agents-sandbox alternatives
The 6 alternatives below are grouped by kind of sandbox, and each says what it does differently from agents-sandbox. Start from whatever made you look: missing GPUs, session limits, self-hosting, pricing or isolation.
Why teams look beyond agents-sandbox
A focused per-project microVM launcher for opencode users; support for other agents is still experimental.
- Most agents other than opencode are marked experimental
- Hypervisor and boot behaviour are inherited from microsandbox and not documented here
- GPL-3.0; Linux/KVM or Apple Silicon only
agents-sandbox alternatives, by kind
Open-source runtimes to self-host
Open-source sandbox runtimes you run on your own servers or Kubernetes.
Celesto (SmolVM)
Open-source microVM "computers" for agents from Celesto AI, published as the smolvm package, with Firecracker on Linux and QEMU on macOS, plus a hosted cloud option.
- Firecracker / QEMU microVM
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Running agent computers as microVMs on your own Linux or Apple Silicon machine, with the same API available as a hosted cloud computer. A young, alpha-labelled but feature-rich open-source microVM runtime that is easy to try locally on macOS or Linux and has a per-hour cloud behind it.
Microsandbox
Open-source, local-first microVM runtime that gives each sandbox its own Linux kernel, with an optional managed cloud.
- MicroVM (libkrun)
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- BYOC
- Snapshots
How it differs: Self-hosted microVM isolation on developer machines or your own servers. The most approachable way to get microVM-grade isolation locally or self-hosted.
Local sandboxes for coding agents
Isolation for agents like Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI on your own laptop.
Anthropic Sandbox Runtime
Open-source CLI and library (`srt`) that restricts filesystem and network access for any local process at the OS level, without a container or VM.
- OS-level (Seatbelt / bubblewrap)
- Open source
- Self-hostable
How it differs: Lightweight local sandboxing of coding agents and CLI tools. Excellent lightweight guardrail for local agents; pair with a VM for untrusted multi-tenant code.
Docker Sandboxes
Docker’s `sbx` CLI for running AI coding agents in microVM sandboxes on your machine, with an experimental Docker-hosted cloud.
- MicroVM
- Self-hostable
- GPU
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Running coding agents unsupervised on a laptop with microVM isolation. The easiest way to give local coding agents a real microVM boundary.
Minimal
Open-source CLI that runs coding agents in declarative, isolated sessions built from a minimal.toml and a from-source package catalogue, on Linux namespaces or a libkrun microVM.
- namespaces or libkrun microVM
- Open source
How it differs: Reproducible, declaratively scoped local sessions for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini and Pi with a supply-chain-audited toolchain. A promising beta for developers who want declarative, reproducible agent sessions and are comfortable with a young toolchain.
nono
Kernel-enforced OS-native sandbox for coding agents that runs each tool call in its own ephemeral sandbox, brokers credentials and keeps a tamper-evident audit chain.
- Landlock / Seatbelt
- Open source
- Snapshots
How it differs: Running Claude Code, Codex and other coding agents on your own machine with kernel-enforced file and network allow-lists and brokered credentials. A strong choice for per-tool-call policy and credential brokering around local coding agents, provided OS-level isolation is enough for your threat model.
agents-sandbox vs alternatives
| Sandbox | Isolation | Open source | Self-host / BYOC | Cold start (vendor) | Max session | Snapshots / pause | GPU | SDKs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| agents-sandbox | microsandbox microVM | Yes | No / No | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented / Not documented | Not documented | CLI |
| Anthropic Sandbox Runtime | OS-level (Seatbelt / bubblewrap) | Yes | Yes / Not documented | Process start | Not documented | No / No | Not documented | CLI (srt), TypeScript (npm) |
| Celesto (SmolVM) | Firecracker / QEMU microVM | Yes | Yes / No | ~500 ms (claim) | Not documented | Yes / Yes | Not documented | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI, MCP server |
| Docker Sandboxes | MicroVM | No | Yes / No | Not documented | Until removed (local) | Yes / Yes | Yes | sbx CLI, TypeScript (cloud), REST API (cloud) |
| Microsandbox | MicroVM (libkrun) | Yes | Yes / Yes | <100 ms | Not documented | Yes / Not documented | No | TypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, Ruby, CLI, MCP server |
| Minimal | namespaces or libkrun microVM | Yes | No / No | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented / Not documented | Not documented | CLI, MCP server |
| nono | Landlock / Seatbelt | Yes | No / No | Not documented | Not documented | Yes / Not documented | Not documented | CLI, Rust, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go |
Frequently asked questions
What are the main alternatives to agents-sandbox?
Is there an open-source alternative to agents-sandbox?
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). agents-sandbox alternatives. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/alternatives/agents-sandbox/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.