HopX
Firecracker microVM sandboxes from Bunnyshell with template-based sizing, memory-preserving pause, VNC desktop automation, an MCP server and $200 of free credits. A simple per-second Firecracker sandbox with desktop tooling, documented more thinly on security and regions than its larger peers.
Overview
HopX ("HopX by Bunnyshell", from the environments-as-a-service company Bunnyshell) provides sandboxes for running untrusted code, scripts, tests, jobs and AI agents. The homepage describes them as Firecracker Linux microVMs that start in about 100 ms from prebuilt snapshots. Access is through Python (hopx-ai) and JavaScript (@hopx-ai/sdk) SDKs, a CLI, a REST API and an MCP server for IDEs and assistants; capabilities include synchronous and streaming code execution in Python, JavaScript, Bash and Go, file operations, background processes, environment variables and desktop automation over VNC with mouse, keyboard and screenshots.
Resources are fixed by template (vCPU 1-64, memory 512 MB-64 GB, disk 1-250 GB depending on plan), sandboxes have no expiry unless a timeout is set, and pause preserves memory and processes while stop keeps only the filesystem. Pricing is purely per second with no tiers and $200 of free credits. The docs do not cover regions, egress allow-lists, snapshots of user state or compliance, and the relationship to Bunnyshell is stated only by branding and shared social accounts.
Notable
- $200 free credits with no card required
- Marketed as "HopX by Bunnyshell"; status page at status.bunnyshell.com
- Templates allow up to 64 vCPU, 64 GB memory and 250 GB disk, plan-dependent
HopX specifications
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker Linux microVM per sandbox with hardware-level kernel isolation (homepage); the docs overview says only "isolated computing environments" |
| Deployment | Hosted platform |
| Open source | No |
| SDKs and interfaces | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI, REST API, MCP server |
| Cold start (vendor claim) | Homepage: about 100 ms startup from prebuilt snapshots (vendor claim) |
| Max session length | No expiry unless timeout_seconds is set; the homepage says sandboxes can run for hours, days or weeks; set_timeout resets the timer from now and the sandbox is destroyed, data included, on expiry |
| Persistence | Pause preserves full state including memory, variables and running processes and resumes where it left off; stop keeps the filesystem only; templates package environments and sandboxes launch from prebuilt snapshots; no user-created snapshot API documented |
| GPU | Not mentioned in docs or pricing |
| Networking | Per-sandbox internet_access flag (false creates an isolated sandbox); default not stated; no allow-list documented; exposed ports get region-scoped URLs |
| Pricing | Pay per second with no plans, minimums or idle charges: vCPU $0.000014/s, memory $0.0000045/s per GiB, storage $0.00000003/s per GiB (about $0.050 per vCPU-hour and $0.016 per GiB-hour); examples on the page: 8 hours at 2 vCPU/4 GB about $1.50; enterprise custom SLAs and volume discounts via sales |
| Free tier | $200 free credits, no card required |
| Compliance | Not documented |
| Regions | Not listed; the API exposes a region field for filtering and URLs but no region names are documented |
Facts from HopX’s public documentation, verified November 9, 2026. Performance numbers are vendor claims.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- You want Firecracker isolation with pay-per-second pricing and no monthly plan
- You need sandboxes that never expire unless you say so
- You want desktop automation (VNC, mouse, keyboard, screenshots) inside the sandbox
- You want an MCP server so an IDE assistant can open sandboxes directly
Trade-offs
- Regions, compliance certifications and egress allow-lists are not documented
- Resources cannot be set per sandbox, only via templates
- No user-created snapshot or fork API documented
- The pricing page's worked example does not match its own per-second rates
Good fit for: Pay-per-second microVM sandboxes with desktop automation and no session limits.
How HopX compares
| Sandbox | Isolation | Open source | Self-host / BYOC | Cold start (vendor) | Max session | Snapshots / pause | GPU | SDKs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HopX | Firecracker microVM | No | No / No | ~100 ms (claim) | No cap | Not documented / Yes | Not documented | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI, REST API, MCP server |
| E2B | Firecracker microVM | Yes | Yes / Yes | Not documented | 1 h / 24 h (Pro) | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript |
| Daytona | Containers or VMs | No | Not documented / Yes | <90 ms | Unlimited | Yes / Yes | Yes | Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java |
| Novita Agent Sandbox | Not documented | No | No / No | <200 ms (claim) | 1 h free / 24 h paid | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, CLI |
| Blaxel | MicroVM | No | No / Yes | <25 ms resume | Unlimited (standby) | Yes / Yes | Not documented | TypeScript, Python, Go |
| Tensorlake Sandboxes | MicroVM (gVisor for GPU) | Yes | Yes / Yes | ~100s of ms (claim) | 2 h / 24 h / unlimited (Pro) | Yes / Yes | Yes | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Rust, CLI, REST API |
| Scrapybara | Not documented | No | No / No | <1 s (claimed) | 1 h default, configurable | No / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, REST API, MCP server, CLI |
Frequently asked questions
What is HopX?
How does HopX isolate code?
Is HopX open source?
How much does HopX cost?
What are the alternatives to HopX?
Sources
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). HopX. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/sandboxes/hopx/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.