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Alternatives

Gemini CLI sandboxing alternatives

Answer in brief

The 6 alternatives below are grouped by kind of sandbox, and each says what it does differently from Gemini CLI sandboxing. Start from whatever made you look: missing GPUs, session limits, self-hosting, pricing or isolation.

By the Agent Sandboxes editors · Updated

Why teams look beyond Gemini CLI sandboxing

Adequate built-in confinement for Gemini CLI users; it is a feature of the CLI rather than a general sandbox.

  • Seatbelt shares the host kernel; container isolation depends on Docker/Podman
  • LXC is experimental and must be pre-created; gVisor must be selected explicitly
  • The CLI is now positioned for enterprise Code Assist licences

Gemini CLI sandboxing alternatives, by kind

Isolation primitives and runtimes

The hypervisors, user-space kernels, OS sandboxes and WebAssembly runtimes that sandbox platforms build on.

  • gVisor

    Google's user-space application kernel for containers, with the runsc OCI runtime, GPU passthrough via nvproxy and checkpoint/restore; used by Modal, Beam, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google Cloud.

    • User-space kernel
    • Open source
    • Self-hostable
    • GPU
    • Snapshots

    How it differs: Sandboxing containers on hosts where you cannot or do not want to run a VM per workload, including GPU workloads. The most widely adopted non-VM sandbox boundary; choose it when a VM per workload is impractical or you need sandboxed GPUs.

    Full profile →gVisor alternativesWebsite ↗

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.

    Full profile →Website ↗

  • Codex CLI sandboxing

    Codex CLI's built-in sandbox: Seatbelt on macOS, bubblewrap on Linux/WSL2 and a native Windows sandbox, with read-only, workspace-write and full-access modes.

    • Seatbelt / bubblewrap / Windows
    • Open source

    How it differs: Confining Codex CLI command execution on macOS, Linux or Windows without containers. Solid built-in confinement for Codex CLI across all three desktop platforms; it is a CLI feature, not a reusable sandbox.

    Full profile →Codex CLI sandboxing alternativesWebsite ↗

  • 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.

    Full profile →Website ↗

  • 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.

    Full profile →Minimal alternativesWebsite ↗

  • 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.

    Full profile →nono alternativesWebsite ↗

Gemini CLI sandboxing vs alternatives

SandboxIsolationOpen sourceSelf-host / BYOCCold start (vendor)Max sessionSnapshots / pauseGPUSDKs
Gemini CLI sandboxingSeatbelt or containerYesNo / NoNot documentedNot documentedNo / Not documentedNot documentedCLI
Anthropic Sandbox RuntimeOS-level (Seatbelt / bubblewrap)YesYes / Not documentedProcess startNot documentedNo / NoNot documentedCLI (srt), TypeScript (npm)
Codex CLI sandboxingSeatbelt / bubblewrap / WindowsYesNo / NoNot documentedNot documentedNo / Not documentedNot documentedCLI
Docker SandboxesMicroVMNoYes / NoNot documentedUntil removed (local)Yes / YesYessbx CLI, TypeScript (cloud), REST API (cloud)
gVisorUser-space kernelYesYes / Noms (claim)Not documentedYes / Not documentedYesCLI
Minimalnamespaces or libkrun microVMYesNo / NoNot documentedNot documentedNot documented / Not documentedNot documentedCLI, MCP server
nonoLandlock / SeatbeltYesNo / NoNot documentedNot documentedYes / Not documentedNot documentedCLI, Rust, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go

Frequently asked questions

What are the main alternatives to Gemini CLI sandboxing?
Anthropic Sandbox Runtime, Codex CLI sandboxing, Docker Sandboxes, gVisor, Minimal, nono. Which one fits depends on what you need that Gemini CLI sandboxing does not offer; each entry above explains how it differs.
Is there an open-source alternative to Gemini CLI sandboxing?

Cite this page

Agent Sandboxes. (2026). Gemini CLI sandboxing alternatives. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/alternatives/gemini-cli-sandbox/

Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.