Ploomber’s official 2025 notice retired application hosting effective October 31, 2025. It said subscriptions would not be canceled automatically; the open-source pipeline library is separate. Read the source ↗

Application platforms / Ploomber Cloud (retired app hosting) alternative

A Ploomber Cloud alternative after application hosting retirement

Ploomber’s official September 2025 notice retired application hosting effective October 31, 2025, when it planned to shut down all running apps. YC currently lists the company inactive. The open-source Ploomber Python pipeline tool is a separate artifact and does not establish a currently available hosted compute plan.

Start buildingCompare capabilities ↓

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

When Ploomber Cloud (retired app hosting) fits

Existing users may still use the open-source pipeline library on infrastructure they control, after checking its current dependencies and maintenance needs. The retired application-hosting offer should not be treated as an available new cloud subscription.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for compatible Linux agents that develop or run those workflows and need a durable whole writable RootFS, online growth and supported paused-file access. Recreate required app deployment, authentication and data services explicitly.

Capabilities

Ploomber Cloud (retired app hosting) and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimePloomber Cloud (retired app hosting)Not 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 filesPloomber Cloud (retired app hosting)Retired hosting is not a current durable runtime-disk offer; preserve accessible exports and backups.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSPloomber Cloud (retired app hosting)Framework migration images do not establish an active complete writable RootFS retention contract.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 statePloomber Cloud (retired app hosting)There is no verified active hosted pause/resume offer to compare from the retirement notice.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process statePloomber Cloud (retired app hosting)The retirement and migration materials do not establish retained process or RAM checkpoints.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.

The retired hosting offer does not provide a current managed RootFS growth contract. When running the open-source pipeline tool elsewhere, disk and filesystem capacity belong to the selected backend.

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 →

Use the retirement notice for the hosting timeline

The archived official notice stopped community deploys immediately, stopped new deploys and redeploys for remaining users on October 3, 2025, and scheduled running-app shutdown for October 31. The source is a saved official notice, rather than evidence that old hosted apps are still accessible today.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Subscriptions and application hosting had different end states

The notice said existing subscriptions would retain AI editor access and would not be canceled automatically. Check the effective account and payment records instead of assuming the hosting shutdown ended every subscription. That historical statement does not verify a current editor offer or price.

Source 1 ↗

Framework Dockerfiles do not recreate every platform integration

Ploomber published migration Dockerfiles for supported app frameworks, while warning that they exclude its authentication features such as password protection and Auth0 integration. Use available source, exported data and verified backups to reconstruct the workflow; do not rely on exporting from a retired hosted app.

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.

Ploomber Cloud (retired app hosting)

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Application hosting
Retired effective October 31, 2025
Rate source ↗
Remaining subscription or editor charges
Check effective account and billing records
The 2025 notice explicitly said subscriptions would not cancel automatically.
Rate source ↗
Open-source pipeline execution
Infrastructure and operations priced separately
Library availability is not free managed cloud compute.
Rate source ↗

Historical Ploomber Cloud plan prices are not a current purchasable rate card. The archived notice establishes the hosting retirement and subscription warning; YC independently marks the company inactive. Verify any surviving editor or support agreement directly.

Check current Ploomber Cloud (retired app hosting) 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 Ploomber Cloud (retired app hosting)

  1. Locate the original application source, exported databases, files and verified backups already available outside the retired platform.
  2. Rebuild the container and required authentication, databases and storage; port compatible Linux agent tasks to a supported environment.
  3. Validate app or pipeline results, credentials, retained system files, online growth, supported paused files and any remaining subscription charges.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Ploomber Cloud (retired app hosting) 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 ↗web.archive.org/web/20260106083909/https://ploomber.io/blog/platform-shut-down/ ↗www.ycombinator.com/companies/ploomber ↗github.com/ploomber/ploomber ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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