that Kasm storage cannot be expanded follows from these guides.

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 →

Persistent profiles and volume mappings retain selected paths

The container-session guide makes ephemerality the default. A persistent profile retains the user home through a host/shared directory or S3-backed profile; volume mappings retain other configured paths. Other remote assets have their own lifecycle. Do not describe every Kasm deployment as either fully disposable or a uniformly durable complete Linux computer.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

S3 profile filters can exclude downloaded agent artifacts

The profile guide excludes .cache, .vnc, Downloads and Uploads by default for S3 profiles, with an override setting. Administrators can set a profile-size limit; exceeding an S3 limit prevents new changes being saved until size is reduced. Multi-node volume profiles require storage accessible from the relevant hosts. These details affect whether an agent’s outputs actually return.

Source 1 ↗

License amount is separate from hosted desktop capacity

Community Edition is positioned for individual, nonprofit and noncommercial use with five concurrent sessions. The public comparison lists Starter named-user or concurrent-session license amounts, while Kasm-managed service has a separate minimum of 25 users. Infrastructure, commercial entitlements, API access and support must be checked for the selected offer.

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.

Kasm Workspaces

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Community Edition
Free for the documented noncommercial use cases
Five concurrent sessions; customer infrastructure and operations remain separate.
Rate source ↗
Starter advertised license amount
$10/named user or $20/concurrent-session license
The displayed comparison does not establish the billing period; confirm the contract. This is not a per-execution session charge.
Rate source ↗
Enterprise
Request a quote
Rate source ↗
Kasm-managed Cloud
Separate commercial terms; minimum 25 users
Rate source ↗

Do not convert license seats into VM-hours or assume Starter includes every automation/API capability. Confirm billing period, commercial rights, developer API entitlement, support and actual compute/storage/network charges. The cited persistence guides describe Kasm 1.17; validate profile defaults against the deployed version.

Check current Kasm Workspaces 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 Kasm Workspaces

  1. Inventory container versus external remote assets, images, persistent home paths, volume mappings, S3 profile filters/size limits and current licensing.
  2. Port compatible Linux agent tools to Sandbox0, retaining or replacing desktop display, remote access and enterprise policy integrations explicitly.
  3. Test installed system tools and outputs outside home, RootFS growth, paused files, process expectations and total license/infrastructure costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Kasm Workspaces 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 ↗www.kasmweb.com/docs/latest/guide/persistent_data.html ↗www.kasmweb.com/docs/latest/guide/persistent_data/persistent_profiles.html ↗kasm.com/community-edition ↗kasm.com/cloud-vs-server ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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