FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

The questions that come up most about the hosted beta, self-hosting, isolation, and the license — sourced from this repo's own docs, not marketing copy.

What's the difference between the hosted beta and self-hosting?: Both run identical code. The hosted beta, reachable by creating a free account, runs the same control-plane/ API and sandbox isolation model as this open-source repo — not a stripped-down version. Self-hosting means running that same code on your own Kubernetes cluster (or docker-compose for local development), so your code and data never leave your infrastructure, with no fair-use caps at all. The hosted beta exists so you can try the real API — under a fair-use allowance of 20 sandbox-hours/month and 2 concurrent sandboxes — before deciding whether to run any of it yourself.
What happens to the hosted beta after it ends?: This project hasn't published what changes once the beta period ends. Today it runs under fair-use caps — 20 sandbox-hours/month, 2 concurrent sandboxes — with nothing charged for use. Treat that as an accurate description of the current state, not a permanent commitment about what comes after it.
Does the sandbox have internet/network access, and how is it controlled?: No, not by default. Every sandbox pod is network-dark: a Kubernetes NetworkPolicy denies egress, and independently of that, every /execcall runs inside a freshly created, empty network namespace with no interfaces at all — so a policy misconfiguration alone still wouldn't reach the network. Self-hosters who need scoped egress (to reach their own storage backend, for example) configure deploy/network-policy.yaml directly; a separate, explicitly-named permissive policy (deploy/network-policy-permissive-optin.yaml) exists for self-hosters who want fully open egress instead — it is never applied by default.
What is the MIT license, and what does it mean for using or contributing to boxkite?: boxkite is licensed under MIT — fully permissive. You can use, modify, self-host, and redistribute it for any purpose, including running it as part of your own product or offering a competing hosted version, with no restriction. See LICENSE for the exact terms — this answer isn't a substitute for reading it or for legal advice.
Is it open source? Can I self-host it today?: Yes — it's MIT-licensed open source (see the license question above). Self-hosting is available right now: clone the repo and run it via docker-compose for local development, or the Kubernetes manifests in deploy/ for a real deployment — see the README's Self-hosting section for both paths.
What frameworks or agents does it work with?: Any of them — boxkite is framework-agnostic. It exposes 15 tools (bash, python_interpreter, file/search/process operations, plus an opt-in 8-tool git set) over a plain HTTP API, so any agent framework can call it directly without requiring a LangChain (or similar) dependency.