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Installation

pip install boxlite
Requirements:
  • Python 3.10 or later
  • pip 20.0+
Verify Installation: 
python3 -c "import boxlite; print(boxlite.__version__)"
# Output: 0.4.4

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Basic Execution

1

Create a file hello.py

import asyncio
import boxlite


async def main():
    # Create a box and run a command
    async with boxlite.SimpleBox(image="python:slim") as box:
        result = await box.exec("python", "-c", "print('Hello from BoxLite!')")
        print(result.stdout)
        # Output: Hello from BoxLite!


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
2

Run it

python hello.py
What’s happening:
  1. BoxLite pulls the python:slim OCI image (first run only)
  2. Creates a lightweight VM with the image
  3. Executes the Python command inside the VM
  4. Streams output back to your application
  5. Automatically cleans up when the context exits

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Code Execution (AI Agents)

1

Create a file codebox.py

import asyncio
import boxlite


async def main():
    # Execute untrusted code safely
    code = """
import requests
response = requests.get('https://api.github.com/zen')
print(response.text)
"""

    async with boxlite.CodeBox() as codebox:
        result = await codebox.run(code)
        print(result)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
2

Run it

python codebox.py
What’s happening:
  1. CodeBox automatically installs required packages (requests)
  2. Executes the code in complete isolation
  3. Returns the output
  4. Your host system remains completely safe

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Running Examples

BoxLite includes 9 comprehensive Python examples: 
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/boxlite-labs/boxlite.git
cd boxlite

# Build Python SDK
make dev:python

# Run examples
python examples/python/simplebox_example.py
python examples/python/codebox_example.py
python examples/python/browserbox_example.py
python examples/python/computerbox_example.py
python examples/python/lifecycle_example.py
python examples/python/list_boxes_example.py
python examples/python/cross_process_example.py
python examples/python/interactivebox_example.py
python examples/python/native_example.py
Examples overview:
#ExampleDescription
1simplebox_example.pyFoundation patterns
2codebox_example.pyAI code execution
3browserbox_example.pyBrowser automation
4computerbox_example.pyDesktop automation
5lifecycle_example.pyBox lifecycle management
6list_boxes_example.pyRuntime introspection
7cross_process_example.pyMulti-process operations
8interactivebox_example.pyInteractive shells
9native_example.pyLow-level Rust API

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Next Steps

Python SDK Reference

Complete API reference covering Core API (Boxlite, BoxOptions, Box, Execution), Higher-level APIs (SimpleBox, CodeBox, BrowserBox, ComputerBox), API Patterns (async/await, context managers, streaming I/O), and Configuration Reference (resources, volumes, ports).