# Boxes.dev

9 Hacker News commenters recommended Boxes.dev and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for running Claude Code and Codex in isolated cloud boxes that don't charge while asleep. Critics dislike cloud-only hosting and the Mac-only client.

## Why people recommend it

- Runs Claude Code and Codex sessions (2 comments): "Big reason we built https://boxes.dev around the model harnesses (Codex + Claude Code), so you can bring your own subscriptions." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49486551)) "a workspace for launching and managing claude + codex sessions, each running in its own cloud devbox" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49107177))
- No charge while boxes sleep (2 comments): "I really like the pricing model and focus on not shafting people by auto-sleeping when an agent is done working." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48400707)) "We don't charge for sleeping boxes (neither does our infra provider) so this keeps costs down for everyone." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48441349))
- Mobile app and clean design (2 comments): "Nice design. I love the added mobile app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48402607)) "The mobile angle is the smart bit here" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48419090))
- Parallel isolated agent threads (2 comments): "we spawn an exact copy of the main box for each agent thread, so it's totally isolated" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403897)) "The main wins were around parallelization and autonomy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48417462))

## What people warn about

- Runs only in its cloud (3 comments): "The fact that you have decided that this platform should only live in your own custom cloud is unappealing to me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48400641)) "telling me to ditch my fast, instant-response laptop which I own and can peg the CPU of 24/7 for $0" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48405988)) "I like to own my hardware, not rent it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48412064))
- Works only on Macs (2 comments): "It feels somehow weird to see a cloud tool usable only from Macs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48402063)) "their long post doesn't mention it's Mac only" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48402218))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [GitHub Codespaces](https://hackerapproved.com/p/github-codespaces.md): 13 recommend
- [Coder](https://hackerapproved.com/p/coder.md): 12 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Boxes.dev", https://hackerapproved.com/p/boxes-dev/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).