Introduction

BoxLite lets you spin up lightweight Linux VMs and run OCI containers inside them — in milliseconds, from your own code, with no daemon and no root. Unlike ephemeral sandboxes that destroy state after each execution, BoxLite Boxes are stateful workspaces — install packages, create files, build up environment state, then come back later and pick up where you left off. Runs on macOS (Apple Silicon), Linux (KVM), and Windows (WSL2).

Why BoxLite?

Embeddable

A library you import — no daemon, no cloud account, no root. Local first, cloud when you’re ready.

Stateful

Boxes retain packages, files, and environment across stop/restart. No rebuilding on every interaction.

Snapshots

Fork, checkpoint, and restore full sandbox state. Branch execution like git branch for environments.

Hardware isolation

Each sandbox is a real micro-VM with its own Linux kernel. VM-level security with container-level ergonomics.

Quick start

Python
Node.js

# pip install boxlite
import asyncio
import boxlite

async def main():
    async with boxlite.SimpleBox(image="alpine:latest") as box:
        result = await box.exec("echo", "Hello from BoxLite!")
        print(result.stdout)

asyncio.run(main())

// npm install @boxlite-ai/boxlite
import { SimpleBox } from '@boxlite-ai/boxlite';

const box = new SimpleBox({ image: 'alpine:latest' });
try {
  const result = await box.exec('echo', 'Hello from BoxLite!');
  console.log(result.stdout);
} finally {
  await box.stop();
}

BoxRun — sandbox management

BoxRun is the management layer for BoxLite sandboxes. Create, list, stop, and delete boxes through a CLI, REST API, Python SDK, or web dashboard — all in a single binary.

curl -fsSL https://boxlite.ai/boxrun/install | sh
boxrun shell ubuntu

BoxLite creates and runs micro-VMs. BoxRun manages them — tracking state, persisting data, and exposing operations over HTTP and CLI.

SDKs and platforms

SDK	Install
Python	`pip install boxlite`
Node.js	`npm install @boxlite-ai/boxlite`
Rust	Git dependency
C	Link `libboxlite`

Platform	Architecture	Requirements
macOS	Apple Silicon	macOS 12+
Linux	x86_64 / ARM64	KVM enabled
Windows	WSL2	KVM support

Next steps

Tutorials

Execute code, connect LLMs, transfer files, and automate browsers — step-by-step.

Guides

AI agent integration, security configuration, and production patterns.

SDK reference

Full API reference for the Python, Node.js, Rust, and C SDKs.

Architecture

How BoxLite works under the hood — microVMs, the jailer, networking, and storage.

Join the community

Ask questions, share projects, and chat with the BoxLite team on Discord.

Getting Started

Tutorials

Guides

SDK Reference

Architecture

Resources

Development

Why BoxLite?

Embeddable

Stateful

Snapshots

Hardware isolation

Quick start

BoxRun — sandbox management

SDKs and platforms

Next steps

Tutorials

Guides

SDK reference

Architecture

Join the community

​Why BoxLite?

Embeddable

Stateful

Snapshots

Hardware isolation

​Quick start

​BoxRun — sandbox management

​SDKs and platforms

​Next steps

Tutorials

Guides

SDK reference

Architecture

Join the community

Why BoxLite?

Quick start

BoxRun — sandbox management

SDKs and platforms

Next steps