Background Agents

Agents that work while your team sleeps.

Fork a fully-configured machine per agent, with no time limit.

Runs for hours

Three-hour bug fixes that cost €0 when done.

Complex refactors don't fit in a CI timeout. boxd machines run as long as the task takes, then sleep at €0/hr. The next webhook resumes the same machine in 8ms, with no warm pool to maintain.

runtime · 6h window
0h1h2h3h4h5h6h
boxd
4h task · then €0
GitHub Actions
6h · hard cap
E2B
1h · session cap
Codespaces
idle disconnect
running
sleeping · €0
killed

Parallel & full stack

Fork five approaches, keep the winner.

Fork the base machine once per approach. Each agent gets its own VM with services running and the database already seeded. Compare results, then merge the winning approach.

parallel forks · 5 approaches
base-machine
├──fix-retry23/847 failing
├──fix-slidingtimeout @ 12m
├──fix-jwtregression in #1087
├──fix-hybrid847/847 passingmerged →
└──fix-cache18/847 failing
5 machines, 5 agents, one merge. Discard the losers.

Persistent & auditable

Real state, and every command on the tape.

Long migrations, warmed caches, and uploaded datasets are all there when the agent reconnects. Every command goes over SSH, so every action shows up in your existing logs with full identity and timing.

audit tape · last 3 days
today·
10:12claudeapt install jq→ /usr/bin·
10:13claudevim src/auth/session.tsmodified·
10:47claudepytest tests/auth/✓ 18s
yesterday
18:30claudedocker build .cached
3 days ago
09:15opspg_restore seed.sqlpersisted
Today's 18s test run uses the DB from 3 days ago. State persists. Every command is on the tape.
3h+
avg task runtime supported
50
parallel forks in <2s
€0
while sleeping

boxd vs. where agents run today

boxdGitHub ActionsE2BDaytona
Max runtimeUnlimited6h1h/sessionTimeout-capped
Parallel sandboxesFork in <60msQueued on concurrencyPer-session bootTemplate boot
Persistent stateYesNoNoPartial
Cost when idle€0Per-minute billingPer-sandbox billingReserved capacity
InterfaceSSHYAML + ActionsSDKCLI + SDK

Related use cases

Stop renting CI runners for agent work.

Talk to us about your agent setup, or boot a machine yourself with one SSH command.

read the docs · see pricing · ssh boxd.sh