Persistent Linux VMs
Each box is a persistent Ubuntu VM, not a short-lived session. It includes SSH and SCP access, and the site says boxes survive reboots and reconnects.
Box
Freemium
Box is a cloud sandbox service from ASCII that provides persistent Ubuntu VMs for agents, developers, and automated workflows. It offers SSH, Docker, snapshotting, per-machine IPv4, and CLI/API/SDK access.
What is Box?
Box is a cloud sandbox product from ASCII for agents, developers, and automated workflows that need a full Linux machine rather than a browser-based environment or ephemeral runtime. It provides persistent Ubuntu VMs with SSH, SCP, Docker inside the VM, a dedicated IPv4 per machine, and a virtual desktop.
The service is positioned for building and running long-lived agents, agent factories, and other isolated workloads. Box can be used through a CLI, HTTP API, and SDKs, and it supports commands for creating boxes, connecting over SSH, forking from snapshots, pausing and resuming work, and launching an interactive desktop when needed.
What can Box do?
Preconfigured development environment
Docker is available inside the VM, and the pages also mention full Ubuntu machines with pre-installed tools such as VS Code, Chrome, Ghostty, GitHub CLI, Rust, Node.js, and Bun.
Per-machine networking
Boxes include a dedicated IPv4 per machine and support public URLs and full TCP/UDP use, which makes them suitable for background services and networked workloads.
CLI, API, and SDK workflows
The CLI supports commands for creating, connecting to, forking from snapshots, stopping, listing, and using the virtual desktop, with API and SDK options for programmatic workflows.
Snapshot and desktop access
A box can be forked from a snapshot, and the product includes a 60fps virtual desktop for GUI access when needed.
Per-second billing
Billing is by the second, with stopping a box pausing billing. The site says $20 buys 2,000,000 VM-seconds, equivalent to about 555 hours of dedicated 4 vCPU / 8 GB VM time.
Use Cases
“Agent factories and parallel workflows”
Run multiple agents in parallel, each isolated on its own VM, and fork from snapshots when you want to branch work or reproduce a state.
“General software development”
Use SSH, SCP, and Docker inside a persistent Ubuntu machine to build and test software with a full dev environment instead of a constrained sandbox.
“24/7 services and background jobs”
Keep a box running as a background service with its own IPv4, public access, and no session-style workflow, which suits long-running automation or networked tools.
“Programmatic agent infrastructure”
Start with the CLI for quick manual work, then switch to the HTTP API or SDKs when you want to orchestrate boxes from code.
“GUI-assisted debugging and demos”
Use the 60fps virtual desktop when a GUI is easier for inspection, debugging, or interactive work than terminal-only access.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get started with Box?
Yes. The install command is available for macOS, Linux, and Windows, and the product can be used through the CLI, HTTP API, or SDKs.
What interfaces does Box offer?
Box provides a CLI with commands such as box new, box ssh, box scp, box prompt, box fork, box stop, box desktop, and box list. The site also points programmatic users to HTTP API and SDK documentation.
What happens when I stop a box?
Stopping a box snapshots it and pauses billing. You can resume later, and the site says your files, installed packages, and enabled systemd services survive stop and resume.
What kinds of workloads is Box for?
Box is described as suitable for development, automation, agents, testing, demos, and other lawful computing workloads. The terms also allow public hosting from a box, as long as it is lawful and non-abusive.
Are there limits I should know about?
The site says self-serve plans scale from 100 to 1,200 active boxes per account, with more available by agreement. It also notes EU regions today and a default box TTL of 1 hour that is overrideable.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Cloud sandbox / developer tool
- Platform
- Linux Ubuntu VMs
- Access
- CLI, HTTP API, SDKs
- Primary users
- Agents, developers, and teams building automated workflows
- Company
- ASCII / Dedale AI, Corp.
- Source domain
- box.ascii.dev
Box Traffic Analysis
Traffic data is for reference only.
- Domain Rating
- 34
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