OpenShell/docs/sandboxes/manage-sandboxes.md

title, description, topics, tags, content

title	description	topics	tags	content
page nav Manage Sandboxes Sandboxes	Set up gateways, create sandboxes, and manage the full sandbox lifecycle.	Generative AI Cybersecurity	Gateway Sandboxing AI Agents Sandbox Management CLI	type difficulty audience how_to technical_beginner engineer data_scientist

Manage Sandboxes

This page covers creating sandboxes and managing them. For background on what sandboxes are and how isolation works, refer to About Sandboxes.

:::{important} Docker must be running before you create a gateway or sandbox. If it is not, the CLI returns a connection-refused error (os error 61) without explaining the cause. Start Docker and try again. :::

Create a Sandbox

Create a sandbox with a single command. For example, to create a sandbox with Claude, run:

$ openshell sandbox create -- claude

Every sandbox requires a gateway. If you run openshell sandbox create without a gateway, the CLI auto-bootstraps a local gateway.

Remote Gateways

If you plan to run sandboxes on a remote host or a cloud-hosted gateway, set up the gateway first. Refer to {doc}manage-gateways for deployment options and multi-gateway management.

GPU Resources

To request GPU resources, add --gpu:

$ openshell sandbox create --gpu -- claude

Custom Containers

Use --from to create a sandbox from a pre-built community package, a local directory, or a container image:

$ openshell sandbox create --from openclaw
$ openshell sandbox create --from ./my-sandbox-dir
$ openshell sandbox create --from my-registry.example.com/my-image:latest

The CLI resolves community names against the OpenShell Community catalog, pulls the bundled Dockerfile and policy, builds the image locally, and creates the sandbox. For the full catalog and how to contribute your own, refer to {doc}community-sandboxes.

The following is an example of a fully specified creation command:

$ openshell sandbox create \
    --name dev \
    --provider my-claude \
    --policy policy.yaml \
    --upload \
    -- claude

Additional sandbox create flags:

Flag	Purpose
--no-keep	Delete the sandbox automatically after the initial command exits
--forward <port>	Forward a local port to the sandbox before running
--tty / --no-tty	Force or disable pseudo-terminal allocation
--no-bootstrap	Error if no gateway is available instead of auto-bootstrapping
--no-auto-providers	Error if required providers are missing instead of prompting

Connect to a Sandbox

Open an SSH session into a running sandbox:

$ openshell sandbox connect my-sandbox

Launch VS Code or Cursor directly into the sandbox workspace:

$ openshell sandbox create --editor vscode --name my-sandbox
$ openshell sandbox connect my-sandbox --editor cursor

When --editor is used, OpenShell keeps the sandbox alive and installs an OpenShell-managed SSH include file instead of cluttering your main ~/.ssh/config with generated host blocks.

Monitor and Debug

List all sandboxes:

$ openshell sandbox list

Get detailed information about a specific sandbox:

$ openshell sandbox get my-sandbox

Stream sandbox logs to monitor agent activity and diagnose policy decisions:

$ openshell logs my-sandbox

Flag	Purpose	Example
--tail	Stream logs in real time	openshell logs my-sandbox --tail
--source	Filter by log source	--source sandbox
--level	Filter by severity	--level warn
--since	Show logs from a time window	--since 5m

OpenShell Terminal combines sandbox status and live logs in a single real-time dashboard:

$ openshell term

Use the terminal to spot blocked connections marked action=deny and inference interceptions marked action=inspect_for_inference. If a connection is blocked unexpectedly, add the host to your network policy. Refer to {doc}policies for the workflow.

Port Forwarding

Forward a local port to a running sandbox to access services inside it, such as a web server or database:

$ openshell forward start 8000 my-sandbox
$ openshell forward start 8000 my-sandbox -d    # run in background

List and stop active forwards:

$ openshell forward list
$ openshell forward stop 8000 my-sandbox

:::{tip} You can also forward a port at creation time with --forward:

$ openshell sandbox create --forward 8000 -- claude

:::

SSH Config

Generate an SSH config entry for a sandbox so tools like VS Code Remote-SSH can connect directly:

$ openshell sandbox ssh-config my-sandbox

Append the output to ~/.ssh/config or use --editor on sandbox create/sandbox connect for automatic setup.

Transfer Files

Upload files from your host into the sandbox:

$ openshell sandbox upload my-sandbox ./src /sandbox/src

Download files from the sandbox to your host:

$ openshell sandbox download my-sandbox /sandbox/output ./local

:::{note} You can also upload files at creation time with the --upload flag on openshell sandbox create. :::

Delete Sandboxes

Deleting a sandbox stops all processes, releases resources, and purges injected credentials.

$ openshell sandbox delete my-sandbox
$ openshell sandbox delete --all

Next Steps

• To follow a complete end-to-end example, refer to the {doc}/tutorials/github-sandbox tutorial.
• To supply API keys or tokens, refer to {doc}manage-providers.
• To control what the agent can access, refer to {doc}policies.
• To use a pre-built environment, refer to the {doc}community-sandboxes catalog.