Agent sandboxes / MIOSA alternative

A MIOSA alternative for a durable Linux agent computer

MIOSA includes sandboxes, desktop Computers and broader agent/platform services. Its Firecracker runtime can preserve a complete disk and conditionally resume processes, while SOMA currently lacks persistence, pause and snapshots. For long-running agents, inspect the selected runtime’s durability field and lifecycle rather than treating every MIOSA machine as having identical retention.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

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

When MIOSA fits

MIOSA fits teams wanting a wider platform of agents, Computers, application hosting and storage around sandbox execution. Firecracker stop/resume retains installed tools and system state, with optional memory acceleration and standalone snapshots; those are real persistence capabilities.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for a consistent durable writable RootFS backed by committed regional object generations, online growth on enabled templates and supported paused Files API access. Port or retain MIOSA’s application, desktop, model and database services separately where needed.

Capabilities

MIOSA and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeMIOSAalways_on:true disables idle/timeout enforcement subject to tenant policy; this is distinct from saved process retention.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 filesMIOSAFirecracker stop retains disk and machine identity; SOMA currently has no persistent lifecycle.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSMIOSAFirecracker stop preserves installed packages, system/service configuration and Docker data, beyond a workspace directory.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 stateMIOSAFirecracker pause preserves processes for up to 30 minutes; stopped resume uses saved disk with fresh processes.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateMIOSAMemory is runtime-conditional and may cold-fallback; lifecycle and snapshot docs give different retention windows.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.

MIOSA documents disk classes with grow-only resizing on resume or fork, with runtime support restrictions and no shrinking. Its plan ceilings and allocation classes are separate limits. This differs from automatic online expansion as a running agent fills a growth-enabled Sandbox0 RootFS.

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.

MIOSA’s persistent stopped/paused file and execution access can auto-resume the machine; the file API also has runtime-specific support restrictions, including unsupported SOMA operations. Sandbox0’s supported paused file interface does not wake guest compute and rejects memory-paused mutations.

See paused file operations →

A saved disk and an execution checkpoint have different limits

Firecracker stop saves the disk, installed packages, Docker data and enabled services under the same machine ID, but starts fresh processes. Its pause path keeps processes for at most 30 minutes before behaving like stop. The snapshot guide separately mentions 72-hour memory-checkpoint expiry. These statements do not establish 72 hours of guaranteed process continuity; confirm the exact runtime path and allow documented cold fallback.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Persistence does not yet imply verified off-host durability everywhere

The snapshot guide says durability remains local_only until off-host replication is verified for a runtime. SOMA has no persistence, pause or snapshots yet. Distinguish retaining state across a normal stop from surviving permanent source-host loss, and inspect the actual durability field before relying on cross-node recovery.

Source 1 ↗

Current public price sources disagree

The public pricing page describes busy CPU and used RAM, with a 25% RAM floor, $0.10/GiB-month disk and $0.02/GiB-month snapshots. The pricing guide instead lists 4.536 credits/vCPU-hour, 1.458 credits/GiB-hour RAM and 0.06147 credits/GiB-hour running disk, plus different paused storage and named-snapshot terms. At one cent per credit these do not reconcile. Obtain a tenant-specific rate card; a universal savings claim would be unsupported.

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.

MIOSA

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Developer plan
$0/month with a one-time $10 grant
Usage still draws from credits; ten sandboxes and two Computers can be awake within listed limits.
Rate source ↗
Business monthly minimum
$500/month including $500 usage
A usage-inclusive minimum, not a second $500 fee added to all consumed credits.
Rate source ↗
Enterprise monthly minimum
$1,000/month including $1,000 usage
Rate source ↗
Public-page disk rate
$0.10 per provisioned GiB-month
Conflicts with the separate pricing guide’s running-disk meter; confirm effective tenant terms.
Rate source ↗
Public-page snapshot rate
$0.02 per GiB-month
The pricing guide also describes a named-snapshot count charge; confirm applicability.
Rate source ↗
Public-page egress rate
$0.04 per GB from the first GB
Rate source ↗

The numeric rows reproduce the public pricing page, not a reconciled account quote. Its CPU/RAM usage basis differs from fixed-machine examples in the pricing guide; do not combine those into one invoice estimate. Public retention documentation says purchased credits expire after 180 days. Verify actual runtime, rate card, memory limits and off-host replication status.

Check current MIOSA 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 MIOSA

  1. Inspect runtime and durability status, save/export system and user files, snapshots and external resources, and obtain the account’s effective pricing and retention terms.
  2. Port compatible tools and services, credentials and integrations; replace any Docker/kernel-dependent or managed application functions only after testing.
  3. Validate fresh-process versus compatible memory resume, regional recovery boundaries, online RootFS expansion, paused file access and an actual measured bill.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in MIOSA 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 ↗miosa.ai/docs/develop/sandboxes/lifecycle ↗miosa.ai/docs/develop/snapshots ↗miosa.ai/pricing ↗miosa.ai/docs/pricing ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

Related comparisons

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