> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.primeintellect.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sandboxes Overview

> Why sandboxes exist, how to launch one, and what it costs

## Why Sandboxes

Prime Sandboxes are disposable Docker environments for AI-assisted coding, benchmarking, and quick experiments. They give agents and humans an isolated workspace without touching production infrastructure.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/primeintellect/27DA8i_ikZGh6lgH/images/sandboxes/sandbox_dashboard.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=27DA8i_ikZGh6lgH&q=85&s=e6959f8950f0355be2688738a5a20403" alt="Sandbox Dashboard" width="4293" height="2160" data-path="images/sandboxes/sandbox_dashboard.png" />

### Popular moves

* **Prototype quickly** – launch a clean runtime and iterate without worrying about teardown.
* **Benchmark safely** – run untrusted code or model evaluations in a locked-down environment.
* **Run AI agents securely** – disable network access to prevent code from reaching the internet.
* **Inject secrets safely** – pass API keys, passwords, and tokens as encrypted secrets that never appear in logs or API responses.
* **Teach & demo** – hand teammates a reproducible workspace that mirrors your setup.
* **Use custom images** – push your own Docker images and use them in sandboxes with all your dependencies pre-installed.
* **Organize with labels** – tag sandboxes by project, team, or environment for easy filtering and bulk cleanup.

## First Run

Make sure you have an API key with the right permissions on hand (`prime login`) before running these commands.

```bash theme={null}
# Create
prime sandbox create python:3.11-slim --timeout-minutes 120

# See what is active
prime sandbox list

# Try a quick command
prime sandbox run <sandbox-id> "python --version"

# Clean up when you're done
prime sandbox delete <sandbox-id>
```

Track usage limits and billing inside the [Prime Billing dashboard](https://app.primeintellect.ai/dashboard/billing).

## Pricing

Sandboxes are billed while running:

* **CPU**: \$0.05 per core per hour
* **Memory**: \$0.01 per GB per hour
* **Disk**: \$0.001 per GB per hour

Example: 1 CPU core, 2 GB RAM, 10 GB disk → \$0.08/hour.

## Limits

### Per-sandbox

| Resource  | Min    | Max               | Default |
| --------- | ------ | ----------------- | ------- |
| CPU cores | 0.1    | 16                | 1       |
| Memory    | 0.1 GB | 64 GB             | 2 GB    |
| Disk      | 0.1 GB | 1,000 GB          | 10 GB   |
| Timeout   | 1 min  | 1,440 min (24 hr) | 60 min  |

### Per-account

| Resource            | Default limit |
| ------------------- | ------------- |
| Active sandboxes    | 512           |
| Total CPU cores     | 512           |
| Total memory        | 1,024 GB      |
| Total storage       | 5,120 GB      |
| HTTP port exposures | 128           |
| TCP port exposures  | 32            |

Account limits apply across all running sandboxes. If you need higher limits, contact support.

## Container Images

Sandboxes support images from any Docker-compatible registry:

Docker Hub is the default, so `pytorch/pytorch` resolves to Docker Hub, but `ghcr.io/org/image` goes to GitHub's registry.

For private images, add registry credentials via the [dashboard](https://app.primeintellect.ai/dashboard/instances?tab=templates), then switch to `Settings` in the toggle. Then pass `--registry-credentials-id` when creating a sandbox. Use `prime registry list` to view saved credentials and `prime registry check-image` to verify an image is accessible.

## GPU Support

GPU-enabled sandboxes are on the roadmap. For now, sandboxes run on CPU-only machines and setting `--gpu-count` to a value greater than 0 will return an error. We'll announce as soon as GPU tiers open up.

## Next Steps

* Use the [Sandbox CLI Guide](./cli) for day-to-day commands.
* Build automation with the [Sandbox SDK Guide](./sdk).
* Explore runnable demos in [prime-cli/examples](https://github.com/PrimeIntellect-ai/prime-cli/tree/main/examples).