boat

What is boat

boat is a service by ASCII that provides persistent Ubuntu cloud VMs for AI agents and developer workflows. It is designed to be the cheapest and most powerful sandbox for agents, offering full Linux machines with SSH access, Docker support, and fast disk-level forking. Each sandbox is a dedicated virtual machine with its own IPv6 or IPv4 address, a 60fps virtual desktop, and pre-installed development tools. boat is built for AI agents, programmatic use, and humans.

How to use boat

1. Install the boat CLI:
   • macOS and Linux: curl -fsSL https://boat.dev/install | sh
   • Windows: irm https://boat.dev/install.ps1 | iex
2. Use the CLI to manage sandboxes:
   • boat new: spin up a sandbox
   • boat ssh / boat scp: SSH/SCP into the sandbox
   • boat prompt: run Claude or Codex inside the sandbox
   • boat fork: clone from a snapshot
   • boat stop: snapshot and pause billing
   • boat desktop: use the virtual desktop at 60fps
   • boat list: see all your sandboxes
3. For programmatic use, prefer the HTTP API and SDKs (Python and TypeScript) over the CLI. The CLI also supports --json on any command for stable JSONL output.

Features of boat

• Persistent Linux (Ubuntu) virtual machines with SSH and SCP access
• Docker support inside the VM
• Dedicated IPv6 or IPv4 per machine
• 60fps virtual desktop
• Fast disk-level forking from a snapshot
• Pre-installed devtools: Docker, VS Code, Chrome, Ghostty, GitHub CLI, Rust, Node.js, Bun
• CLI-first: one command to start
• Bring any AI agent: Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode
• Designed for parallel agentic workflows
• Billed per second, free when stopped
• Three VM sizes: small (2 vCPU / 4 GB), default (4 vCPU / 8 GB), large (8 vCPU / 16 GB)
• EU regions: Germany, Finland, France
• Self-serve plans scale from 100 to 2,000 active sandboxes per account
• Default sandbox TTL is 1 hour, overrideable

Use Cases of boat

• Running AI agents in isolated, persistent Linux environments
• Parallel agentic workflows with multiple sandboxes
• Development and testing in a cloud-based Ubuntu VM
• Programmatic use via HTTP API and SDKs
• Interactive development with SSH and virtual desktop
• Forking sandboxes from snapshots for rapid experimentation

Pricing

• 7-day free trial (25 compute hours)
• Then from $20/mo minimum
• $20 buys 2,000,000 VM-seconds (about 555 hours) of dedicated 4 vCPU / 8 GB VM-time
• Billed per second, free when stopped
• VM sizes and rates:
  • Small (2 vCPU / 4 GB): 0.5x rate
  • Default (4 vCPU / 8 GB): 1x rate
  • Large (8 vCPU / 16 GB): 2x rate
• Mixed fleets sum the time spent at each rate

FAQ

What is a sandbox? A sandbox is a persistent Linux (Ubuntu) virtual machine with SSH and SCP access, Docker support, a dedicated IP, a 60fps virtual desktop, and fast disk-level forking.

What comes pre-installed? Docker, VS Code, Chrome, Ghostty, GitHub CLI, Rust, Node.js, and Bun are pre-installed.

Can I bring my own AI agent? Yes, you can bring any agent such as Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode.

How is billing handled? Billing is per second, and sandboxes are free when stopped. There is a $20 minimum per month.

What regions are available? EU regions: Germany, Finland, and France.

How many sandboxes can I run? Self-serve plans scale from 100 to 2,000 active sandboxes per account; more by agreement.

What is the default sandbox TTL? The default TTL is 1 hour and is overrideable.