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Agent Sandboxing(SBX)
Runs agent-generated code, shell commands, and untrusted-content processing inside isolated environments with a scoped filesystem and a proxy-mediated network egress allow-list. Even a prompt-injected agent cannot read host secrets, touch files outside its scope, or exfiltrate data to an unapproved domain. Isolation is built from OS primitives such as Seatbelt and bubblewrap, from microVMs or containers, or from dedicated sandbox infrastructure such as E2B, Modal, and Docker.
In 30 seconds
- What
- Runs agent code in isolated environments with restricted filesystem access and network egress filtered through an allow-list proxy.
- When to use
- Agents execute untrusted code, shell commands, or process user-supplied content where prompt injection or malicious output poses data exfiltration risk.
- Watch out
- Sandbox escape vulnerabilities or misconfigured policies can nullify isolation; regularly audit and update sandbox infrastructure.
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Agent Sandboxing: Overview
Runs agent-generated code, shell commands, and untrusted-content processing inside isolated environments with a scoped filesystem and a proxy-mediated network egress allow-list. Even a prompt-injected agent cannot read host secrets, touch files outside its scope, or exfiltrate data to an unapproved domain. Isolation is built from OS primitives such as Seatbelt and bubblewrap, from microVMs or containers, or from dedicated sandbox infrastructure such as E2B, Modal, and Docker.
- Filesystem scoping limits reads and writes to a project directory
- Network egress restricted to a proxy-enforced allow-list
- OS primitives (macOS Seatbelt, Linux bubblewrap) for lightweight isolation
- microVM or container isolation for stronger boundaries
- Host secrets and credentials kept outside the sandbox
- Task still completes with only the permissions it needs
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References
The papers, specifications, and repositories this pattern is based on.
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