AgentIndex icon
AgentIndex
sandbox logo
sandbox
★ 85
vs
cua logo
cua
★ 30.7k

sandbox vs cua

sandbox: Sandbox provides high-performance MicroVM sandboxes for AI agents, leveraging the cocoon stack for rapid boot times and warm pools. It offers secure, isolated execution environments with SDKs for Go and Python, and integrations with agent frameworks like OpenAI Agents and LangChain.; cua: Cua is an open-source platform designed for building, benchmarking, and deploying AI agents capable of interacting with any computer. It provides isolated, self-hostable sandboxes using technologies like Docker, QEMU, and Apple Vz for agentic UI automation and secure code execution.

01

TL;DR

sandbox logo
sandboxLLM Infra · ★ 85

Providing isolated and secure execution environments for AI agents to run untrusted code or perform tasks.

Read sandbox full review →
cua logo
cuaLLM Infra · ★ 30.7k
When to choose:
  • You are building Computer-Use agents and need robust, self-hostable isolated desktop/VM sandboxes (Docker, QEMU, Apple Vz).
  • You need native app operating drivers, standardized benchmarking harnesses, and secure isolation for autonomous agent task execution.
When to skip:
  • You only need simple UI macros on your personal physical machine (Windows-MCP or local desktop helpers are easier).
  • Your agents interact solely via text APIs, shell commands, or databases and have no need for a virtual graphical desktop.
Read cua full review →
02

Side-by-Side Comparison

Field
sandbox logosandbox
cua logocua
Category
LLM Infra
LLM Infra
Stars
★ 85
★ 30.7k
License
AGPL-3.0
MIT
Install Command
make sandboxd
curl -fsSL https://cua.ai/install.sh | sh
Updated
1d ago
1d ago
Open Source
Yes
Yes
Website
↗ Visit
↗ Visit
GitHub
↗ GitHub
↗ GitHub
Tags
MicroVM, Sandboxing, AI Agents
AI Agents, Virtualization, UI Automation
03

Features

sandbox logosandbox
01High-performance MicroVM sandboxes for AI agents with sub-millisecond warm claims and fast boot.
02Dual network lanes supporting Firecracker for vsock-only and Cloud Hypervisor for egress networking.
03In-guest daemon (silkd) for executing commands, file operations, persistent shell sessions, and LSP proxy.
04Per-node control plane (sandboxd) with warm pools, claim/release HTTP API, and HTTP-upgrade byte relay.
05Comprehensive SDKs for Go and Python, plus direct integrations with OpenAI Agents SDK and LangChain.
cua logocua
01Build AI agents for desktop UI automation and interaction.
02Provide isolated code execution environments (sandboxes).
03Benchmark computer-use models with standardized tasks.
04Train agents using reinforcement learning environments.
05Manage high-performance macOS/Linux VMs on Apple Silicon.
04

Use Cases

sandbox logosandbox
↳Providing isolated and secure execution environments for AI agents to run untrusted code or perform tasks.
↳Integrating with popular agent frameworks like LangChain or OpenAI Agents for enhanced code execution capabilities.
↳Developing and testing AI agents in a controlled, high-performance sandbox environment.
↳Orchestrating AI agent workloads with warm pools for rapid and efficient task execution.
↳Enabling secure and private execution of AI models or sensitive operations within a microVM.
cua logocua
↳Developing and deploying AI agents for autonomous desktop interaction and task completion.
↳Creating secure, isolated code execution environments for AI coding assistants and development workflows.
↳Benchmarking and training computer-use agents using standardized tasks and reinforcement learning.
05

Best For

sandbox logosandbox
—
cua logocua
Most PopularEssentialTrending
FAQ

FAQ

What is the difference between sandbox and cua?
Both sandbox and cua are in the LLM Infra category. sandbox has 85 stars, while cua has 30.7k stars.
Which is better, sandbox or cua?
The best choice depends on your use case. Choose sandbox if Providing isolated and secure execution environments for AI agents to run untrusted code or perform tasks., and cua if Developing and deploying AI agents for autonomous desktop interaction and task completion..
Is sandbox free or open source?
Yes, sandbox is open source on GitHub (AGPL-3.0).
Is cua free or open source?
Yes, cua is open source on GitHub (MIT).
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