# boat

> Persistent Linux cloud sandboxes (VMs) for AI agents, controlled via CLI, HTTP API and SDKs.

boat is a cloud sandbox product from ASCII that provides persistent Ubuntu virtual machines for long-running AI agents, programmatic use, and humans. Each sandbox offers SSH/SCP access, Docker inside the VM, a dedicated IP, a 60fps virtual desktop with browser, and snapshot-based forking. It is controlled through a CLI, an HTTP API, and Python and TypeScript SDKs.

## What It Is

boat is a sandbox and cloud-VM service for agent workloads. A sandbox is a full Ubuntu machine, so Docker, systemd, databases, and cron run as on a normal dev machine. Docker, VS Code, Chrome, Ghostty, the GitHub CLI, Rust, Node.js, and Bun come pre-installed, and agents such as Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode can be run inside.

## Workflow and Commands

The CLI covers the sandbox lifecycle: `boat new` creates a sandbox and returns a desktop stream, a hosted URL, and a machine IP. Other commands include `boat ssh`/`scp`, `boat exec`, `boat prompt` (run Claude Code or Codex inside), `boat events` (poll agent messages and tool calls), `boat host` (public HTTPS URL for a port), `boat desktop`, `boat fork`, and `boat stop`/`resume`. Stopping snapshots the sandbox; files, installed packages, and enabled systemd services survive, while hand-run processes need a restart. Further features include named snapshots, port forwarding, webhooks, API keys, secrets, teams, and auto-stop. Any command accepts `--json` for JSONL output.

## Deployment and Limits

Sandboxes run in EU regions (Germany, Finland, France). Sizes are small (2 vCPU/4 GB), default (4 vCPU/8 GB), and large (8 vCPU/16 GB). The default sandbox TTL is 1 hour and can be overridden. The vendor publishes its own benchmark and price comparisons against other sandbox providers; these are vendor claims. The homepage states boat is backed by Y Combinator.

## Features
- Persistent Ubuntu VMs with SSH/SCP
- Docker support inside the VM
- Dedicated IPv6 or IPv4 per machine
- 60fps virtual desktop and browser
- Snapshot and disk-level fork
- Stop/resume with billing paused
- Run and observe agents (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode) from outside
- Public HTTPS hosting for ports
- Webhooks, API keys, secrets, teams, auto-stop
- Per-second billing
- JSONL output via --json

## Integrations
Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Docker, GitHub CLI, VS Code

## Platforms
WINDOWS, MACOS, LINUX, WEB, API, VSC_EXTENSION, DEVELOPER_SDK, CLI

## Pricing
Paid

## Links
- Website: https://boat.dev
- Documentation: https://docs.boat.dev/
- EveryDev.ai: https://www.everydev.ai/tools/boat