Self-managed runtimes / Tart Virtualization + Orchard alternative

Tart Orchard alternative for portable persistent agents

Tart virtualizes macOS and Linux on Apple Silicon, and Orchard orchestrates a fleet of those hosts. VM disks can retain whole installed environments, and suspendable execution can save local machine state. The operator supplies Apple capacity and manages the fleet; this is software licensing rather than one hosted sandbox tariff.

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

When Tart Virtualization + Orchard fits

Choose Tart and Orchard for Apple-hardware VM control, reusable Mac images and an operator-run CI or development fleet. Keep native Xcode, Apple signing and simulator stages on suitable Mac infrastructure.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider managed Sandbox0 for compatible Linux agents that need one durable growing RootFS and supported paused files without operating the VM fleet. A macOS VM image cannot become a Linux runtime merely because it uses an OCI registry.

Capabilities

Tart Virtualization + Orchard and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeTart Virtualization + OrchardNot 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 filesTart Virtualization + OrchardRetained VM disks/images can preserve an installed environment; CI deletion and pruning policy remain operator choices.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSTart Virtualization + OrchardVM disk state covers the installed guest system, not only a selected repository 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 stateTart Virtualization + OrchardSuspendable execution supports local machine-state save/restore with host/guest compatibility requirements.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateTart Virtualization + OrchardCurrent execution code saves/restores VM machine state; this is not a promise that registry image push transfers RAM across hosts.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.

Tart already retains complete guest disk state and documents explicit guest-dependent disk expansion. Its VM image and partition workflow differs from automatic online low-space expansion of Sandbox0’s managed durable Linux 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.

Operator-side VM image and host tooling can implement access while a guest is stopped. That requires filesystem support and coordination with retained state; the cited software does not define a universal native file API over every paused guest system.

See paused file operations →

Local suspended state differs from a registry image

Current Tart execution code can save and restore VM machine state in suspendable mode. The suspend feature announcement describes locally encrypted state that is not transferred by image push. Validate current host/guest compatibility and same-host recovery; do not equate publishing a disk image with portable memory recovery.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Disk resizing follows guest filesystem rules

Tart documents Linux filesystem expansion and macOS-specific automated Packer or manual partition/recovery procedures. Retaining a VM disk is already whole-system persistence, but making it larger requires the selected image and guest workflow rather than a general low-space runtime policy.

Source 1 ↗

License limits count host capacity

Tart and Orchard use Fair Source licensing. The organizational free tier allows up to 100 host CPU cores for Tart and four Orchard workers. Both performance and efficiency cores count, not just vCPUs assigned to active VMs. Larger fleets require a paid tier and still need underlying Macs and operations.

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.

Tart Virtualization + Orchard

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Organizational free software tier
Up to 100 Tart host CPU cores / 4 Orchard workers
Both capacity limits apply; underlying Apple hardware and operations are separate.
Rate source ↗
Gold license
$12,000/year
Up to 500 Tart host CPU cores / 20 Orchard workers.
Rate source ↗
Platinum license
$36,000/year
Up to 3,000 Tart host CPU cores / 200 Orchard workers.
Rate source ↗

These are software license tiers, not hosted Mac or agent runtime prices. Count actual host cores, including efficiency cores, and Orchard worker limits. Larger Diamond fleets have separate terms; include Apple hardware/hosting, image storage, operations and support requirements.

Check current Tart Virtualization + Orchard 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 Tart Virtualization + Orchard

  1. Inventory Apple hosts, guest OS compatibility, VM disks/images, local suspend state, pruning, total host cores and Orchard worker count.
  2. Export portable agent data and recreate compatible Linux stages while retaining Mac-native jobs on suitable Apple infrastructure.
  3. Test handoff, system persistence, growth, paused files, required memory behavior and full license, hardware, storage and Linux runtime costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Tart Virtualization + Orchard 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 ↗github.com/cirruslabs/tart/blob/main/Sources/tart/Commands/Run.swift ↗tart.run/blog/2023/09/20/tart-200-and-community-updates/ ↗tart.run/faq/ ↗tart.run/licensing/ ↗tart.run/ ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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