SPACE
Perplexity's open-source sandbox platform that runs code in Firecracker microVMs with pause, suspend-to-snapshot and an E2B compatibility layer. A serious Firecracker control plane for operators comfortable with Kubernetes, with E2B compatibility as the on-ramp.
Overview
SPACE is a sandbox platform published by Perplexity under Apache-2.0. A template supplies the starting environment and a sandbox is an instance with its own Firecracker microVM and writable filesystem; applications drive it over an HTTP API with server-sent events, with command output flowing over a separate data plane and lifecycle changes returned as operation IDs to poll. An API server backed by PostgreSQL stores desired state and controllers reconcile it, either directly against worker services or through a Kubernetes adapter that creates sandbox pods. The E2B Compatibility Wrapper exposes an E2B-style API tested against the E2B Python SDK, with limitations listed in the repository.
Sandboxes can be paused (memory stays resident, not durable), suspended (a snapshot of memory, runtime state and root filesystem is written and VM resources released) and woken; idle sandboxes suspend after 6 hours by default. Snapshot export, checkpoint and rollback are incubating features hidden unless enabled for an organisation, and file writes persist at lifecycle boundaries rather than per write. Egress is policy-driven with optional TLS interception. The documented install targets an apt-based x86_64 Linux host with KVM, Docker and Kind; macOS is explicitly not supported. The docs site covers version 0.8.1; there is no hosted version.
Notable
- Apache-2.0; documentation covers SPACE version 0.8.1 and the repository has roughly 2.1k GitHub stars
- Default idle suspend is 6 hours; suspend produces a durable snapshot of memory, runtime state and root filesystem
- E2B Compatibility Wrapper is tested against the E2B Python SDK, with supported behaviour and gaps documented in docs/ecw.md
SPACE specifications
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Isolation | Firecracker microVM per sandbox with its own writable filesystem ("Firecracker isolates guest execution") |
| Deployment | Open-source project · Self-hostable |
| Open source | Yes (Apache-2.0) |
| SDKs and interfaces | Python, REST API, CLI |
| Cold start (vendor claim) | No boot time figure published; warm pools keep booted sandboxes ready and the native create readiness budget is 5 seconds |
| Max session length | Default idle suspend after 6 hours without access or command activity; lifecycle operations have a 30-minute deadline |
| Persistence | Paused keeps VM memory resident on the worker (not durable); suspended writes a snapshot of memory, runtime state and root filesystem and releases VM resources; wake restores either; snapshots, checkpoint and rollback are incubating and hidden unless enabled per organisation |
| GPU | Not documented |
| Networking | Egress governed by NetworkPolicyV1 destination rules with optional per-policy TLS interception; operator egress profiles; in the Kind install sandbox pods are restricted to public IPv4 and cluster DNS |
| Pricing | Free to self-host (Apache-2.0); no hosted offering described |
| Free tier | Free to self-host |
| Compliance | Not documented |
| Regions | Self-hosted; local Kind cluster install documented, with an AWS EKS reference deployment in the repository |
Facts from SPACE’s public documentation, verified November 9, 2026. Performance numbers are vendor claims.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- You want Firecracker isolation with pause, suspend and wake semantics spelled out
- You need egress policy with TLS interception and per-organisation feature gating
- You have existing E2B Python SDK code and want to point it at your own cluster
- You run on Kubernetes (an EKS reference exists) or can run the direct adapter without it
Trade-offs
- Linux x86_64 hosts with KVM only; the install does not run on macOS
- No published boot time figures and no hosted version
- Snapshots, checkpoint and rollback are incubating and hidden by default
- Only a Python example and the E2B wrapper are documented as client paths; no first-party multi-language SDKs
Good fit for: Operators who want a Firecracker sandbox control plane with asynchronous lifecycle operations and E2B SDK compatibility.
Use cases SPACE fits
- Open source & self-hosted: Perplexity’s Apache-2.0 Firecracker sandbox control plane with asynchronous lifecycle operations and E2B SDK compatibility.
How SPACE compares
| Sandbox | Isolation | Open source | Self-host / BYOC | Cold start (vendor) | Max session | Snapshots / pause | GPU | SDKs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPACE | Firecracker microVM | Yes | Yes / No | Not documented | 6 h idle suspend | Yes / Yes | Not documented | Python, REST API, CLI |
| E2B | Firecracker microVM | Yes | Yes / Yes | Not documented | 1 h / 24 h (Pro) | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript |
| CubeSandbox | RustVMM/KVM microVM | Yes | Yes / No | <60 ms (claimed) | Not documented | Yes / Yes | No | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, REST API, CLI |
| Firecracker | KVM microVM | Yes | Yes / No | <125 ms (spec) | Not documented | Yes / Yes | No | REST API, CLI |
| Microsandbox | MicroVM (libkrun) | Yes | Yes / Yes | <100 ms | Not documented | Yes / Not documented | No | TypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, Ruby, CLI, MCP server |
| OpenSandbox | Containers or Firecracker | Yes | Yes / No | 64 ms P50 (claimed) | Not documented | Not documented / Yes | Not documented | Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, Kotlin, Go, C#, CLI, MCP server, REST API |
| Arrakis | Cloud Hypervisor microVM | Yes | Yes / No | Not documented | Not documented | Yes / Not documented | Not documented | Python, REST API, CLI, MCP server |
Frequently asked questions
What is SPACE?
How does SPACE isolate code?
Is SPACE open source?
How much does SPACE cost?
What are the alternatives to SPACE?
Sources
Cite this page
Agent Sandboxes. (2026). SPACE. agentsandboxes.org. Last reviewed November 9, 2026. https://agentsandboxes.org/sandboxes/perplexity-space/
Found an error or a missing sandbox? Submit a correction — every entry links to the sources it relies on.