Every box is a Linux VM with a curated set of tools available from the moment you SSH in. Nothing to install before you start working.

Machine types

Boxes come in three sizes. Pick one with --type when you create the box:

smalldefaultlarge
CPU2 shared vCPUs4 shared vCPUs8 shared vCPUs
Memory4 GB RAM8 GB RAM16 GB RAM
Storage40 GB SSD, at least 12 GB for your data80 GB SSD, at least 50 GB for your data100 GB SSD, at least 70 GB for your data
Machine time0.5x1x2x
Architecturex86_64x86_64x86_64

Storage is a floor, not a fixed number: a box is placed on whichever machine of its size is available, and some are roomier than others. A large box gets at least 100 GB of disk and often 160 GB. Plan against the floor.

Stopping, resuming and forking all preserve the type by default, and a fork inherits the type of the box it came from.

Changing size

Pass --type to resume or fork to move a box to a different size. Both already restore a snapshot onto a fresh machine, so resizing costs nothing beyond the resume or fork itself. Resume changes the box in place; fork leaves the source box untouched and applies the new size to the copy.

Growing always works. Shrinking is rejected with type_too_small when the box holds more data than the smaller machine can take, and the box is left exactly as it was, so a refused resize never costs you the box. Delete data and let the box snapshot again if you need to shrink past that point. Size sets the rate you spend machine time, because you are renting more or less machine: a small box spends it at half rate and a large box at double, so the same balance lasts twice as long on small and half as long on large. See Billing & Limits.

Pre-installed tools

AI & automation

ToolDescription
claudeClaude Code CLI, an AI coding assistant
codexOpenAI Codex CLI
hostExpose localhost services to the internet
luxDesktop and browser automation with demo recording
boxBox CLI inside the VM

Languages & runtimes

ToolDescription
node / npm / nvmNode.js with npm and additional Node versions through nvm
bun / bunxBun JavaScript runtime
denoDeno JavaScript/TypeScript runtime
pnpmJavaScript package manager
python3 / pip / venvPython 3 and standard Python packaging tools
uvPython project and dependency manager
goGo toolchain
rustc / cargo / rustupRust compiler, package manager, and toolchain manager
java / mvn / gradleJava/OpenJDK, Maven, and Gradle
kotlin / kotlincKotlin runtime and compiler
scala / scalac / sbtScala compiler and build tools
ruby / gem / bundleRuby, RubyGems, and Bundler
php / composerPHP CLI and Composer
erl / elixirErlang and Elixir
dotnet.NET SDK
RR runtime and development packages
gcc / g++ / clang / cmake / ninjaC/C++ build toolchain

Version control

ToolDescription
gitGit
ghGitHub CLI for PR creation, issue management, etc.

Utilities

ToolDescription
rgripgrep for fast code search
jqJSON processor
curlHTTP client
dockerContainer runtime (available on supported images)
google-chrome-stableChrome browser and headless browser runtime
ffmpegMedia processing