Development environments / Rivet (Actors & agentOS) alternative

A Rivet agentOS alternative

Rivet agentOS is a lightweight runtime that can run inside an application process or as a hosted VM abstraction. It has a configurable durable virtual root and can mount external full sandboxes. Compare that layered architecture with a persistent Linux sandbox instead of treating every Rivet Actor or agentOS VM as the same kind of machine.

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

When Rivet (Actors & agentOS) fits

Rivet fits stateful Actors, workflows and agent code that benefits from direct backend host functions, granular permissions and lightweight language execution. agentOS can delegate native-heavy tasks to an external sandbox, so it can complement a Linux runtime rather than replace every part of it.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when your agent requires compatible Linux executables, system packages and a complete durable writable RootFS with online growth. Actor routing, workflow state and trusted application host functions remain separate product concerns.

Capabilities

Rivet (Actors & agentOS) and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeRivet (Actors & agentOS)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 filesRivet (Actors & agentOS)A configured durable virtual root persists files; the default in-memory overlay does not.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSRivet (Actors & agentOS)The virtual root can be durable, but it is an agentOS filesystem rather than a full native Linux machine RootFS.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 stateRivet (Actors & agentOS)Hosted idle sleep and lazy restart retain durable files/configuration, not arbitrary execution 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 stateRivet (Actors & agentOS)The guide explicitly says live processes, terminals and language contexts do not survive VM recreation.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.

agentOS exposes filesystem byte limits and configurable resource policies; changed hosted limits apply on the next VM generation. Durable virtual-root storage and S3-backed mounts do not establish automatic online expansion of a mounted native Linux RootFS. Evaluate external sandbox storage separately if that is where native work runs.

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.

Rivet’s persistence guide says a hosted VM starts lazily on the first action after sleep. The reviewed filesystem API does not establish Sandbox0-style no-wake paused RootFS mutations. This is a lifecycle distinction, not a claim that Rivet lacks durable file storage.

See paused file operations →

A lightweight agentOS VM is not a full Linux machine

Rivet’s comparison guide distinguishes in-process agentOS execution from a full sandbox with native binaries and system packages. It recommends an external sandbox for native compilation, browsers, desktop applications and system-port workloads, and supports composing the two through mounts and trusted host functions. Benchmark claims about lightweight startup do not establish equivalent full-Linux performance.

Source 1 ↗

Durable virtual-root files survive; running processes do not

The default root is an ephemeral in-memory overlay. Hosted durable-root configuration, or a correctly configured SQLite-backed root in the library, retains files across VM recreation. Merely supplying a library database is insufficient to make the default root durable. The persistence guide explicitly excludes running processes, terminals, language contexts, streams and subscriptions; hosted sleep retains durable files/configuration/cron jobs.

Source 1 ↗

Cloud coordination and active execution use separate meters

The price page separates plans, awake Actor hours, persisted state operations/storage and active execution. Hobby and Team include coordination/storage allowances but no included paid compute allocation. Running your backend elsewhere can move the compute bill to that provider while leaving Rivet control-plane/state charges. Do not interpret one Actor-hour rate as the entire Linux sandbox invoice.

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.

Rivet (Actors & agentOS)

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Hobby plan
From $20/month plus usage
Coordination/storage allowances do not include paid active execution.
Rate source ↗
Team plan
From $200/month plus usage
Rate source ↗
Rivet Cloud active CPU
From $0.0000330 per vCPU-second
The page defines one vCPU as half a physical core; deployment and resource configuration matter.
Rate source ↗
Rivet Cloud active memory
$0.0000029 per GiB-second
Rate source ↗
Awake Actors beyond allowance
$0.05 per 1,000 awake Actor-hours
Coordination meter, separate from active CPU/RAM.
Rate source ↗
Persisted state storage beyond allowance
$0.40 per GB-month
Reads, writes and egress have additional meters; preserve the GB storage label.
Rate source ↗

These are Rivet Cloud platform meters, not an independently published dedicated agentOS full-Linux sandbox rate. Sleeping Actors have no active execution charge, but state and coordination terms still apply. External sandbox providers and customer-operated compute can add their own bills; no equal-throughput or universal savings claim is made.

Check current Rivet (Actors & agentOS) 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 Rivet (Actors & agentOS)

  1. Separate Actor/workflow state, agentOS virtual files, configured mount backends and any external native sandbox dependencies.
  2. Port compatible Linux execution to Sandbox0 while retaining or replacing Rivet coordination, host-function integration and model/tool orchestration as required.
  3. Test package/native-tool behavior, process versus durable-file recovery, RootFS growth, paused files and combined coordination/state/compute costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Rivet (Actors & agentOS) 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 ↗rivet.dev/agentos/docs/versus-sandbox/ ↗rivet.dev/agentos/docs/persistence/ ↗rivet.dev/pricing/ ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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