# Give a coding agent its own machine

> I want Claude Code or Codex to work on my code in the cloud, not on my laptop.

A coding agent reads a repository, edits files and runs tests. In a sandbox, a mistake cannot touch your laptop, and the work carries on when the laptop is closed. Several providers ship Claude Code and Codex already installed.

Guide page: https://botperch.com/use-cases/coding-agent/

**Short answer:** The cheapest machine that runs it as described is Agent 37 at $6.76 a month, then Runtime ($13.49) and Lizard ($19.00). 12 of 16 providers run it without a catch. The AI model adds about $144.90 a month on top (Claude Sonnet 5, 20 requests a day at 300k tokens each, median zero-retention price). List prices checked 29 October 2026.

Tools like [Claude Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup) and Codex run in a terminal: you give them a task, they read the code, change it and run commands to check their work. Running them in a cloud sandbox gives each one a disposable Linux machine with your repository on it.
Unlike a personal assistant, a coding agent does not need to stay on. It runs while you work and can stop at night, as long as the repository, its caches and the agent's login survive.

## What it needs

- **Machine size:** Claude Code needs 4 GB of memory or more. Anthropic's own cloud sessions allow up to about 4 vCPU, 16 GB and 30 GB of disk. 4 vCPU / 8 GiB / 40 GiB covers the agent, tests and a few containers. [source](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments)
- **Does it stay on?:** No. It runs during working hours; eight hours on 20 days is 160 hours a month. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)
- **What must survive a restart:** The repository and uncommitted work, the agent's login (~/.claude for Claude Code), and caches and Docker images if you want a fast start. [source](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup)
- **Browser, Docker, GPU:** Docker helps when tests need databases or services. A browser matters only for checking web interfaces. No GPU. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)
- **How busy it is:** Mostly waiting on the model: about 4% CPU on average in Battleships' software-factory workload, with short peaks during builds. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/rankings/fullstack.json)

## Picks

- **Boat**, One machine per developer: Claude Code and Codex preinstalled on a full VM with Docker. The 4 vCPU / 8 GB size for 160 hours is about $6 of usage, inside the $20 plan. Watch: Auto-stop is on by default, which suits this job, and a stopped disk is kept for 14 days. https://docs.boat.dev/integrated-agents/harnesses-and-models
- **boxd**, If you want memory billed on use: Three coding agents preinstalled, memory billed on what is actually in use, and a 100 GiB disk billed only for what is written. Watch: CPU is billed on the full size while running, and the 4 vCPU size comes with 16 GiB. https://docs.boxd.sh/use-cases/coding-agents
- **E2B**, One fresh sandbox per task, from code: Built for starting sandboxes from your own program, with an official coding-agent guide and pausing that keeps memory and files at no charge. Watch: Disk is 10 GiB on the free plan and 20 GiB on Pro, and sessions longer than an hour need the $150 Pro plan. https://e2b.dev/docs/use-cases/coding-agents

## How to run it on each provider

- **Boat** (preinstalled; no terminal: no): Seven coding agents on every sandbox, including Claude Code and Codex; boat prompt runs one for you. [Boat: harnesses and models](https://docs.boat.dev/integrated-agents/harnesses-and-models)
- **boxd** (preinstalled; no terminal: no): Every machine ships with Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode. [boxd: coding agents](https://docs.boxd.sh/use-cases/coding-agents)
- **Sandboxer** (preinstalled; no terminal: no): Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and others are installed on every machine. [Sandboxer: machines](https://sandboxer.com/docs/machines)
- **InstaBox** (preinstalled; no terminal: partly): Claude Code and Codex come installed, with a desktop you can open in the browser. [InstaBox: limits and images](https://instabox.sh/docs/limits)
- **Lizard** (preinstalled; no terminal: partly): Choose the claude or codex template when creating a sandbox. [Lizard: sandboxes](https://lizard.build/docs/sandboxes.md)
- **Agent 37** (one-click; no terminal: yes): Claude Code and Codex are on the one-click Personal plans, on your own Anthropic or OpenAI account. Price: Personal plans from $3.99 a month; $29.99 with a built-in browser. [Agent 37 Personal](https://www.agent37.com/personal)
- **E2B** (guide; no terminal: no): An official guide for running Claude Code, Codex and Amp in E2B sandboxes from code. [E2B: coding agents](https://e2b.dev/docs/use-cases/coding-agents)
- **Daytona** (guide; no terminal: no): An official guide for running Claude Code in a sandbox from the Daytona command line. [Daytona: Claude Code](https://www.daytona.io/docs/en/guides/claude/claude-code-run-cli-sandbox)
- **Cloudflare Sandbox** (guide; no terminal: no): An official guide: Claude Code edits a GitHub repository in a sandbox and returns a diff. [Cloudflare: Claude Code](https://developers.cloudflare.com/sandbox/coding-agents/claude-code/)
- **Vercel Sandbox** (guide; no terminal: no): Each Claude Code session gets its own sandbox, through Vercel's agent harness. [Vercel: Claude Code](https://vercel.com/docs/agent-harnesses/claude-code)
- **Tensorlake** (guide; no terminal: no): The first-party route is the `tensorlake-opencode` plugin: OpenCode keeps running on your laptop and its bash, read, write, edit and patch calls run in a sandbox that survives restarts and can mount a volume or a hosted Git repository. Claude Code and Codex are not in the images, but they work over SSH or VS Code Remote-SSH, and Tensorlake has self-hosted guides for Claude Managed Agents, Cursor Cloud Agents and Devin Outposts. [Run OpenCode with Tensorlake Sandboxes](https://docs.tensorlake.ai/sandboxes/opencode)

## Monthly machine cost (preset `coding`)

One 4 vCPU / 8 GiB / 40 GiB machine for Claude Code or Codex, eight hours a day on 20 working days, stopped otherwise with the repository kept. The CPU works about 4% of the time on average.

- Agent 37: $6.76
- Runtime: $13.49
- Lizard: $19.00
- Boat: $20.00
- InstaBox: $20.00
- Sandboxer: $20.00
- Tensorlake: $24.46
- Morph: $32.27
- Vercel Sandbox: $32.91
- Sprites: $34.15
- boxd: $50.80
- Blaxel: $57.79
- Cloudflare Sandbox: $24.20 (catch: No size with 4 vCPU allows 40 GiB of disk; the most is 20 GiB on standard-4. A stopped instance loses its disk; files have to be backed up to R2 or a snapshot and restored.)
- Modal: $46.15 (catch: Modal sandboxes have no stopped state; keeping files needs a Volume or a snapshot.)
- Daytona: $55.75 (catch: 40 GiB of disk is over the 10 GiB limit.)
- E2B: $202.99 (catch: 40 GiB of disk is over the 20 GiB limit.)

## Outside a sandbox

Anthropic runs Claude Code cloud sessions on its own machines for Claude subscribers, and OpenAI runs Codex Cloud for ChatGPT plans. Neither publishes a separate machine price on its docs page.

## Sources

- [Claude Code: setup](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup)
- [Claude Code: cloud environments](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments)
- [Claude Code: sandbox environments](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sandbox-environments)
- [Battleships: software-factory workload (built by the Boat team)](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)