Concepts, coming from other sandboxes
| froog | What it is | Similar to |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbox | A full Linux VM with its own disk. It runs until you stop it or its auto-stop timer does (1 hour after each start by default, up to 30 days, or never), with no session limit. | A sandbox at E2B, Daytona or Modal |
Saved snapshot (new --from) | A named copy of a disk that new sandboxes start from. Make one by setting up a sandbox and saving it, not from a Dockerfile. | An E2B template, a Daytona snapshot, a Modal image |
| Fork | A new sandbox from any snapshot of another one, or from its current state. | Creating from a snapshot |
| Stop and start | A stop snapshots the disk and ends the VM, and billing stops. A start within 10 minutes resumes with programs running. Later starts boot from the disk. | Pause and resume |
| The disk | Persists across stops and starts. There are no separate volumes. | A volume |
exec, background commands | Run a command and wait for it (up to 1 hour), or start it in the background and follow its output. | Running commands in a sandbox |
| Environment | Variables, repos, secret files and a setup script that every new sandbox in your account starts with. | Environment variables and secrets |
Public URL (froog host) | An HTTPS address for a port, private with a token unless public. | Preview links, tunnels |
Comparisons with prices and limits: E2B, Daytona, Fly.io Sprites and Modal. Coming from Runloop? See Switching from Runloop, a step-by-step migration guide.