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Create a Deno Sandbox
The sandbox creation method is the primary entry point for provisioning an isolated Linux microVM on the Deploy edge. It returns a connected sandbox instance that you can use to run commands, upload files, expose HTTP endpoints, or request SSH access.
import { Sandbox } from "@deno/sandbox";
await using sandbox = await Sandbox.create();
from deno_sandbox import DenoDeploy
sdk = DenoDeploy()
with sdk.sandbox.create() as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
from deno_sandbox import AsyncDenoDeploy
sdk = AsyncDenoDeploy()
async with sdk.sandbox.create() as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
By default, this creates an ephemeral sandbox in the closest Deploy region with 1280 MB of RAM, no outbound network access, and a timeout bound to the current process. You can tailor the sandbox by passing an options object.
Available options Jump to heading
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
region |
Eg ams or ord |
allowNetallow_net |
Optional list of allowed outbound hosts. See Outbound network control. |
secrets |
Secrets to substitute on outbound requests to approved hosts. See Secret redaction and substitution. |
memoryMbmemory_mb |
Allocate between 768 and 4096 MB of RAM for memory-heavy tasks or tighter budgets. |
timeout |
How long the sandbox stays alive in (m) or (s) such as 5m |
labels |
Attach arbitrary key/value labels to help identify and manage sandboxes |
env |
Environment variables to start the sandbox with. |
Example configurations Jump to heading
Allow outbound traffic to specific APIs Jump to heading
const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({
allowNet: ["api.openai.com", "api.stripe.com"],
});
sdk = DenoDeploy()
with sdk.sandbox.create(
allow_net=["api.openai.com", "api.stripe.com"]
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
sdk = AsyncDenoDeploy()
async with sdk.sandbox.create(
allow_net=["api.openai.com", "api.stripe.com"]
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
Configure secret substitution for approved hosts Jump to heading
const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({
allowNet: ["api.openai.com"],
secrets: {
OPENAI_API_KEY: {
hosts: ["api.openai.com"],
value: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
},
},
});
import os
from deno_sandbox import DenoDeploy
sdk = DenoDeploy()
with sdk.sandbox.create(
allow_net=["api.openai.com"],
secrets={
"OPENAI_API_KEY": {
"hosts": ["api.openai.com"],
"value": os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
}
}
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
import os
from deno_sandbox import AsyncDenoDeploy
sdk = AsyncDenoDeploy()
async with sdk.sandbox.create(
allow_net=["api.openai.com"],
secrets={
"OPENAI_API_KEY": {
"hosts": ["api.openai.com"],
"value": os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
}
}
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
Run in a specific region with more memory Jump to heading
const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({
region: "ams",
memoryMb: 2048,
});
sdk = DenoDeploy()
with sdk.sandbox.create(
region="ams",
memory_mb=2048
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
sdk = AsyncDenoDeploy()
async with sdk.sandbox.create(
region="ams",
memory_mb=2048
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
Keep the sandbox alive for later inspection Jump to heading
const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ timeout: "10m" });
const id = sandbox.id;
await sandbox.close(); // disconnect but leave VM running
// ...later...
const reconnected = await Sandbox.connect({ id });
sdk = DenoDeploy()
with sdk.sandbox.create(timeout="10m") as sandbox:
sandbox_id = sandbox.id
sandbox.close() # disconnect but leave VM running
# ...later...
with sdk.sandbox.connect(sandbox_id) as reconnected:
print(f"Reconnected to {reconnected.id}")
sdk = AsyncDenoDeploy()
async with sdk.sandbox.create(timeout="10m") as sandbox:
sandbox_id = sandbox.id
await sandbox.close() # disconnect but leave VM running
# ...later...
async with sdk.sandbox.connect(sandbox_id) as reconnected:
print(f"Reconnected to {reconnected.id}")
Provide default environment variables Jump to heading
const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({
env: {
NODE_ENV: "development",
FEATURE_FLAG: "agents",
},
});
sdk = DenoDeploy()
with sdk.sandbox.create(
env={
"NODE_ENV": "development",
"FEATURE_FLAG": "agents",
}
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
sdk = AsyncDenoDeploy()
async with sdk.sandbox.create(
env={
"NODE_ENV": "development",
"FEATURE_FLAG": "agents",
}
) as sandbox:
print(f"Sandbox {sandbox.id} is ready.")
Tips Jump to heading
- Keep network allowlists as narrow as possible to block exfiltration attempts.
- Use metadata keys such as
agentIdorcustomerIdto trace sandboxes in the Deploy dashboard. - Let context managers (Python) or automatic disposal (JavaScript) handle
cleanup. Call
sandbox.kill()only when you need to terminate it prior to that automatic cleanup. - For long-lived services, migrate from a Deno Sandbox to a Deploy app once the code stabilizes.