BoxLite alternatives
The 6 alternatives below are grouped by kind of sandbox, and each says what it does differently from BoxLite. Start from whatever made you look: missing GPUs, session limits, self-hosting, pricing or isolation.
Why teams look beyond BoxLite
A practical choice when you want microVM isolation embedded in your own process rather than behind a service.
- Requires hardware virtualisation; the docs say it is "Not available in most CI runners, nested VMs, or containers"
- macOS jailer has no privilege drop, cgroups or network namespace; the docs prefer Linux for untrusted code
- No GPU, compliance or region documentation; snapshots are not a documented feature (clone and export/import are)
BoxLite alternatives, by kind
Hosted sandbox platforms
SDK-driven sandboxes you create, run code in and destroy through an API.
E2B
Open-source cloud sandboxes for AI agents, each a Firecracker microVM, with pause/resume, snapshots and forking.
- Firecracker microVM
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- BYOC
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Code interpreters and short-to-medium-lived agent tasks that need microVM isolation, with an open-source self-host path. The safe default for most agent builders: mature, open source, microVM-isolated and widely supported.
Open-source runtimes to self-host
Open-source sandbox runtimes you run on your own servers or Kubernetes.
Arrakis
Self-hosted microVM sandbox for agent code execution and computer use, with snapshot-and-restore and a VNC-accessible GUI in every VM.
- Cloud Hypervisor microVM
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- Snapshots
How it differs: Self-hosting a GUI-capable microVM sandbox with snapshot/restore for computer-use and code-execution agents. A single-maintainer, AGPL microVM sandbox that stands out for bundling a GUI and snapshot/restore for self-hosters on Linux.
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.
Isolation primitives and runtimes
The hypervisors, user-space kernels, OS sandboxes and WebAssembly runtimes that sandbox platforms build on.
Firecracker
The KVM-based microVM monitor from AWS that underpins Lambda and Fargate, and the sandboxes of E2B, Vercel, Fly.io, Koyeb and Northflank.
- KVM microVM
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- Pause/resume
How it differs: Building your own microVM sandbox fleet on Linux hosts with KVM. The reference microVM primitive for sandbox platforms; choose it when you are building a platform rather than consuming one.
libkrun
A dynamic library that lets any program launch a microVM in-process, on KVM in Linux or Hypervisor.framework on macOS; used by crun/Podman, krunkit and microsandbox.
- In-process microVM
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- GPU
How it differs: Embedding a microVM in your own tool on Linux or Apple Silicon without shipping a separate VMM. The microVM library to reach for when you want VM isolation inside your own tool, especially on macOS.
BoxLite vs alternatives
| Sandbox | Isolation | Open source | Self-host / BYOC | Cold start (vendor) | Max session | Snapshots / pause | GPU | SDKs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BoxLite | microVM + jailer | Yes | Yes / No | ~1 s (claim) | Not documented | Not documented / Not documented | Not documented | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Rust, C, CLI, REST API |
| Arrakis | Cloud Hypervisor microVM | Yes | Yes / No | Not documented | Not documented | Yes / Not documented | Not documented | Python, REST API, CLI, MCP server |
| Celesto (SmolVM) | Firecracker / QEMU microVM | Yes | Yes / No | ~500 ms (claim) | Not documented | Yes / Yes | Not documented | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI, MCP server |
| E2B | Firecracker microVM | Yes | Yes / Yes | Not documented | 1 h / 24 h (Pro) | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript |
| Firecracker | KVM microVM | Yes | Yes / No | <125 ms (spec) | Not documented | Yes / Yes | No | REST API, CLI |
| libkrun | In-process microVM | Yes | Yes / No | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented / Not documented | Yes | Rust, C |
| Microsandbox | MicroVM (libkrun) | Yes | Yes / Yes | <100 ms | Not documented | Yes / Not documented | No | TypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, Ruby, CLI, MCP server |
Frequently asked questions
What are the main alternatives to BoxLite?
Is there an open-source alternative to BoxLite?
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). BoxLite alternatives. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/alternatives/boxlite/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.