sdk/python/README.md
Lightweight VM sandboxes for Python — run AI agents and untrusted code with hardware-level isolation.
The microsandbox Python package provides native bindings to the microsandbox runtime via pyo3. It spins up real microVMs (not containers) in under 100ms, runs standard OCI (Docker) images, and gives you full control over execution, filesystem, networking, and secrets — all from a simple async API.
StrEnums, sealed event unions, .pyi stubs| Platform | Architecture | Wheel tag |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | ARM64 (Apple Silicon) | macosx_11_0_arm64 |
| Linux | x86_64 | manylinux_2_28_x86_64 |
| Linux | ARM64 | manylinux_2_28_aarch64 |
Runtime binaries (msb + libkrunfw) are bundled in the wheel. One wheel per platform, all Python 3.10+ versions via abi3.
pip install microsandbox
import asyncio
from microsandbox import Sandbox
async def main():
# Create a sandbox from an OCI image.
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"my-sandbox",
image="alpine",
cpus=1,
memory=512,
)
# Run a command.
output = await sandbox.shell("echo 'Hello from microsandbox!'")
print(output.stdout_text)
# Stop the sandbox.
await sandbox.stop_and_wait()
asyncio.run(main())
from microsandbox import Sandbox
# Collected output.
output = await sandbox.exec("python3", ["-c", "print(1 + 1)"])
print(output.stdout_text) # "2\n"
print(output.exit_code) # 0
# Shell command (pipes, redirects, etc.).
output = await sandbox.shell("echo hello && pwd")
print(output.stdout_text)
# Full configuration via ExecOptions dict.
output = await sandbox.exec("python3", {
"args": ["script.py"],
"cwd": "/app",
"env": {"PYTHONPATH": "/app/lib"},
"timeout": 30.0,
})
# Streaming output.
handle = await sandbox.exec_stream("tail", ["-f", "/var/log/app.log"])
async for event in handle:
match event.event_type:
case "stdout": sys.stdout.buffer.write(event.data)
case "stderr": sys.stderr.buffer.write(event.data)
case "exited": break
await sandbox.stop_and_wait()
fs = sandbox.fs
# Write and read files.
await fs.write("/tmp/config.json", b'{"debug": true}')
content = await fs.read_text("/tmp/config.json")
# List a directory.
entries = await fs.list("/etc")
for entry in entries:
print(f"{entry.path} ({entry.kind})")
# Copy between host and guest.
await fs.copy_from_host("./local-file.txt", "/tmp/file.txt")
await fs.copy_to_host("/tmp/output.txt", "./output.txt")
# Check existence and metadata.
if await fs.exists("/tmp/config.json"):
meta = await fs.stat("/tmp/config.json")
print(f"size: {meta.size}, kind: {meta.kind}")
# Streaming read.
async for chunk in await fs.read_stream("/tmp/large-file.bin"):
process(chunk)
from microsandbox import Sandbox, Volume
# Create a 100 MiB named volume.
data = await Volume.create("my-data", quota_mib=100)
# Mount it in a sandbox.
writer = await Sandbox.create(
"writer",
image="alpine",
volumes={"/data": Volume.named(data.name)},
replace=True,
)
await writer.shell("echo 'hello' > /data/message.txt")
await writer.stop_and_wait()
# Mount the same volume in another sandbox (read-only).
reader = await Sandbox.create(
"reader",
image="alpine",
volumes={"/data": Volume.named(data.name, readonly=True)},
replace=True,
)
output = await reader.shell("cat /data/message.txt")
print(output.stdout_text) # "hello\n"
await reader.stop_and_wait()
# Cleanup.
await Sandbox.remove("writer")
await Sandbox.remove("reader")
await Volume.remove("my-data")
from microsandbox import Sandbox, Volume, DiskImageFormat
# Mount a host disk image at a guest path. Format is inferred from the
# extension; pass `format=` to override. `fstype` is the inner FS agentd
# will mount; omit to let agentd autodetect.
sb = await Sandbox.create(
"worker",
image="alpine",
volumes={
"/data": Volume.disk("./data.qcow2", format=DiskImageFormat.QCOW2, fstype="ext4"),
"/seed": Volume.disk("./seed.raw", readonly=True),
"/scratch": Volume.tmpfs(size_mib=128, readonly=True),
},
replace=True,
)
from microsandbox import Network, Sandbox
# Default: public internet only (blocks private ranges).
sandbox = await Sandbox.create("public", image="alpine")
# Fully airgapped.
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"isolated",
image="alpine",
network=Network.none(),
)
# Unrestricted.
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"open",
image="alpine",
network=Network.allow_all(),
)
# DNS filtering.
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"filtered",
image="alpine",
network=Network(
deny_domains=("blocked.example.com",),
deny_domain_suffixes=(".evil.com",),
),
)
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"web",
image="python",
ports={8080: 80}, # host:8080 → guest:80
)
Secrets use placeholder substitution — the real value never enters the VM. It is only swapped in at the network layer for HTTPS requests to allowed hosts.
from microsandbox import Sandbox, Secret
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"agent",
image="python",
secrets=[
Secret.env("OPENAI_API_KEY",
value=os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"],
allow_hosts=["api.openai.com"]),
],
)
# Guest sees: OPENAI_API_KEY=$MSB_OPENAI_API_KEY (a placeholder)
# HTTPS to api.openai.com: placeholder is transparently replaced with the real key
# HTTPS to any other host with the placeholder: request is blocked
Modify the filesystem before the VM boots:
from microsandbox import Patch, Sandbox
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"patched",
image="alpine",
patches=[
Patch.text("/etc/greeting.txt", "Hello!\n"),
Patch.mkdir("/app", mode=0o755),
Patch.text("/app/config.json", '{"debug": true}', mode=0o644),
Patch.copy_dir("./scripts", "/app/scripts"),
Patch.append("/etc/hosts", "127.0.0.1 myapp.local\n"),
],
)
Sandboxes in detached mode survive the Python process:
# Create in detached mode.
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"background",
image="python",
detached=True,
)
await sandbox.detach()
# Later, from another process:
handle = await Sandbox.get("background")
reconnected = await handle.connect()
output = await reconnected.shell("echo reconnected")
async with await Sandbox.create("temp", image="alpine", replace=True) as sb:
output = await sb.shell("echo hello")
print(output.stdout_text)
# Sandbox is automatically killed and removed on exit.
from microsandbox import Network, Sandbox, TlsConfig
sandbox = await Sandbox.create(
"tls-inspect",
image="python",
network=Network(
tls=TlsConfig(
bypass=("*.googleapis.com",),
verify_upstream=True,
intercepted_ports=(443,),
),
),
)
from microsandbox import Sandbox, all_sandbox_metrics, MiB
sandbox = await Sandbox.create("metrics-demo", image="python")
# Per-sandbox metrics.
m = await sandbox.metrics()
print(f"CPU: {m.cpu_percent:.1f}%")
print(f"Memory: {m.memory_bytes // MiB} MiB")
print(f"Uptime: {m.uptime_ms / 1000:.1f}s")
# Streaming metrics.
async for m in sandbox.metrics_stream(interval=1.0):
print(f"CPU: {m.cpu_percent:.1f}%")
# All sandboxes at once.
all_metrics = await all_sandbox_metrics()
for name, metrics in all_metrics.items():
print(f"{name}: {metrics.cpu_percent:.1f}%")
from microsandbox import is_installed, install
if not is_installed():
await install() # Downloads msb + libkrunfw to ~/.microsandbox/
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
Sandbox | Live handle to a running sandbox — lifecycle, execution, filesystem |
SandboxHandle | Lightweight database handle — use connect() or start() to get a live Sandbox |
ExecOutput | Captured stdout/stderr with exit status |
ExecHandle | Streaming execution handle — async iterator over events |
ExecSink | Writable stdin channel for streaming exec |
SandboxFs | Guest filesystem operations (read, write, list, copy, stat) |
FsReadStream | Async iterator over file data chunks |
FsWriteSink | Async context manager for streaming writes |
Volume | Persistent named volume |
VolumeHandle | Lightweight volume handle from the database |
MetricsStream | Async iterator over metrics snapshots |
PullSession | Async context manager for creation with pull progress |
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
Volume.bind() / .named() / .tmpfs() / .disk() | Volume mount configuration |
Network.none() / .public_only() / .allow_all() | Network presets |
Secret.env() | Secret entry with host allowlist |
Patch.text() / .mkdir() / .copy_file() / .append() / ... | Pre-boot filesystem modifications |
Image.oci() / .bind() / .disk() | Explicit rootfs source configuration |
Rlimit.nofile() / .cpu() / .as_() / ... | POSIX resource limits |
StrEnum)| Enum | Values |
|---|---|
PullPolicy | ALWAYS, IF_MISSING, NEVER |
LogLevel | TRACE, DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR |
SandboxStatus | RUNNING, STOPPED, CRASHED, DRAINING, PAUSED |
Action | ALLOW, DENY |
Direction | EGRESS, INGRESS |
Protocol | TCP, UDP, ICMPV4, ICMPV6 |
DestGroup | LOOPBACK, PRIVATE, LINK_LOCAL, METADATA, MULTICAST |
ViolationAction | BLOCK, BLOCK_AND_LOG, BLOCK_AND_TERMINATE |
FsEntryKind | FILE, DIRECTORY, SYMLINK, OTHER |
RlimitResource | CPU, FSIZE, NOFILE, AS, ... (16 variants) |
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
ExecOptions | Full execution options (args, cwd, env, timeout, tty, rlimits) |
AttachOptions | Attach options (args, cwd, env, detach_keys) |
ExitStatus | Exit code and success flag |
MountConfig | Volume mount (bind, named, or tmpfs) |
PatchConfig | Pre-boot filesystem modification |
SecretEntry | Secret binding to env var with host allowlist |
NetworkPolicy | Custom network policy with rules |
TlsConfig | TLS interception options |
Network | Full network configuration |
Rule | Network policy rule |
RegistryAuth | Docker registry credentials |
Size | Memory/storage size value type |
Rlimit | POSIX resource limit |
| Type | Variants |
|---|---|
ExecEvent | StartedEvent, StdoutEvent, StderrEvent, ExitedEvent |
PullProgress | Resolving, Resolved, LayerDownloadProgress, LayerDownloadComplete, LayerExtractStarted, LayerExtractProgress, LayerExtractComplete, LayerIndexStarted, LayerIndexComplete, PullComplete |
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
is_installed() | Check if msb and libkrunfw are available |
install() | Download and install runtime dependencies |
all_sandbox_metrics() | Get metrics for all running sandboxes |
version() | Return the SDK version string |
cd sdk/python
uv sync --group dev
maturin develop --release
uv run pytest tests/
uv run --project sdk/python python examples/python/root-oci/main.py
uv run ruff check .
Apache-2.0