Secure microVM sandboxes for untrusted code

Spawn millions of fast, secure sandboxes for agents, the code they generate, and dynamic environments.

  • Codex
  • Claude Code
  • OpenCode
  • Pi
  • MicroVM or gVisorCloud Hypervisor, or gVisor for GPUs
  • Fast storagevirtio-blk, and volumes at 1–5 GB/s
  • Secrets and networkingEgress secrets, mTLS, Tailscale
  • Northflank Cloud or BYOCBilled by the second

Built for agent workloads

Agents, the code they generate, and dynamic environments, each in sandboxes created through one API.

API docs
agent-runtime.js
Uses
  • Sandbox per tenant
  • Secrets at egress
  • Private endpoint
// Run each customer's agent in its own sandbox, isolated from the rest
const { data: agent } = await apiClient.create.service.deployment({
  parameters: { projectId: 'support-agents' },
  data: {
    name: `agent-${customer.id}`,
    billing: { deploymentPlan: 'nf-compute-200' },
    deployment: { instances: 1, external: { imagePath: 'acme/support-agent:2.4' } },
    runtimeEnvironment: { TENANT_ID: customer.id },
    ports: [{ name: 'api', internalPort: 8080, public: false, protocol: 'HTTP' }],
  },
});
Output
  1. $ node agent-runtime.js
  2. ▸ agent-acme running · 2 vCPU · 4 GB
  3. ▸ model API key injected at egress
  4. ✓ agent-acme:8080 ready · private

Sandboxes for every lifecycle

SandboxVolumePublic endpoint
  1. Seconds

    Ephemeral

    Created per request or task, and deleted when it returns. Each one gets a fresh image and scratch disk.

    • Code interpreters
    • Browser sessions
    • Tool calls
  2. Hours to weeks

    Long-running

    Stays up with its state on volumes and in S3, behind a public URL when it needs one.

    • Agent runtimes
    • Stateful agents
    • AI app builders
  3. 100,000+ at once

    Fan-out

    Started in parallel from one image, often reading from a shared volume, and cleared when the batch is done.

    • RL rollouts
    • Evals
    • Batch jobs

Sub-second cold starts

Create a sandbox per task, and pay per second while it runs.

Ready in 0.8 seconds
Scheduling, VM boot, and container start, with a cached image.
Billed to the second
This run is billed for 2.71 seconds.
Deleted when done
Delete with one API call, or attach a volume to keep state.

Isolation

MicroVMs on Cloud Hypervisor
A dedicated guest kernel per sandbox, with hardware virtualisation.
gVisor for GPU workloads
A user-space kernel that intercepts system calls. Used for GPU sandboxes.
BYOC
The same runtimes on BYOC clusters in your own cloud account.

Storage

A local disk for every sandbox, volumes shared between many, and S3 for state that outlives them.

Images and ephemeral storage on virtio-blk
Image and ephemeral disks with high throughput and low latency.
Multi-read-write volumes
Fast to attach, and attachable to many sandboxes concurrently.
High-performance volumes
Multi-read-write or block volumes at 1 to 5 GB/s, up to 64 TB.
S3 via FUSE
Mount S3-compatible buckets with FUSE, so state persists after a sandbox is gone.

Secrets and identity

Credentials as variables, files, egress injection, or short-lived tokens.

Runtime and egress injection
Inject as environment variables, or add to outbound requests at egress so the value never enters the sandbox.
Secret files
Mount secrets and config as files at any path.
Workload identity
Short-lived tokens for third-party services, instead of static keys.

Networking

Private by default, with controlled ingress and egress.

Service mesh with mTLS
Encrypted, mutually authenticated traffic between sandboxes and services.
Tailscale
Join sandboxes to your tailnet to reach private resources.
Northflank load balancing
Public endpoints with TLS, load-balanced across sandboxes by Northflank.
Network policies
Control ingress and egress by FQDN, IP range, and more.
Cold start
< 1s
vCPU in one sandbox
288
Memory in one sandbox
2 TB
Volume storage
64 TB
Sandboxes at once
50,000+

Platform features

Sandboxes run on the same platform as your services, jobs, and databases.

All features
  • GPUs

    L4 to B200 on Northflank Cloud, or your own GPU nodes. Isolated with gVisor.

  • Docker inside

    Build images and run containers inside a sandbox.

  • Any image

    Start from any OCI image, or build from a Dockerfile.

  • Ephemeral or persistent

    Ephemeral by default. Attach a volume to keep state.

  • No time limits

    Sandboxes run until you delete them, billed per second.

  • Databases alongside

    Managed Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis in the same project.

  • Pause and resume

    Pause idle sandboxes to stop compute billing, and resume them when needed.

  • Scoped access

    Scoped API tokens and RBAC for agents and users.

  • Logs, metrics, and cost

    Per-sandbox logs, metrics, and cost.

Billed by the second

Billing period
Resource
Billing period
Northflank CloudContainers, by the secondNorthflank BYOC (Your VPC)Managed node vCPU only, by the second
Compute
CPU$0.01667/ vCPU / hour$0.02083/ node vCPU / hourVolume discounts available under a CSA
Memory$0.00833/ GB / hourNot billed
Ephemeral storageNot persistedFreeNot billed

Compared with other sandboxes

Provider
Billing period
ResourceNorthflank CloudDaytonaDifference
CPU$12.00/ vCPU / month$36.29/ vCPU / month67% less
Memory$6.00/ GB / month$11.66/ GB / month49% less
Ephemeral storageDaytona: first 5 GiB freeFree$0.07776/ GB / monthNo fee
Sandbox run1 vCPU · 2 GB · 10 minutes$0.00556/ run$0.0138/ run60% less

Daytona list prices from daytona.io/pricing, checked October 2026.

Ready for enterprise

Enterprise

Run agents, AI-built software, and core systems inside your own infrastructure, with the compliance, governance, and guarantees your organisation needs.

Deploy now
  • Bring your own cloudFully managed clusters in your own VPC, on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle, or bare metal.
  • Forward-deployed control planeRun the control plane in your own infrastructure, air-gapped if you need it. No platform data leaves your network.
  • GovernanceSSO and SAML, SCIM and JIT provisioning, RBAC, and audit logs for every team and agent.
  • Security and isolationMicroVM sandboxing, WAF and DDoS protection, and workload identities.
  • 99.99% SLA and supportAn uptime SLA, and a dedicated Slack channel straight to our engineers.
  • Volume discountsUsage discounts on Northflank Cloud and BYOC as your spend grows.

Questions

Contact us
How are sandboxes isolated?

Each sandbox runs in its own microVM on Cloud Hypervisor, with a guest kernel of its own. GPU sandboxes run under gVisor, which intercepts system calls in user space. Neither shares a kernel with other workloads or tenants.

How fast is sandbox storage?

Images and ephemeral storage use virtio-blk, for the highest read and write performance at the lowest latency. Multi-read-write and block volumes run at 1 to 5 GB/s, up to 64 TB.

Can several sandboxes share a volume?

Yes. Multi-read-write volumes attach quickly, and one volume can be attached to many sandboxes at the same time.

Can I mount S3 buckets in a sandbox?

Yes. Mount S3-compatible buckets with FUSE and access them as a regular file system, so data persists after the sandbox is deleted.

Can sandboxes run Docker?

Yes. Docker runs inside the sandbox, so builds and containers stay within its isolation boundary.

How do secrets reach a sandbox?

As environment variables or files at runtime, or added to outbound requests at egress so the value never enters the sandbox. Workload identity issues short-lived tokens for third-party services.

What networking do sandboxes support?

A service mesh with mutual TLS between sandboxes and services, Tailscale for private networks, and Northflank load balancing for public endpoints. Network policies control ingress and egress by FQDN, IP range, and more.

How large can a sandbox be?

Up to 288 vCPU, 2 TB of memory, and 64 TB of volume storage, with GPUs from L4 to B200.

Is there a time limit?

No. A sandbox can run for seconds or for weeks, and you pay for the time it actually runs.

How are sandboxes billed?

By the second, for the CPU and memory each sandbox uses on Northflank Cloud. See the pricing page for every rate.

Run your first sandbox

Start free on Northflank Cloud or in your own cloud account. Same platform and workflow either way.

npm i -g @northflank/clinorthflank login