Shell & Files

One of the biggest advantages of sandboxes is that they are not black boxes. You can open a shell, inspect files, stream logs, watch metrics, and understand exactly what the runtime is doing.

Shell access

Use shell access when you want to work inside a running sandbox like a lightweight remote machine.

Common tasks:

• inspect the working directory
• install or verify dependencies
• run scripts manually
• reproduce failures interactively
• inspect environment-specific behavior

This is useful for agents, but it is just as useful for human operators debugging a preview app, data pipeline, or webhook processor.

SSH access

Sandboxes can optionally enable SSH so you can connect using your own terminal.

This is most useful when you want:

• a familiar local terminal workflow
• direct troubleshooting for a long-running sandbox
• controlled access for developers or operators

Keep SSH disabled unless you actually need it.

Files and uploads

Sandboxes support working with files as part of the runtime.

You can:

• upload files into the sandbox workflow
• browse files through the API
• search within sandbox files
• download outputs and generated artifacts
• use files as inputs for scripts, agents, or preview apps

Good examples include CSV processing, report generation, code patch review, document conversion, and temporary build artifacts.

Logs, metrics, and events

Interactive access works best together with the other sandbox views:

• Logs shows process output in real time
• Metrics shows CPU, memory, network, and execution history
• Events shows lifecycle actions and runtime activity

Taken together, these make a sandbox feel like a debuggable runtime instead of a fire-and-forget job.

Examples

Debug a failing cron job

Open a shell in the same sandbox the cron uses, run the command manually, inspect files, and compare logs with runtime metrics.

Validate generated code safely

Upload or clone code into a sandbox, run tests or build commands, inspect outputs, and discard the environment when finished.

Investigate a customer-specific issue

Create a sandbox with the same dependencies and limits as the customer workflow, reproduce the issue, and debug without touching shared infrastructure.