# Shellbox

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Shellbox and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Instant Linux VMs over SSH that suspend when disconnected and bill only for running time, useful as sandboxes for coding agents. Critics say the website lacks clear information and sign-up steps.

## Why people recommend it

- Pay only for active running time (8 comments): "There are linux boxes that stip and resume like a lambda, but really linux. And you pay only for what you use." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49224367)) "it snapshots memory, processes. And you pay only for actual running time per minute" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49356249)) "Can be significantly cheaper on a vm that wakes up only when yhe agebt works" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47538402))
- Cheaper than alternatives (7 comments): "a less expensive solution, real linux boxes that sping up in seconds and suspend resume as needed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49055332)) "It is much cheaper, no subscription is needed, supports nested virt, docker, custom images" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48692827)) "boxes can be stopped, they are snapshotted to disk then cost just $0.5/month" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48692863))
- Real Linux that boots in seconds (6 comments): "There are linux boxes that stip and resume like a lambda, but really linux. And you pay only for what you use." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49224367)) "a less expensive solution, real linux boxes that sping up in seconds and suspend resume as needed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49055332)) "Sub-second boot, full Linux environment, SSH-only interface." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46840330))
- Simple SSH-only interface (5 comments): "I use shellbox.dev to create sandboxes through ssh, without ever leaving the terminal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46889565)) "Sub-second boot, full Linux environment, SSH-only interface." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46840330)) "you can do pretty much the same, automating it all bia ssh" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47666929))

## What people warn about

- Website unclear on info and sign-up (3 comments): "Website doesn't provide enough information for me to trust any workloads to it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47878143)) "You need a page with less text, less scrolling and more specifics." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47884942)) "Clearly I have to register first, but there's no clue as to how." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46640641))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Sprites](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sprites.md): 58 recommend
- [E2B](https://hackerapproved.com/p/e2b.md): 23 recommend
- [Deno Sandbox](https://hackerapproved.com/p/deno-sandbox.md): 21 recommend
- [Freestyle Sandboxes](https://hackerapproved.com/p/freestyle.md): 20 recommend
- [Agent37](https://hackerapproved.com/p/agent37.md): 15 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://shellbox.dev/)

## Cite as

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