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Alternatives

Minimal alternatives

Answer in brief

The 6 alternatives below are grouped by kind of sandbox, and each says what it does differently from Minimal. 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 Minimal

A promising beta for developers who want declarative, reproducible agent sessions and are comfortable with a young toolchain.

  • Public beta; Teams, remote execution and some macOS pieces are not ready
  • Linux default is namespace isolation, which shares the host kernel
  • Intel Macs and Windows are not supported

Minimal alternatives, by kind

Open-source runtimes to self-host

Open-source sandbox runtimes you run on your own servers or Kubernetes.

  • 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.

    Full profile →Website ↗

Isolation primitives and runtimes

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

  • 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.

    Full profile →libkrun alternativesWebsite ↗

Local sandboxes for coding agents

Isolation for agents like Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI on your own laptop.

  • agents-sandbox

    GPL-3.0 launcher that gives each project and coding agent its own microsandbox microVM on Linux/KVM or Apple Silicon macOS, with secrets kept on the host.

    • microsandbox microVM
    • Open source

    How it differs: Developers who want each coding agent confined to a per-project microVM on their own Linux or Apple Silicon machine. A focused per-project microVM launcher for opencode users; support for other agents is still experimental.

    Full profile →agents-sandbox alternativesWebsite ↗

  • 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 ↗

  • 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 ↗

  • 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 ↗

Minimal vs alternatives

SandboxIsolationOpen sourceSelf-host / BYOCCold start (vendor)Max sessionSnapshots / pauseGPUSDKs
Minimalnamespaces or libkrun microVMYesNo / NoNot documentedNot documentedNot documented / Not documentedNot documentedCLI, MCP server
agents-sandboxmicrosandbox microVMYesNo / NoNot documentedNot documentedNot documented / Not documentedNot documentedCLI
Anthropic Sandbox RuntimeOS-level (Seatbelt / bubblewrap)YesYes / Not documentedProcess startNot documentedNo / NoNot documentedCLI (srt), TypeScript (npm)
Docker SandboxesMicroVMNoYes / NoNot documentedUntil removed (local)Yes / YesYessbx CLI, TypeScript (cloud), REST API (cloud)
libkrunIn-process microVMYesYes / NoNot documentedNot documentedNot documented / Not documentedYesRust, C
MicrosandboxMicroVM (libkrun)YesYes / Yes<100 msNot documentedYes / Not documentedNoTypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, Ruby, CLI, MCP server
nonoLandlock / SeatbeltYesNo / NoNot documentedNot documentedYes / Not documentedNot documentedCLI, Rust, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go

Frequently asked questions

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

Cite this page

Agent Sandboxes. (2026). Minimal alternatives. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/alternatives/minimal/

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