---
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
title: "NVIDIA OpenShell Developer Guide"
description: "OpenShell is the safe, private runtime for fleets of autonomous AI agents. Run agents in sandboxed environments that protect your data, credentials, and infrastructure."
keywords: "Generative AI, Cybersecurity, AI Agents, Sandboxing, Security, Privacy, Provider Credentials"
position: 1
---

import { BadgeLinks } from "./_components/BadgeLinks";
import { CommandTerminal } from "./_components/CommandTerminal";

<BadgeLinks
  badges={[
    {
      href: "https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell",
      src: "https://img.shields.io/badge/github-repo-green?logo=github",
      alt: "GitHub",
    },
    {
      href: "https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/blob/main/LICENSE",
      src: "https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache_2.0-blue",
      alt: "License",
    },
    {
      href: "https://pypi.org/project/openshell/",
      src: "https://img.shields.io/badge/PyPI-openshell-orange?logo=pypi",
      alt: "PyPI",
    },
  ]}
/>

NVIDIA OpenShell is the safe, private runtime for fleets of autonomous AI agents. It provides sandboxed execution environments
that protect your data, credentials, and infrastructure. Agents run with exactly the permissions they need and
nothing more, governed by declarative policies that prevent unauthorized file access, data exfiltration, and
uncontrolled network activity.

<Note>
New in OpenShell 0.1.x: a [stable release cadence](/about/support-matrix#releases), new [isolation primitives](/about/architecture), and an expanded [extension surface](/extensibility/overview), along with much more.

See our [upgrade guide](/upgrade/0-1-0) for everything that's changed.
</Note>

## Get Started

Install OpenShell and create your first sandbox in two commands.

<llms-ignore>

<CommandTerminal command="curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/main/install.sh | sh" />

</llms-ignore>

<llms-only>

```shell
curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/main/install.sh | sh
openshell sandbox create
```

</llms-only>

Refer to [Run Your First Agent](/about/run-your-first-agent) for the complete image,
provider, and policy workflow.

---

## Explore

<div className="explore-cards">
<Cards>

<Card title="About OpenShell" href="/about/overview">

Learn about OpenShell and its capabilities.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>Concept</Badge>
</Card>

<Card title="Run Your First Agent" href="/about/run-your-first-agent">

Prepare an image, attach providers, and launch an agent in a sandbox.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>Tutorial</Badge>
</Card>

<Card title="Tutorials" href="/tutorials">

Hands-on walkthroughs from first sandbox to custom policies.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>Concept</Badge>
</Card>

<Card title="Gateways and Sandboxes" href="/how-it-works/gateways/overview">

Deploy gateways, create sandboxes, configure policies, providers, and workload images for your AI agents.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>Concept</Badge>
</Card>

<Card title="Inference" href="/how-it-works/inference">

Attach model providers to selected sandboxes and call their native endpoints without exposing credentials.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>Concept</Badge>
</Card>

<Card title="Observability" href="/observability">

Understand sandbox logs, access them with the CLI and TUI, and export OCSF JSON records.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>How-To</Badge>
</Card>

<Card title="Policies" href="/how-it-works/policies/overview">

Define filesystem, process, and network controls for sandbox workloads.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>Reference</Badge>
</Card>

<Card title="Security Best Practices" href="/security/best-practices">

Every configurable security control, its default, and the risk of changing it.

<Badge intent="tip" minimal outlined>Concept</Badge>
</Card>

</Cards>
</div>

---

<Warning title="Notice and Disclaimer">
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  materials. Use this software and the retrieved materials at your own risk.
</Warning>