krishicks
92434dcb2b
* fix(isolation): validate Unix socket paths the same way on every host Prior to this change, SandboxTransport::validate checked Unix socket paths with Path::is_absolute(). On Windows that requires a drive or UNC prefix, so a POSIX path such as /run/backend.sock was rejected as "invalid boundary control transport endpoint". The isolation backend registration work in #3898 added tests that register Unix endpoints in the core registration types, gateway config, gateway config preflight, and supervisor backend setup; all of them failed on the Windows MSVC runners. The Windows test job only runs on PRs labeled test:windows, so the break went unnoticed on main. Unix transport is refused at runtime on non-Unix hosts, so these paths are always POSIX paths regardless of where they are validated. Now, both the core registration validator and the sandbox backend protocol validator use a new openshell_core::paths::is_posix_absolute helper, which applies the POSIX rule (the path starts with '/') on every host. On Unix this matches is_absolute() exactly. Signed-off-by: Kris Hicks <khicks@nvidia.com> * test(supervisor): run baseline write-back cases only on Unix hosts The startup policy write-refusal tests from #3785 rely on enrich_proto_baseline_paths adding the proxy baseline paths (/usr, /tmp, /dev/null, ...) to a policy, which triggers a write-back that the fake gateway then refuses. Enrichment only adds paths that exist on the host. Prior to this change, the tests assumed those paths exist, so on Windows enrichment added nothing, the precondition assertions failed, and the baseline case of permanent_codes_still_exit never saw a write to refuse. Now, the four baseline write-back tests are gated to Unix, and permanent_codes_still_exit checks the image policy upload case on every host and the baseline write-back case only on Unix. Signed-off-by: Kris Hicks <khicks@nvidia.com> * test(server): scale the SQLite concurrent-write test for Windows fsync sqlite_concurrent_writes_return_their_own_resource_version (#4408) runs 8 writers that each make 25 unconditional and 25 version-checked writes against one row of an on-disk WAL database with synchronous=FULL. Writers serialize on the SQLite write lock and wait out sqlx's default 5s busy_timeout. Prior to this change, the per-commit fsync cost on the Windows runners was high enough that a waiting writer starved past that timeout and failed with "database is locked" after about 7s. Now, each writer makes 5 writes on Windows and 25 elsewhere. The test still races every writer on the same row, which is what it checks. Signed-off-by: Kris Hicks <khicks@nvidia.com> * test(server): hold scope-mix locks for wall-clock time, not timer ticks random_scope_mix_never_deadlocks (#4147) runs 64 tasks of 50 random lock operations and holds each operation's locks for 0-2 ms, failing if the mix does not finish within 20s. Prior to this change, the hold was a tokio::time::sleep. Windows timers round a 1 ms sleep up to about 16 ms, and a quarter of the operations take the exclusive global lock, so the serialized holds alone took several seconds and the full mix exceeded the 20s deadline on the Windows runners. Now, occupy yields until a std::time::Instant deadline, so holds last 0-2 ms of wall-clock time on every platform and the deadline means the same thing everywhere. Signed-off-by: Kris Hicks <khicks@nvidia.com> * test(supervisor): run sandbox instance host tests only on Unix hosts The sandbox_instance_host tests added with per-instance supervisor state (#4701) admit hosted instances through SandboxInstanceHost::new, which prepares a private directory per instance. Hosted sandbox instances are Unix-only: on other hosts prepare_private_dir returns "hosted sandbox instances require a Unix host". Prior to this change, the test module still compiled and ran on Windows, so all three tests failed while creating their host. Now, the test module is gated to Unix, and the Unix-only permission check inside one test no longer needs its own cfg attribute. Signed-off-by: Kris Hicks <khicks@nvidia.com> --------- Signed-off-by: Kris Hicks <khicks@nvidia.com>
Important
New in OpenShell 0.1.x: a stable release cadence, new isolation primitives, an expanded extension surface, and new APIs. Read the 0.1.0 upgrade guide.
OpenShell is the safe, private runtime for fleets of autonomous AI agents. Agents are most useful when they can read files, install packages, call APIs, and use credentials. OpenShell gives them that capability without giving them unrestricted access to your data, secrets, or network. You declare what each agent can touch in a policy, and OpenShell enforces it.
How It Works
OpenShell governs what agents can do in two ways: it instruments the kernel to enforce policy on every file access, system call, and network connection at runtime, and it uses formal verification to check what a policy change would allow before it is applied.
- Kernel-level enforcement. Each agent runs in an isolated sandbox. Kernel controls confine which files it can access and which system calls it can make, and every network connection passes through a policy check before it leaves the sandbox. Agents never see real credentials; OpenShell adds them only to requests bound for approved endpoints.
- Formally verified policy changes. Before a policy change is approved, OpenShell uses formal verification to flag risky new access it would grant, such as reaching a new host with credentials or calling a new API method, so those changes wait for human review.
See Architecture for how the gateway, supervisor, and sandbox fit together.
Quickstart
You need Linux, macOS on Apple Silicon, or Windows with WSL 2 (experimental), plus Docker, Podman, or host virtualization. See the Support Matrix for details.
curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/main/install.sh | sh
openshell sandbox create --name demo
The installer sets up the CLI and a local gateway. The default sandbox image is minimal Ubuntu with no agent installed. To run a real agent, follow Run Your First Agent: it runs OpenCode against a free OpenRouter model and shows how to approve new access as the agent needs it.
Explore Further
- Sandboxes: images, runtimes, GPUs, and lifecycle.
- Policies: filesystem, network, and process rules, with the advisor and prover for reviewing changes.
- Providers: credentials that work only at approved endpoints, including inference.
- Gateways: the control plane for sandboxes, policy, and access.
- Kubernetes: deploy the gateway with Helm. Your CNI must enforce
NetworkPolicy. - Extensibility: middleware, interceptors, and compute drivers.
- Tutorials: step-by-step policy and agent walkthroughs.
- Prerelease and development builds: try an upcoming release or the latest commit on
main.
Agent Skills
Install the public OpenShell skills for your coding agent:
npx skills add NVIDIA/OpenShell
The skills teach your agent to drive the OpenShell CLI, write sandbox policies, and debug gateways and inference routing. They live in skills/ and work without an OpenShell source checkout.
SDKs
SDKs connect applications to an OpenShell gateway. They do not install the CLI. Use the same OpenShell release for the SDK and the gateway when possible.
| Language | Install | Docs |
|---|---|---|
| Python | uv add openshell |
README |
| TypeScript | npm install @nvidia/openshell-sdk (GitHub Packages) |
README |
| Go | go get github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/sdk/go@latest |
README |
| Rust | cargo add openshell-sdk --git https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell --tag <release-tag> |
Installation and usage |
Community
- Questions and discussion: GitHub Discussions
- Bug reports and feature requests: GitHub Issues, using the issue templates
- Security vulnerabilities: follow SECURITY.md. Do not open a GitHub issue.
- Roadmap: OpenShell Roadmap and the RFC board
- Try it in the cloud: Brev Launchable
OpenShell is built agent-first: it is developed with the same agent-driven workflows it enables. See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and the contribution workflow, and AGENTS.md for repository coding conventions.
Telemetry
OpenShell collects anonymous telemetry, limited to operational categories and counts, to help improve the project. It does not collect sandbox names, hostnames, file paths, prompts, credentials, provider or model names, or user content. To disable it, set OPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false on the gateway, or server.telemetryEnabled=false for Helm installs. You can also compile telemetry out entirely. See Telemetry for details and the community telemetry reports for published usage trends.
Notice and Disclaimer
This software automatically retrieves, accesses or interacts with external materials. Those retrieved materials are not distributed with this software and are governed solely by separate terms, conditions and licenses. You are solely responsible for finding, reviewing and complying with all applicable terms, conditions, and licenses, and for verifying the security, integrity and suitability of any retrieved materials for your specific use case. This software is provided "AS IS", without warranty of any kind. The author makes no representations or warranties regarding any retrieved materials, and assumes no liability for any losses, damages, liabilities or legal consequences from your use or inability to use this software or any retrieved materials. Use this software and the retrieved materials at your own risk.
License
This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.