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Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Answer in brief

Enterprise cloud development environments provisioned as isolated VMs (EC2 or Compute Engine) in your own VPC from a Dev Container config, with SDKs, a CLI and Codex-based background agents; hosted Ona Cloud was retired on 31 October 2026. A mature, VPC-native VM environment platform for enterprises, now enterprise-only and tied to OpenAI's Codex after the Ona Cloud shutdown.

By the Agent Sandboxes editors · Updated

Overview

Ona is the company formerly known as Gitpod, re-founded under the new name on 2 September 2025 and acquired by OpenAI (closing 10 August 2026) as part of the Codex team. The product has three parts: Environments, API-first cloud development environments created from a devcontainer.json; Agents, now the Codex Agent (Ona's own agent was deprecated after Anthropic ended model access); and Guardrails for policy and audit. Each environment is a dedicated VM — an EC2 instance for AWS runners or a Compute Engine instance for GCP runners — and the runner that provisions it lives in your VPC, while Ona hosts only the management plane. Environments are managed from the dashboard, the ona CLI (environment create, exec, ssh, stop, delete, JSON output for agents) and SDKs for Python (gitpod-sdk), TypeScript (@gitpod/sdk) and Go.

The hosted compute option, Ona Cloud, together with the Free and Core plans, was wound down on 31 October 2026, and new sign-ups closed before that; the docs now state "Enterprise organizations can continue using runners in their own infrastructure" on AWS or GCP. Pricing is therefore contact-sales. Environments stop and resume with state preserved, auto-stop on inactivity, and can use GPU instance classes. Gitpod Classic (the older Kubernetes-based product) was sunset on 15 October 2025.

Notable

  • Rebranded from Gitpod to Ona on 2 September 2025; agreed to join OpenAI on 11 June 2026, closing 10 August 2026.
  • Ona Cloud (hosted compute) shut down on 31 October 2026 with October payments and unused credits refunded; new sign-ups had already closed.
  • Runners are deployed as ECS services in your AWS VPC or in your GCP project; environments are EC2 or Compute Engine instances.

Ona (formerly Gitpod) specifications

AttributeDetails
IsolationEach environment is "an isolated VM with dedicated compute, storage, and networking" — an EC2 instance on AWS runners or a Compute Engine instance on GCP runners — created from a Dev Container configuration; runners live in your VPC and the Ona-hosted management plane never sees source code or secrets
DeploymentHosted platform · BYOC available
Open sourceNo
SDKs and interfacesPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, CLI, REST API
Cold start (vendor claim)Not documented
Max session lengthAuto-stop after a configurable inactivity timeout (--inactivity-timeout); no fixed maximum published
PersistenceStop an environment "to preserve its state" and start it again; delete removes it permanently; environment classes set instance type and disk (default classes from m6i.large with 45 GB up to g5.4xlarge with 300 GB); warm pools (Enterprise)
GPUDefault AWS environment classes include GPU classes on g5.4xlarge instances with 300 GB disk
NetworkingEnvironments run in your VPC; subnets can stay private with outbound through NAT or proxy; "kernel-level policy enforcement" and scoped credentials advertised as guardrails
PricingContact sales (Enterprise); Ona Cloud and the Core plan (from $20/month) were discontinued on 31 October 2026
Free tierNot documented
ComplianceSOC 2 and GDPR logos with a trust portal at trust.ona.com; details not specified on the pages read
RegionsWherever you deploy runners: any AWS or GCP region in your own account

Facts from Ona (formerly Gitpod)’s public documentation, verified November 9, 2026. Performance numbers are vendor claims.

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

  • You need dedicated-VM environments that never leave your own AWS or GCP account
  • You want Dev Container-defined, reproducible workspaces for both developers and background agents
  • You are an enterprise standardising on Codex-based background agents with audit and policy controls

Trade-offs

  • No hosted or self-serve option any more: Enterprise contact-sales only since Ona Cloud closed
  • Ona's own agent was deprecated; the built-in agent path is now Codex
  • Startup times, session caps and compliance specifics are not published
  • Future product direction sits inside OpenAI's Codex team

Good fit for: Enterprises that want VM-isolated, Dev Container-based environments for developers and background agents inside their own AWS or GCP VPC.

Use cases Ona (formerly Gitpod) fits

  • GPU workloads: Enterprise environments in your own AWS VPC include GPU environment classes on g5 instances.
  • Enterprise & BYOC: VM-isolated Dev Container environments for developers and background agents, run inside your own AWS or GCP VPC; enterprise-only.

How Ona (formerly Gitpod) compares

SandboxIsolationOpen sourceSelf-host / BYOCCold start (vendor)Max sessionSnapshots / pauseGPUSDKs
Ona (formerly Gitpod)Dedicated cloud VMNoNo / YesNot documentedNot documentedNot documented / YesYesPython, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, CLI, REST API
GitHub CodespacesDedicated VM per codespaceNoNo / NoNot documented12 h, 30 min idleNo / YesNoCLI, REST API
CoderTemplate-defined (VM/pod/container)YesYes / NoNot documentedNot documentedNot documented / YesNot documentedCLI, REST API, MCP server
DaytonaContainers or VMsNoNot documented / Yes<90 msUnlimitedYes / YesYesPython, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java
Control Plane SandboxesContainer (runtime not named)NoYes / Yes60-90 sNot documentedNot documented / YesNot documentedCLI
Together Code SandboxMicroVMNoNo / Not documented0.5 s (snapshot)Until terminatedYes / YesNot documentedPython, TypeScript

See all Ona (formerly Gitpod) alternatives →

Frequently asked questions

What is Ona (formerly Gitpod)?
Enterprise cloud development environments provisioned as isolated VMs (EC2 or Compute Engine) in your own VPC from a Dev Container config, with SDKs, a CLI and Codex-based background agents; hosted Ona Cloud was retired on 31 October 2026. A mature, VPC-native VM environment platform for enterprises, now enterprise-only and tied to OpenAI's Codex after the Ona Cloud shutdown.
How does Ona (formerly Gitpod) isolate code?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) documents its isolation as: Each environment is "an isolated VM with dedicated compute, storage, and networking" — an EC2 instance on AWS runners or a Compute Engine instance on GCP runners — created from a Dev Container configuration; runners live in your VPC and the Ona-hosted management plane never sees source code or secrets.
Is Ona (formerly Gitpod) open source?
No, Ona (formerly Gitpod) is not open source. It does offer a bring-your-own-cloud deployment.
How much does Ona (formerly Gitpod) cost?
Contact sales (Enterprise); Ona Cloud and the Core plan (from $20/month) were discontinued on 31 October 2026 Check the official pricing page for current rates.
What are the alternatives to Ona (formerly Gitpod)?

Sources

  1. ona.com
  2. ona.com/pricing
  3. ona.com/docs/ona/runners/overview
  4. ona.com/docs/ona/understanding/how-ona-works
  5. ona.com/docs/ona/environments/agent-environments
  6. ona.com/docs/ona/integrations/sdk
  7. ona.com/docs/ona/runners/ona-cloud
  8. ona.com/docs/ona/billing/overview
  9. ona.com/docs/ona/agents/overview
  10. ona.com/stories/gitpod-is-now-ona
  11. ona.com/stories/ona-joins-openai
  12. ona.com/stories/ona-core-shutdown

Cite this page

Agent Sandboxes. (2026). Ona (formerly Gitpod). agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/sandboxes/ona-gitpod/

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