VM Sandboxes
(Previously Devboxes)
CodeSandbox provides two development environments that are ideal for prototyping and rapid web development: VM Sandboxes and Browser Sandboxes.
We generally recommend using VM Sandboxes, which provide all the tooling needed for building prototypes. Sandboxes are mostly useful as a playground for basic front-end JavaScript projects.
VM Sandboxes are a great way to work on any type of project, regardless of its language or size. VM Sandboxes run VMs and leverage our memory snapshotting to spin up an environment in 1.5 seconds. They have built-in Docker support and include several valuable features, such as AI, collaborative Terminals, Tasks, and VS Code integration.
VM Sandboxes run on VM credits. Check out the plans page to learn how these credits work.
What is a VM Sandbox?
Unlike Sandboxes that run on your browser, VM Sandboxes run on our VMs.
VM Sandboxes are great for prototyping any type of project in any programming language. They can run both backend and front-end services. You can learn more about the editor and the unique functionalities of the cloud developer environment in repositories.
Like Browser Sandboxes, VM Sandboxes are free to use.
VM Sandboxes run on VMs, which brings two features that make them great for prototyping:
- Fast cloning. You can fork VM Sandbox within 2 seconds (opens in a new tab) and continue with an exact clone of the microVM. This way, you can quickly test multiple approaches to your prototype.
- Instant resume. When you connect to a VM Sandbox, it will wake up within 1 second and continue with your running dev server. This way, you can quickly continue prototyping.
VM Sandboxes and Repository branches run on the same infrastructure and use the same editor. The main distinction is that Repositories have more features suited to full-scale development. Once you create a Repository from a VM Sandbox you will have:
- Branching
- Git tooling
- Full integration with GitHub
To configure a VM Sandbox, you can read more about tasks (opens in a new tab) and Docker (opens in a new tab).
Creating a VM Sandbox
To create a new VM Sandbox, you can clone a template from our "Create VM Sandbox" (opens in a new tab) modal. When clicking on a template, we create a fork (a copy) of the template and open the newly created sandbox in our web editor.