Sessionboxer

Run coding agents in boxes: each session gets its own machine with a desktop, and Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Devin works inside it while you watch and take over when you want.

Seven minutes through the UI, v1.1.0. (MP4 · GIF)

Why

• Safe. The agent has every permission, but only inside its box; delete the session and it is gone.
• Sees the screen. A real desktop the agent screenshots, clicks and types in; you can take control.
• Yours. Your own subscription, on your machine or server; no Sessionboxer account, nothing in the cloud.
• Open. MIT, plain Docker, the Agent Client Protocol between the UI and the agent.

Install

You need Docker (how). Pick one:

curl -fsSL https://sessionboxer.talayolabs.com/install.sh | sh   # picks npm or Docker Compose
brew install talayolabs/tap/sessionboxer && sessionboxer serve   # macOS, Linux
npx sessionboxer serve                                            # Node 22+
docker compose up -d && docker compose logs control-plane        # this repo's docker-compose.yml

Or the desktop app for Linux, macOS and Windows.

1. Open the login link the server prints (sessionboxer token prints the token again).
2. Click your agent's logo and Sign in with it; the login happens in your own browser.
3. Type a prompt, add a repository if you like, Start.

More: user guide → Install.

What it does

• One box per session, with its own copy of one or many repositories.
• Live desktop: watch the agent; Take control to log in or fix things yourself.
• Linux, Windows or macOS: Docker for Linux, a QEMU VM for Windows or macOS with the agent inside it (Linux hosts with KVM).
• VS Code and terminals in the box; files named in the chat open at that line.
• Videos in the chat: the agent films the desktop, with captions.
• Verified turns: after each turn the agent tests its work on the desktop, on video, and fixes what fails.
• Snapshots and forks: snapshot by hand or after every turn, fork a session from any of them.
• Revert and branches: go back to an earlier turn and try another way.
• Hand off a session to another agent, with the context written by the origin's agent.
• Pull requests on GitHub or Bitbucket Data Center: comments and checks in the chat, address them, auto-merge.
• Context gauge: how full the agent's memory is, what each turn cost, every byte sent to the model.
• Usage limits: session and weekly bars, auto-continue when the limit resets.
• Model and options per session, changed mid-conversation.
• MCP servers: register once, switch on per session; several Git accounts, one per repository.
• Scheduled tasks: a prompt on a timetable into a running session or a fresh one.
• The agent knows where it is: a sessionboxer MCP to ask about itself, attach PRs, snapshot, open panes, verify — and, if allowed, create, message and hand off to other sessions.
• USB devices: one device of the host per session, for adb and friends.
• Dictation: whisper.cpp on your machine, offline.
• Phone: pair with a QR code over a tunnel; push notifications when the agent is done.
• Themes: eleven palettes, shared with VS Code in the box.
• Stop and resume: a stopped box uses nothing and comes back where it was.
• Docker inside the box, corporate proxies, exact model API calls on request.

Every feature in detail: user guide.

Compared with

| | Sessionboxer | Devin | Cursor Cloud Agents | Codex cloud | Claude Code on the web | OpenHands | T3 Code | | --- | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | | Runs on your machine or your server | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | | Your existing subscription, no new account | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | API key | ✓ | | Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Devin | Devin | Cursor | Codex | Claude Code | own agent, any model | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, others | | Isolated sandbox per session | Docker, Windows/macOS VM | VM | VM | container | VM | Docker | ✗ (your machine) | | Desktop the agent drives with mouse and keyboard | ✓ | browser | ✓ | — | — | browser | ✗ | | Watch the screen live and take over | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | ✗ | | VS Code and terminals inside the sandbox | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | your own | | Several repositories in one session | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | | Snapshot and fork the whole machine | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — | ✗ | | Revert the conversation, branches | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Pull requests: follow, address, auto-merge | ✓ | follow, address | address | address | address | address | ✗ | | Scheduled tasks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | in the app | ✓ | ✓ | — | | Agent creates and messages other sessions | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — | | See the exact model API calls | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Offline dictation | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Phone | PWA + push | web | iOS app | ChatGPT app | Claude app | web | iOS, Android | | Open source | MIT | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | MIT | MIT |

From each product's public documentation, September 2026; ✗ = not offered, — = not found in the docs. Corrections welcome as an issue.

Command line

sessionboxer new .                                   # box the current directory
sessionboxer new --git https://github.com/org/app -p "run the tests"
sessionboxer ls | open | stop | resume | rm
sessionboxer service install                         # run the server in the background, at login

Learn more

• User guide: every feature, setting and environment variable.
• Design and decision records.
• Changelog and releases.

MIT licence. Made by Talayo Labs.