AWS Lambda MicroVMs
A Lambda resource type that runs a full Amazon Linux 2023 environment in a Firecracker microVM, restored from a pre-built snapshot, with suspend/resume and an HTTPS endpoint per VM. The AWS-native way to get Firecracker-isolated, suspendable sandboxes with a per-VM endpoint, within an 8-hour lifetime and without a higher-level sandbox SDK.
Overview
AWS Lambda MicroVMs is a resource type in AWS Lambda, announced on 22 June 2026, for "sandboxes for AI", interactive development environments and multi-tenant CI. You upload a zip containing a Dockerfile and application files to S3, Lambda builds it on a managed Amazon Linux 2023 base image and captures a Firecracker snapshot of the fully initialised disk and memory state. Calling run-microvm restores a MicroVM from that snapshot, assigns it a unique HTTPS endpoint and a lifecycle of PENDING → RUNNING → SUSPENDED → TERMINATED. You drive it with the AWS CLI (aws lambda-microvms), the AWS SDKs (boto3, @aws-sdk/client-lambda-microvms, PHP and others) or the REST API.
Each MicroVM is sized by baseline memory (0.5-8 GB, 0.25-4 vCPU) and can burst vertically to four times that; disk is 8-32 GB; x86_64 and ARM64 are supported. A MicroVM can live up to 8 hours in total. Idle policies suspend it after a configurable period, preserving memory and disk; traffic can auto-resume it. Pricing is per-second compute plus snapshot read/write and storage charges. AWS documents a reference pattern using MicroVMs as self-hosted sandboxes for Claude Managed Agents, where the agent loop stays with Anthropic and tool calls run inside the MicroVM. It is proprietary and only runs in AWS.
Notable
- Announced 22 June 2026 in five Regions; expanded to 10 Regions in August 2026 and 14 in October 2026.
- Default account quota: 400 GB of memory across all RUNNING or SUSPENDED MicroVMs per Region (1,024 GB in N. Virginia, Oregon, Ohio and Tokyo), burstable to four times that; new accounts get reduced quotas.
- Hard limit of 8 hours per MicroVM including suspended time; RunMicrovm API rate is 5 TPS by default (adjustable).
AWS Lambda MicroVMs specifications
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker microVM per MicroVM ("VM-level isolation with full operating system capabilities"); each runs Amazon Linux 2023 and is restored from a Firecracker snapshot of the built image |
| Deployment | Cloud or model provider service |
| Open source | No |
| SDKs and interfaces | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, PHP, CLI, REST API |
| Cold start (vendor claim) | Docs claim "near-instant launch and resume" from snapshot; the Claude Managed Agents integration page says "Resume from Firecracker snapshot in sub-second to single-digit seconds" |
| Max session length | maximumDurationInSeconds is 1-28,800 seconds (8 hours) including suspended time; the quota page lists "Maximum execution duration per MicroVM: 8 hours", not adjustable |
| Persistence | Suspend preserves memory and disk state (checkpointed), resume restores it; auto-suspend after a configurable idle period and auto-resume when traffic arrives; no compute charges while suspended; images are versioned Firecracker snapshots built from a Dockerfile |
| GPU | No — sizes are CPU/memory only (0.25-4 vCPU baseline, burstable to 4x); GPUs are not mentioned in the docs |
| Networking | Inbound via a per-VM HTTPS endpoint requiring a JWE auth token (HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, WebSockets, gRPC, SSE; default port 8080); NO_INGRESS connector disables inbound; outbound is public internet by default or a customer VPC egress connector; PrivateLink supported |
| Pricing | US East (N. Virginia), Arm: $0.0000276944 per vCPU-second and $0.0000036667 per GB-second while running; snapshot write $0.0038/GB (suspend), snapshot read $0.00155/GB (resume or launch); image and suspended-state storage $0.08 per GB-month (one-week minimum for images); billed per second at the baseline rate plus active use above baseline |
| Free tier | Not documented |
| Compliance | Not documented |
| Regions | 14 AWS Regions as of 22 Oct 2026: launched in US East (N. Virginia, Ohio), US West (Oregon), Europe (Ireland), Asia Pacific (Tokyo); later Mumbai, Singapore, Sydney, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Spain |
Facts from AWS Lambda MicroVMs’s public documentation, verified November 9, 2026. Performance numbers are vendor claims.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- You want Firecracker-isolated sandboxes inside your own AWS account with IAM, VPC egress and PrivateLink
- You need sessions that sit idle for long periods without paying for compute (suspend/resume with state intact)
- You run inbound-facing workloads (dev servers, WebSockets, gRPC) that need a per-sandbox authenticated endpoint
- You are building self-hosted sandboxes for Claude Managed Agents on AWS
Trade-offs
- Hard 8-hour maximum lifetime per MicroVM, including suspended time
- No GPU sizes; largest baseline is 8 GB / 4 vCPU (32 GB / 16 vCPU at peak) with 32 GB disk
- Images must be built by Lambda from a Dockerfile on a managed base image; snapshot compatibility caveats apply (unique state generated at build is shared by every MicroVM)
- No SDK abstraction for exec/files — you expose your own HTTP service inside the VM and talk to it through the endpoint
Good fit for: AWS-native agent sandboxes and interactive sessions that need VM isolation, an inbound endpoint and cheap idle time via suspend.
Use cases AWS Lambda MicroVMs fits
- Enterprise & BYOC: A Lambda resource type giving each session a suspendable Firecracker microVM with an inbound endpoint, under your existing AWS IAM, VPC and billing.
How AWS Lambda MicroVMs compares
| Sandbox | Isolation | Open source | Self-host / BYOC | Cold start (vendor) | Max session | Snapshots / pause | GPU | SDKs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Lambda MicroVMs | Firecracker microVM | No | No / No | sub-second to seconds (claimed) | 8 h | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, PHP, CLI, REST API |
| AWS Bedrock AgentCore | MicroVM (Runtime) | No | No / No | Not documented | Up to 8 h | Not documented / Not documented | No | Python (AgentCore SDK), AWS SDKs, AWS CLI |
| Azure Container Apps dynamic sessions | Hyper-V VM | No | No / No | Sub-second (pooled) | 220 s / exec | No / No | No | REST API, Azure CLI, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Semantic Kernel |
| Kubernetes Agent Sandbox | gVisor or Kata | Yes | Yes / Yes | <1 s (warm pool) | Not documented | Yes / Yes | Yes | Kubernetes CRDs, Python, kubectl |
| E2B | Firecracker microVM | Yes | Yes / Yes | Not documented | 1 h / 24 h (Pro) | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript |
| Fly Machines | Firecracker microVM | No | No / No | <1 s start (claimed) | Not documented | Yes / Yes | Not documented | Go, CLI, REST API |
| Modal Sandboxes | gVisor or VM | No | No / Not documented | <1 s | Up to 24 h | Yes / Yes | Yes | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go |
Frequently asked questions
What is AWS Lambda MicroVMs?
How does AWS Lambda MicroVMs isolate code?
Is AWS Lambda MicroVMs open source?
How much does AWS Lambda MicroVMs cost?
What are the alternatives to AWS Lambda MicroVMs?
Sources
- docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/lambda-microvms-guide.html
- docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/microvms-how-it-works.html
- docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/microvms-launching.html
- docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/microvms-images.html
- docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/microvms-networking.html
- docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/microvms-integrations-claude-managed-agents.html
- docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/gettingstarted-limits.html
- aws.amazon.com/lambda/pricing/
- aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2026/06/aws-lambda-microvms/
- aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2026/10/lambda-microvms-4-additional-regions/
- aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/run-isolated-sandboxes-with-full-lifecycle-control-aws-lambda-introduces-microvms/
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). AWS Lambda MicroVMs. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/sandboxes/aws-lambda-microvms/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.