Sandboxes

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Daytona provides full composable computers — sandboxes — for AI agents. Sandboxes are isolated runtime environments you can manage programmatically to run code. Each sandbox runs in isolation, giving it a dedicated kernel, filesystem, network stack, and allocated vCPU, RAM, and disk. Agents get access to a full composable computer environment where they can install packages, run servers, compile code, and manage processes.

Sandboxes have 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, and 3GiB disk by default. Organizations get a maximum sandbox resource limit of 4 vCPUs, 8GB RAM, and 10GB disk. For more power, see resources or contact support@daytona.io.

Sandboxes use snapshots to capture a fully configured environment (base OS, installed packages, dependencies, and configuration) to create new sandboxes.

Each sandbox has its own network stack with per-sandbox firewall rules. By default, sandboxes follow standard network policies, but you can restrict egress to a specific set of allowed destinations or block all outbound traffic entirely. For details on configuring network access, see network limits.

A detailed overview of the Daytona platform is available in the architecture section.

Sandbox lifecycle

A sandbox can have several different states. Each state reflects the current status of your sandbox.

Creating: the sandbox is provisioning and will be ready to use
Starting: the sandbox is starting and will be ready to use
Started: the sandbox has started and is ready to use
Stopping: the sandbox is stopping and will no longer accept requests
Stopped: the sandbox has stopped and is no longer running
Deleting: the sandbox is deleting and will be removed
Deleted: the sandbox has been deleted and no longer exists
Archiving: the sandbox is archiving and its state will be preserved
Archived: the sandbox has been archived and its state is preserved
Resizing: the sandbox is being resized to a new set of resources
Error: the sandbox is in an error state and needs to be recovered
Restoring: the sandbox is being restored from archive and will be ready to use shortly
Unknown: the default sandbox state before it is created
Pulling Snapshot: the sandbox is pulling a snapshot to provide a base environment
Building Snapshot: the sandbox is building a snapshot to provide a base environment
Build Pending: the sandbox build is pending and will start shortly
Build Failed: the sandbox build failed and needs to be retried

To view or update the current state of a sandbox, navigate to the sandbox details page or access the sandbox state attribute using the SDKs, API, or CLI.

The diagram below demonstrates the states and possible transitions between them.

Multiple runtime support

Daytona sandboxes support Python, TypeScript, and JavaScript programming language runtimes for direct code execution inside the sandbox. The language parameter controls which programming language runtime is used for the sandbox:

python
typescript
javascript

If omitted, the Daytona SDK will default to python. To override this, explicitly set the language value when creating the sandbox.

Create Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to create sandboxes using the Daytona Dashboard ↗ or programmatically using the Daytona Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java SDKs, CLI, or API.

You can specify programming language runtime, snapshots, resources, regions, environment variables, and volumes for each sandbox.

Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click Create Sandbox
Click Create to create a sandbox

Optionally, specify more parameters when creating a sandbox:

Name: enter the name of the sandbox
Source: select the source of the sandbox; snapshot (a pre-configured sandbox template) or image (an OCI-compliant container image: public, local, private registries).
Region: select the region for the sandbox
Lifecycle: define sandbox lifecycle management or set as an ephemeral sandbox
Environment variables: set in key-value pairs or import them from a .env file
Labels: set in key-value pairs to categorize and organize sandboxes
Network settings: public HTTP preview or block all network access

from daytona import Daytona

daytona = Daytona()
sandbox = daytona.create()

import { Daytona } from '@daytona/sdk'

const daytona = new Daytona()
const sandbox = await daytona.create()

require 'daytona'

daytona = Daytona::Daytona.new
sandbox = daytona.create

package main

import (
  "context"
  "github.com/daytonaio/daytona/libs/sdk-go/pkg/daytona"
)

func main() {
  client, _ := daytona.NewClient()
  ctx := context.Background()
  _, _ = client.Create(ctx, nil)
}

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create();
        }
    }
}

daytona create [flags]

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{}'

Resources

Sandboxes have 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, and 3GiB disk by default. Organizations get a maximum sandbox resource limit of 4 vCPUs, 8GB RAM, and 10GB disk.

Resource	Unit	Default	Minimum	Maximum
CPU	vCPU	`1`	`1`	`4`
Memory	GiB	`1`	`1`	`8`
Disk	GiB	`3`	`1`	`10`

To set custom sandbox resources, use the Resources class. All resource parameters are optional and must be integers. If not specified, Daytona will use the default values. Maximum values are per-sandbox limits set at the organization level. Contact support@daytona.io to increase limits.

from daytona import Daytona, CreateSandboxFromImageParams, Image, Resources

daytona = Daytona()
sandbox = daytona.create(
    CreateSandboxFromImageParams(
        image=Image.debian_slim("3.12"),
        resources=Resources(cpu=2, memory=4, disk=8),
    )
)

import { Daytona, Image } from "@daytona/sdk";

const daytona = new Daytona();
const sandbox = await daytona.create({
  image: Image.debianSlim("3.12"),
  resources: { cpu: 2, memory: 4, disk: 8 },
});

require 'daytona'

daytona = Daytona::Daytona.new
sandbox = daytona.create(
  Daytona::CreateSandboxFromImageParams.new(
    image: Daytona::Image.debian_slim('3.12'),
    resources: Daytona::Resources.new(
      cpu: 2,
      memory: 4,
      disk: 8
    )
  )
)

package main

import (
  "context"
  "github.com/daytonaio/daytona/libs/sdk-go/pkg/daytona"
  "github.com/daytonaio/daytona/libs/sdk-go/pkg/types"
)

func main() {
  client, _ := daytona.NewClient()
  ctx := context.Background()
  _, _ = client.Create(ctx, types.ImageParams{
    Image: "python:3.12",
    Resources: &types.Resources{
      CPU:    2,
      Memory: 4,
      Disk:   8,
    },
  })
}

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.CreateSandboxFromImageParams;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.Resources;

final class CreateSandboxResources {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            CreateSandboxFromImageParams params = new CreateSandboxFromImageParams();
            params.setImage("python:3.12");
            Resources resources = new Resources();
            resources.setCpu(2);
            resources.setMemory(4);
            resources.setDisk(8);
            params.setResources(resources);
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create(params);
        }
    }
}

# --memory is in MB; --disk is in GB
daytona create --cpu 2 --memory 4096 --disk 8

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{
  "cpu": 2,
  "memory": 4,
  "disk": 8
}'

GPU Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to create GPU sandboxes using the Daytona Dashboard ↗ or programmatically using the Daytona Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java SDKs, CLI, or API.

Daytona supports NVIDIA GPU devices for snapshot-based sandbox creation. This allows you to run GPU workloads such as model inference, fine-tuning, and CUDA-accelerated compute inside a sandbox created from a GPU snapshot. GPU sandboxes must be ephemeral.

Create a GPU Snapshot
Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click Create Sandbox
Select your GPU snapshot
Click Create to create a GPU sandbox

from daytona import Daytona, CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams

daytona = Daytona()
sandbox = daytona.create(
    CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams(
        snapshot="my-gpu-snapshot",
        ephemeral=True,
    )
)

import { Daytona } from "@daytona/sdk";

const daytona = new Daytona();
const sandbox = await daytona.create({
  snapshot: "my-gpu-snapshot",
  ephemeral: true,
});

require 'daytona'

daytona = Daytona::Daytona.new
sandbox = daytona.create(
  Daytona::CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams.new(
    snapshot: 'my-gpu-snapshot',
    ephemeral: true
  )
)

package main

import (
  "context"
  "github.com/daytonaio/daytona/libs/sdk-go/pkg/daytona"
  "github.com/daytonaio/daytona/libs/sdk-go/pkg/types"
)

func main() {
  client, _ := daytona.NewClient()
  ctx := context.Background()
  params := types.SnapshotParams{
    Snapshot: "my-gpu-snapshot",
    SandboxBaseParams: types.SandboxBaseParams{
      Ephemeral: true,
    },
  }
  _, _ = client.Create(ctx, params)
}

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams params = new CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams();
            params.setSnapshot("my-gpu-snapshot");
            params.setAutoDeleteInterval(0);
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create(params);
        }
    }
}

daytona create --snapshot my-gpu-snapshot --auto-delete 0

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{
  "snapshot": "my-gpu-snapshot",
  "autoDeleteInterval": 0
}'

Ephemeral Sandboxes

Ephemeral sandboxes are automatically deleted once they are stopped. They are useful for short-lived tasks or testing purposes.

To create an ephemeral sandbox, set the ephemeral parameter to True when creating a sandbox. Setting autoDeleteInterval: 0 has the same effect as setting ephemeral to True.

from daytona import Daytona, CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams

daytona = Daytona()
params = CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams(
    ephemeral=True,
    auto_stop_interval=5,  # delete after 5 minutes of inactivity
)
sandbox = daytona.create(params)

import { Daytona } from "@daytona/sdk";

const daytona = new Daytona();
const sandbox = await daytona.create({
  ephemeral: true,
  autoStopInterval: 5, // delete after 5 minutes of inactivity
});

require 'daytona'

daytona = Daytona::Daytona.new
params = Daytona::CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams.new(
  ephemeral: true,
  auto_stop_interval: 5 # delete after 5 minutes of inactivity
)
sandbox = daytona.create(params)

package main

import (
  "context"
  "github.com/daytonaio/daytona/libs/sdk-go/pkg/daytona"
  "github.com/daytonaio/daytona/libs/sdk-go/pkg/types"
)

func main() {
  client, _ := daytona.NewClient()
  ctx := context.Background()

  autoStopInterval := 5 // delete after 5 minutes of inactivity
  params := types.SnapshotParams{
    SandboxBaseParams: types.SandboxBaseParams{
      Language:         types.CodeLanguagePython,
      Ephemeral:        true,
      AutoStopInterval: &autoStopInterval,
    },
  }
  _, _ = client.Create(ctx, params)
}

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams params = new CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams();
            params.setAutoDeleteInterval(0); // same effect as ephemeral: true
            params.setAutoStopInterval(5); // delete after 5 minutes of inactivity
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create(params);
        }
    }
}

Start Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to start sandboxes in Daytona Dashboard ↗ or programmatically using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java SDKs, CLI, and API.

Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click the start icon (▶) next to the sandbox you want to start

Starting sandbox with ID: <sandbox-id>

sandbox.start()

await sandbox.start()

sandbox.start

sandbox.Start(ctx)

sandbox.start();

daytona start [SANDBOX_ID] | [SANDBOX_NAME] [flags]

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/start' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

List Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to list sandboxes and view their details in Daytona Dashboard ↗ via the sandbox details page or programmatically using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java SDKs, CLI, and API.

daytona.list()

await daytona.list()

daytona.list

result, err := client.List(ctx, nil, nil, nil)

daytona.list();

daytona list [flags]

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Sandbox details page

Daytona Dashboard ↗ provides a sandbox details page to view detailed information about a sandbox and interact with it directly.

Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click on a sandbox you want to view the details of
Click View to open the sandbox details page

The sandbox details page provides a summary of the sandbox information and actions to perform on the sandbox:

Name: the name of the sandbox
UUID: the unique identifier of the sandbox
State: the sandbox state with a visual indicator
Actions: start, stop, recover, archive, delete, refresh, SSH access, screen recordings
Region: the target region where the sandbox is running
Snapshot: the snapshot used to create the sandbox
Resources: allocated sandbox CPU, memory, and disk
Lifecycle: auto-stop, auto-archive, and auto-delete intervals
Labels: key-value pairs assigned to the sandbox
Timestamps: when the sandbox was created and when the last event occurred
Web terminal: an embedded web terminal session directly in the browser
Filesystem: sandbox filesystem tree for viewing and managing files and directories: create, upload, download, copy, refresh, collapse, search, and delete capabilities
VNC: a graphical desktop session for sandboxes that have a desktop environment
Logs: a detailed record of user and system activity for the sandbox
Metrics: sandbox metrics data displayed as charts
Traces: distributed traces and spans collected from the sandbox
Spending: usage and cost over time

Stop Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to stop sandboxes in Daytona Dashboard ↗ or programmatically using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java SDKs, CLI, and API.

Stopped sandboxes maintain filesystem persistence while their memory state is cleared. They incur only disk usage costs and can be started again when needed. The stopped state should be used when a sandbox is expected to be started again. Otherwise, it is recommended to stop and then archive the sandbox to eliminate disk usage costs.

Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click the stop icon (⏹) next to the sandbox you want to stop

Stopping sandbox with ID: <sandbox-id>

sandbox.stop()

await sandbox.stop()

sandbox.stop

sandbox.Stop(ctx)

sandbox.stop();

daytona stop [SANDBOX_ID] | [SANDBOX_NAME] [flags]

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/stop' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

If you need a faster shutdown, use force stop (force=true / --force) to terminate the sandbox immediately. Force stop is ungraceful and should be used when quick termination is more important than process cleanup. Avoid force stop for normal shutdowns where the process should flush buffers, write final state, or run cleanup hooks.

Common use cases for force stop include:

you need to reduce stop time and can accept immediate termination
the entrypoint ignores termination signals or hangs during shutdown

Pause Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to pause sandboxes. Pausing a sandbox keeps both filesystem state and memory persistence, so sandboxes can resume from in-memory runtime state. Compared to regular stop behavior, pause is useful for workloads with active in-memory context and state continuity.

Daytona supports pause functionality through VM-based runners. Pause is handled through the existing stop action. This means stop behaves as pause and preserves memory state, while force stop performs a full shutdown without preserving memory state.

Archive Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to archive sandboxes in Daytona Dashboard ↗ or programmatically using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go SDKs, CLI, and API.

A sandbox must be stopped before it can be archived. When a sandbox is archived, the entire filesystem state is moved to a cost-effective object storage, making it available for an extended period. Starting an archived sandbox takes more time than starting a stopped sandbox, depending on its size. It can be started again in the same way as a stopped sandbox.

sandbox.archive()

await sandbox.archive()

sandbox.archive

sandbox.Archive(ctx)

daytona archive [SANDBOX_ID] | [SANDBOX_NAME] [flags]

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/archive' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Recover Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to recover sandboxes in Daytona Dashboard ↗ or programmatically using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go SDKs, and API.

sandbox.recover()

await sandbox.recover()

sandbox.recover

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/recover' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Recover from error state

When a sandbox enters an error state, it can sometimes be recovered using the recover method, depending on the underlying error reason. The recoverable flag indicates whether the error state can be resolved through an automated recovery procedure.

Recovery actions are not performed automatically because they address errors that require further user intervention, such as freeing up storage space.

# Check if the sandbox is recoverable
if sandbox.recoverable:
    sandbox.recover()

// Check if the sandbox is recoverable
if (sandbox.recoverable) {
  await sandbox.recover()
}

# Check if the sandbox is in an error state before recovering
if sandbox.state == 'error'
  sandbox.recover
end

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/recover' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Resize Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to resize sandbox resources after creation using Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go SDKs, and API. On a running sandbox, you can increase CPU and memory without interruption. To decrease CPU or memory, or to increase disk capacity, stop the sandbox first. Disk size can only be increased and cannot be decreased.

Resizing updates the sandbox resource allocation (cpu, memory, and disk) for that sandbox only. CPU and memory control compute capacity for running workloads, while disk controls persistent filesystem capacity. Values must be integers and stay within your organization’s per-sandbox resource limits.

# Resize a started sandbox (CPU and memory can be increased)
sandbox.resize(Resources(cpu=2, memory=4))

# Resize a stopped sandbox (CPU and memory can change, disk can only increase)
sandbox.stop()
sandbox.resize(Resources(cpu=4, memory=8, disk=20))
sandbox.start()

// Resize a started sandbox (CPU and memory can be increased)
await sandbox.resize({ cpu: 2, memory: 4 })

// Resize a stopped sandbox (CPU and memory can change, disk can only increase)
await sandbox.stop()
await sandbox.resize({ cpu: 4, memory: 8, disk: 20 })
await sandbox.start()

# Resize a started sandbox (CPU and memory can be increased)
sandbox.resize(Daytona::Resources.new(cpu: 2, memory: 4))

# Resize a stopped sandbox (CPU and memory can change, disk can only increase)
sandbox.stop
sandbox.resize(Daytona::Resources.new(cpu: 4, memory: 8, disk: 20))
sandbox.start

// Resize a started sandbox (CPU and memory can be increased)
err := sandbox.Resize(ctx, &types.Resources{CPU: 2, Memory: 4})

// Resize a stopped sandbox (CPU and memory can change, disk can only increase)
err = sandbox.Stop(ctx)
err = sandbox.Resize(ctx, &types.Resources{CPU: 4, Memory: 8, Disk: 20})
err = sandbox.Start(ctx)

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/resize' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{
  "cpu": 2,
  "memory": 4,
  "disk": 20
}'

Fork Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to fork sandboxes. Forking creates a duplicate of your sandbox’s filesystem and memory, and copies it into a new sandbox. The new sandbox is fully independent: it can be started, stopped, and deleted without affecting the original. The sandbox must be in started state before forking.

Daytona tracks the parent-child relationship in a fork tree, so you can always trace a fork’s lineage back to the sandbox it was created from. You can fork a fork, building out branches as needed. The parent sandbox cannot be deleted while it has active fork children.

Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the sandbox you want to fork
Select Fork

# Fork sandbox through the Sandbox instance
forked = sandbox._experimental_fork(name="my-forked-sandbox")

// Fork sandbox through the Sandbox instance
const forkedSandbox = await sandbox._experimental_fork({ name: "my-forked-sandbox" });

// Or use the Daytona helper method
const forkedSandbox = await daytona._experimental_fork(sandbox, { name: "my-forked-sandbox" });

# Fork sandbox through the Sandbox instance
forkedSandbox = sandbox.experimental_fork(name: "my-forked-sandbox")

// Fork sandbox through the Sandbox instance
name := "my-forked-sandbox"
forkedSandbox, err := sandbox.ExperimentalFork(ctx, &name)
if err != nil {
    return err
}

// Fork sandbox through the Sandbox instance
Sandbox forkedSandbox = sandbox.experimentalFork("my-forked-sandbox", 60);

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/fork' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'X-Daytona-Organization-ID: YOUR_ORGANIZATION_ID' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{
  "name": "my-forked-sandbox"
}'

View Forks

Daytona provides methods to view forks. You can view the fork tree for a sandbox and all its related sandboxes.

Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to a forked sandbox
Select View Forks

The fork tree displays each sandbox in the hierarchy along with its current state and creation time, allowing you to trace the lineage of any fork back to its origin.

Create Snapshot from Sandbox

Daytona provides methods to create snapshots from sandboxes. A snapshot captures an immutable, point-in-time copy of a sandbox’s filesystem and memory that you can use as a base to create new sandboxes, effectively templating a known-good environment for reuse. You can think of it as a checkpoint you can restore from whenever you need a clean, identical starting point.

# Create snapshot from sandbox
sandbox._experimental_create_snapshot("my-sandbox-snapshot")

// Create snapshot from sandbox
await sandbox._experimental_createSnapshot("my-sandbox-snapshot");

# Create snapshot from sandbox
sandbox.experimental_create_snapshot(name: "my-sandbox-snapshot")

// Create snapshot from sandbox
err := sandbox.ExperimentalCreateSnapshot(ctx, "my-sandbox-snapshot")
if err != nil {
    return err
}

// Create snapshot from sandbox
sandbox.experimentalCreateSnapshot("my-sandbox-snapshot");

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/snapshot' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'X-Daytona-Organization-ID: YOUR_ORGANIZATION_ID' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{
  "name": "my-sandbox-snapshot"
}'

Delete Sandboxes

Daytona provides methods to delete sandboxes in Daytona Dashboard ↗ or programmatically using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java SDKs, CLI, and API.

Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
Click the Delete button next to the sandbox you want to delete.

Deleting sandbox with ID: <sandbox-id>

sandbox.delete()

await sandbox.delete()

sandbox.delete

err = sandbox.Delete(ctx)

sandbox.delete();

daytona delete [SANDBOX_ID] | [SANDBOX_NAME] [flags]

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}' \
  --request DELETE \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Automated lifecycle management

Daytona sandboxes can be automatically stopped, archived, and deleted based on user-defined intervals.

Auto-stop interval

The auto-stop interval parameter sets the amount of time after which a running sandbox will be automatically stopped.

The auto-stop interval triggers even if there are internal processes running in the sandbox. The system differentiates between “internal processes” and “active user interaction”. Merely having a script or background task running is not sufficient to keep the sandbox alive.

What resets the timer
What does not reset the timer

The parameter can either be set to:

a time interval in minutes
0: disables the auto-stop functionality, allowing the sandbox to run indefinitely

If the parameter is not set, the default interval of 15 minutes will be used.

sandbox = daytona.create(CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams(
    snapshot="my-snapshot-name",
    # Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
    auto_stop_interval=0,
))

const sandbox = await daytona.create({
  snapshot: 'my-snapshot-name',
  // Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
  autoStopInterval: 0,
})

sandbox = daytona.create(
  Daytona::CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams.new(
    snapshot: 'my-snapshot-name',
    # Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
    auto_stop_interval: 0
  )
)

// Create a sandbox with auto-stop disabled
autoStopInterval := 0
params := types.SnapshotParams{
    Snapshot: "my-snapshot-name",
    SandboxBaseParams: types.SandboxBaseParams{
        AutoStopInterval: &autoStopInterval,
    },
}
sandbox, err := client.Create(ctx, params)

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams params = new CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams();
            params.setSnapshot("my-snapshot-name");
            // Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
            params.setAutoStopInterval(0);
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create(params);
        }
    }
}

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/autostop/{interval}' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

What resets the timer

The inactivity timer resets only for specific external interactions:

Updates to sandbox lifecycle states
Network requests through sandbox previews
Active SSH connections
API requests to the Daytona Toolbox SDK

What does not reset the timer

The following do not reset the timer:

SDK requests that are not toolbox actions
Background scripts (e.g., npm run dev run as a fire-and-forget command)
Long-running tasks without external interaction
Processes that don’t involve active monitoring

If you run a long-running task like LLM inference that takes more than 15 minutes to complete without any external interaction, the sandbox may auto-stop mid-process because the process itself doesn’t count as “activity”, therefore the timer is not reset.

Auto-archive interval

Daytona provides methods to set the auto-archive interval using the Python SDK, TypeScript SDK, Ruby SDK, and Java SDK.

The auto-archive interval parameter sets the amount of time after which a continuously stopped sandbox will be automatically archived. The parameter can either be set to:

a time interval in minutes
0: the maximum interval of 30 days will be used

If the parameter is not set, the default interval of 7 days will be used.

sandbox = daytona.create(CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams(
    snapshot="my-snapshot-name",
    # Auto-archive after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
    auto_archive_interval=60,
))

const sandbox = await daytona.create({
  snapshot: 'my-snapshot-name',
  // Auto-archive after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
  autoArchiveInterval: 60,
})

sandbox = daytona.create(
  Daytona::CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams.new(
    snapshot: 'my-snapshot-name',
    # Auto-archive after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
    auto_archive_interval: 60
  )
)

// Create a sandbox with auto-archive after 1 hour
autoArchiveInterval := 60
params := types.SnapshotParams{
    Snapshot: "my-snapshot-name",
    SandboxBaseParams: types.SandboxBaseParams{
        AutoArchiveInterval: &autoArchiveInterval,
    },
}
sandbox, err := client.Create(ctx, params)

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams params = new CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams();
            params.setSnapshot("my-snapshot-name");
            // Auto-archive after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
            params.setAutoArchiveInterval(60);
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create(params);
        }
    }
}

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/autoarchive/{interval}' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Auto-delete interval

Daytona provides methods to set the auto-delete interval using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java SDKs, and API.

The auto-delete interval parameter sets the amount of time after which a continuously stopped sandbox will be automatically deleted. By default, sandboxes will never be automatically deleted. The parameter can either be set to:

a time interval in minutes
-1: disables the auto-delete functionality
0: the sandbox will be deleted immediately after stopping

If the parameter is not set, the sandbox will not be deleted automatically.

sandbox = daytona.create(CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams(
    snapshot="my-snapshot-name",
    # Auto-delete after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
    auto_delete_interval=60,
))

# Delete the sandbox immediately after it has been stopped
sandbox.set_auto_delete_interval(0)

# Disable auto-deletion
sandbox.set_auto_delete_interval(-1)

const sandbox = await daytona.create({
  snapshot: 'my-snapshot-name',
  // Auto-delete after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
  autoDeleteInterval: 60,
})

// Delete the sandbox immediately after it has been stopped
await sandbox.setAutoDeleteInterval(0)

// Disable auto-deletion
await sandbox.setAutoDeleteInterval(-1)

sandbox = daytona.create(
  Daytona::CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams.new(
    snapshot: 'my-snapshot-name',
    # Auto-delete after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
    auto_delete_interval: 60
  )
)

# Delete the sandbox immediately after it has been stopped
sandbox.auto_delete_interval = 0

# Disable auto-deletion
sandbox.auto_delete_interval = -1

// Create a sandbox with auto-delete after 1 hour
autoDeleteInterval := 60
params := types.SnapshotParams{
    Snapshot: "my-snapshot-name",
    SandboxBaseParams: types.SandboxBaseParams{
        AutoDeleteInterval: &autoDeleteInterval,
    },
}
sandbox, err := client.Create(ctx, params)

// Delete the sandbox immediately after it has been stopped
zeroInterval := 0
err = sandbox.SetAutoDeleteInterval(ctx, &zeroInterval)

// Disable auto-deletion
disableInterval := -1
err = sandbox.SetAutoDeleteInterval(ctx, &disableInterval)

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams params = new CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams();
            params.setSnapshot("my-snapshot-name");
            // Auto-delete after a sandbox has been stopped for 1 hour
            params.setAutoDeleteInterval(60);
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create(params);

            // Delete the sandbox immediately after it has been stopped
            sandbox.setAutoDeleteInterval(0);

            // Disable auto-deletion
            sandbox.setAutoDeleteInterval(-1);
        }
    }
}

curl 'https://app.daytona.io/api/sandbox/{sandboxIdOrName}/autodelete/{interval}' \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Running indefinitely

Daytona provides methods to run sandboxes indefinitely using the Python, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, and Java SDKs.

By default, Daytona Sandboxes auto-stop after 15 minutes of inactivity. To keep a sandbox running without interruption, set the auto-stop interval to 0 when creating a new sandbox:

sandbox = daytona.create(CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams(
    snapshot="my_awesome_snapshot",
    # Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
    auto_stop_interval=0,
))

const sandbox = await daytona.create({
  snapshot: 'my_awesome_snapshot',
  // Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
  autoStopInterval: 0,
})

sandbox = daytona.create(
  Daytona::CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams.new(
    snapshot: 'my_awesome_snapshot',
    # Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
    auto_stop_interval: 0
  )
)

// Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
autoStopInterval := 0
params := types.SnapshotParams{
    Snapshot: "my_awesome_snapshot",
    SandboxBaseParams: types.SandboxBaseParams{
        AutoStopInterval: &autoStopInterval,
    },
}
sandbox, err := client.Create(ctx, params)

import io.daytona.sdk.Daytona;
import io.daytona.sdk.Sandbox;
import io.daytona.sdk.model.CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Daytona daytona = new Daytona()) {
            CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams params = new CreateSandboxFromSnapshotParams();
            params.setSnapshot("my_awesome_snapshot");
            // Disables the auto-stop feature - default is 15 minutes
            params.setAutoStopInterval(0);
            Sandbox sandbox = daytona.create(params);
        }
    }
}