base

Minimal Ubuntu sandbox environment — a lightweight starting point for custom setups. Boots in ~60ms with basic system utilities and nothing else. Install exactly what you need, keep resource usage low, and build your own workflow from scratch.

Specs

Property	Value
Template ID	base
Default Timeout	300s (5 min)
CPU	2 vCPU
Memory	512 MB
Disk	5 GB
Boot Time	~60ms
Internet	Enabled
Working Directory	/home/user

What's Included

• Ubuntu 22.04 — minimal base image
• curl, wget — HTTP clients
• git — version control
• bash, sh — shell environments
• apt — package manager (install anything you need)
• Basic coreutils — ls, cat, grep, find, etc.

TIP

The base template is intentionally minimal. Use apt-get install via the exec endpoint to add any packages your workflow requires.

Use Cases

• Custom environments — Install specific language runtimes, frameworks, or tools not available in other templates
• Lightweight tasks — Run simple scripts, cron jobs, or data processing without overhead
• CI/CD steps — Execute build steps, linting, or deployment scripts in isolation
• Prototyping — Quickly test ideas without committing to a full template
• Reproducible builds — Start from a known minimal state and install exact dependencies

Create a Sandbox

POST/sandboxes

curl -X POST https://api.sandbase.ai/sandboxes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-sb-YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "templateID": "base",
    "timeout": 300
  }'

Response:

{
  "sandboxID": "sbx_01abc...",
  "templateID": "base",
  "clientID": "SandBase",
  "status": "running",
  "startedAt": "2024-07-01T12:00:00Z",
  "endAt": "2024-07-01T12:05:00Z"
}

Customizing the Environment

Once the sandbox is running, install packages and configure tools via the exec endpoint:

Install a language runtime

curl -X POST https://api.sandbase.ai/sandboxes/sbx_01abc.../processes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-sb-YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "cmd": "bash",
    "args": ["-c", "apt-get update && apt-get install -y python3 python3-pip"]
  }'

Install Node.js

curl -X POST https://api.sandbase.ai/sandboxes/sbx_01abc.../processes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-sb-YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "cmd": "bash",
    "args": ["-c", "curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash - && apt-get install -y nodejs"]
  }'

Install custom tools

curl -X POST https://api.sandbase.ai/sandboxes/sbx_01abc.../processes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-sb-YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "cmd": "bash",
    "args": ["-c", "apt-get install -y ffmpeg imagemagick jq"]
  }'

Full Example — Custom Python Environment

import requests

BASE = "https://api.sandbase.ai"
HEADERS = {"Authorization": "Bearer sk-sb-YOUR_KEY"}

# 1. Create a minimal sandbox (~60ms)
sandbox = requests.post(f"{BASE}/sandboxes", headers=HEADERS, json={
    "templateID": "base",
    "timeout": 300
}).json()

sandbox_id = sandbox["sandboxID"]

# 2. Install Python and dependencies
requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/sandboxes/{sandbox_id}/processes",
    headers=HEADERS,
    json={"cmd": "bash", "args": ["-c", "apt-get update && apt-get install -y python3 python3-pip"]}
).json()

# 3. Install project-specific packages
requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/sandboxes/{sandbox_id}/processes",
    headers=HEADERS,
    json={"cmd": "bash", "args": ["-c", "pip3 install pandas numpy requests"]}
).json()

# 4. Run a script
result = requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/sandboxes/{sandbox_id}/processes",
    headers=HEADERS,
    json={
        "cmd": "python3",
        "args": ["-c", "import pandas as pd; print(pd.__version__)"]
    }
).json()

print(result["stdout"])  # e.g. "2.2.0"

# 5. Clean up
requests.delete(f"{BASE}/sandboxes/{sandbox_id}", headers=HEADERS)

Configuration Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
timeout	integer	300	Sandbox lifetime in seconds (max 3600)
metadata	object	{}	Custom key-value metadata
envVars	object	{}	Environment variables injected at boot

Minimal creation

{
  "templateID": "base",
  "timeout": 300
}

With environment variables

{
  "templateID": "base",
  "timeout": 600,
  "envVars": {
    "APP_ENV": "staging",
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://..."
  }
}

With metadata

{
  "templateID": "base",
  "timeout": 900,
  "metadata": {
    "task": "data-processing",
    "pipeline": "etl-daily"
  }
}

Related

• Create Sandbox — Full create endpoint reference
• Execute Command — Run commands in a sandbox
• File Operations — Upload/download files
• Sandbox Lifecycle — States, timeouts, pause/resume
• All Templates — Overview of available templates