Agent sandboxes / Metorial alternative

Metorial sandbox alternative

Metorial offers isolated Linux sandboxes alongside its MCP integration platform. Sandbox root disks retain installed tools and files through pause, hibernation and restart. The useful comparison is how disks grow, how long execution state survives and which billing terms apply to the sandbox service.

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Reviewed 2026-10-19 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Metorial fits

Choose Metorial when its sandbox machines and MCP/authentication integrations fit your agent stack. Its complete root-disk persistence, optional data disks, lifecycle hooks and memory pause are documented capabilities worth evaluating directly.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when a complete durable RootFS should grow online without restarting running agent processes, with supported file access while guest compute stays paused. Assess SDK, network, credential and lifecycle differences before moving the workload.

Capabilities

Metorial and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeMetorialMemory pauses lasting eight hours or more may restart. Hibernation retains files but releases compute and starts fresh processes; disk retention has a separate lifecycle.View evidence ↗Sandbox0ttl 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 filesMetorialRoot and attached disk files survive normal pause, hibernation and restart; deletion ownership differs.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSMetorialInstalled software and all root-disk files persist through supported lifecycle transitions.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 stateMetorialMemory pause and disk-only hibernation are separate modes; long pauses may restart.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateMetorialPause freezes execution memory, but this is not proof of a portable durable snapshot or indefinite retention.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.

Metorial already retains the whole root disk and supports growth. Its explicit resize briefly stops and restarts machines. Sandbox0’s qualified growth-enabled images instead expand the mounted RootFS online without restarting agent processes, subject to configured geometry and ceiling.

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.

Metorial’s lifecycle guide says to start a paused or hibernated machine before connecting. The reviewed disk and lifecycle contracts do not establish whole-RootFS file operations while compute remains stopped; independent data disks and MCP records are separate interfaces.

See paused file operations →

The complete root disk is already persistent

The root disk holds installed software and files outside additional mounts, and survives pause, hibernation and restart. Deleting the machine deletes its root disk. Separately created attached disks survive machine deletion and can be cloned within their region; the root disk cannot be detached or copied.

Source 1 ↗

Pause and hibernation preserve different state

Pause freezes memory and processes, but keeps memory allocated. A pause lasting eight hours or more may be restarted by the platform. Hibernation releases compute while preserving root and attached files; startup creates fresh processes and runs setup, entrypoint and start hooks.

Source 1 ↗

Root-disk growth briefly stops machines

Root disks support explicit resize. The documented resize drains/stops mounted machines, grows storage, verifies it and restarts execution. It preserves files but differs from automatic online RootFS expansion while agent processes keep running.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

MCP plan prices are not a sandbox resource quote

The public plan table prices tool calls, callbacks and workforce seats. It does not establish a numeric sandbox CPU/RAM or retained-disk tariff. Request sandbox-specific terms rather than treating included MCP calls as free persistent machine capacity.

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.

Metorial

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Sandbox compute and retained disks
Confirm sandbox-specific vendor rates
MCP plan prices do not establish machine CPU/RAM/disk rates.
Rate source ↗
MCP Dev
$0/month
500K tool calls/month and two workforce seats; no production access.
Rate source ↗
MCP Scale
$250/month
2.5M tool calls/month and 20 workforce seats; a separate platform plan.
Rate source ↗
Scale extra tool calls
$1 per 1,500 calls
Callback overage is separately $1 per 750; this is not sandbox execution time.
Rate source ↗

MCP platform allowances do not establish free sandbox resources or a complete sandbox invoice. Confirm regional machine availability, disk retention charges, pause allocation billing and effective plan limits with the vendor.

Check current Metorial 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 Metorial

  1. Inventory machine/root-disk IDs, attached disks, region, sizing, pause/hibernate policies, hooks and sandbox-specific terms.
  2. Export needed state before deleting a machine’s root disk; map images, SDK calls, network and credential policies to Sandbox0.
  3. Test tool retention, online growth, process-restoration requirements, paused files and the full sandbox plus MCP/model bill.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Metorial 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 ↗metorial.com/docs/build/sandboxes/disks ↗metorial.com/docs/build/sandboxes/lifecycle ↗metorial.com/docs/build/sandboxes/machines ↗metorial.com/pricing ↗metorial.com/docs/build/sandboxes ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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