modal.Sandbox (original) (raw)

A Sandbox object lets you interact with a running sandbox. This API is similar to Python’s asyncio.subprocess.Process.

Refer to the guide on how to spawn and use sandboxes.

hydrate

Synchronize the local object with its identity on the Modal server.

It is rarely necessary to call this method explicitly, as most operations will lazily hydrate when needed. The main use case is when you need to access object metadata, such as its ID.

Added in v0.72.39: This method replaces the deprecated .resolve() method.

create

Create a new Sandbox to run untrusted, arbitrary code.

The Sandbox’s corresponding container will be created asynchronously.

Usage

detach

Disconnects your client from the sandbox and cleans up resources assoicated with the connection.

Be sure to only call detach when you are done interacting with the sandbox. After calling detach, any operation using the Sandbox object is not guaranteed to work anymore. If you want to continue interacting with a running sandbox, use Sandbox.from_id to get a new Sandbox object.

from_name

Get a running Sandbox by name from a deployed App.

Raises a modal.exception.NotFoundError if no running sandbox is found with the given name. A Sandbox’s name is the name argument passed to Sandbox.create.

from_id

Construct a Sandbox from an id and look up the Sandbox result.

The ID of a Sandbox object can be accessed using .object_id.

Fetches any tags (key-value pairs) currently attached to this Sandbox from the server.

Set tags (key-value pairs) on the Sandbox. Tags can be used to filter results in Sandbox.list.

snapshot_filesystem

Snapshot the filesystem of the Sandbox.

Returns an Image object which can be used to spawn a new Sandbox with the same filesystem.

mount_image

Mount an Image at a specified path in a running Sandbox.

path should be a directory. If it doesn’t exist it will be created. If it exists and contains data, the previous directory will be replaced by the mount.

The image argument currently only supports Images that are either:

• prebuilt using image.build()
• referenced by image id, e.g. Image.from_id(...)
• filesystem/directory snapshots e.g. created by .snapshot_directory() or .snapshot_filesystem()”

Usage:

snapshot_directory

Snapshot a directory in a running Sandbox, creating a new Image with its content.

Directory snapshots are currently persisted for 30 days after they were last created or used.

Usage:

wait

Wait for the Sandbox to finish running.

wait_until_ready

Wait for the Sandbox readiness probe to report that the Sandbox is ready.

The Sandbox must be configured with a readiness_probe in order to use this method.

Usage:

tunnels

Get Tunnel metadata for the sandbox.

Raises SandboxTimeoutError if the tunnels are not available after the timeout.

Returns a dictionary of Tunnel objects which are keyed by the container port.

NOTE: Previous to client v0.64.153, this returned a list of TunnelData objects.

create_connect_token

Create a token for making HTTP connections to the Sandbox.

Also accepts an optional user_metadata string or dict to associate with the token. This metadata will be added to the headers by the proxy when forwarding requests to the Sandbox.

reload_volumes

Reload all Volumes mounted in the Sandbox.

Added in v1.1.0.

terminate

Terminate Sandbox execution.

This is a no-op if the Sandbox has already finished running.

poll

Check if the Sandbox has finished running.

Returns None if the Sandbox is still running, else returns the exit code.

exec

Execute a command in the Sandbox and return a ContainerProcess handle.

See the ContainerProcess docs for more information.

Usage

filesystem

Namespace for Sandbox filesystem APIs.

read_bytes

Read a file from the Sandbox and return its contents as bytes.

remote_path must be an absolute path to a file in the Sandbox.

Raises

• SandboxFilesystemNotFoundError: the path does not exist.
• SandboxFilesystemIsADirectoryError: the path points to a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemPermissionError: read permission is denied.
• SandboxFilesystemError: the command fails for any other reason.
  Usage

read_text

Read a file from the Sandbox and return its contents as a UTF-8 string.

remote_path must be an absolute path to a file in the Sandbox.

Raises

• SandboxFilesystemNotFoundError: the path does not exist.
• SandboxFilesystemIsADirectoryError: the path points to a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemPermissionError: read permission is denied.
• SandboxFilesystemError: the command fails for any other reason.
  Usage

copy_to_local

Copy a file from the Sandbox to a local path.

remote_path must be an absolute path to a file in the Sandbox. Parent directories for local_path are created if needed. The local file is overwritten if it already exists.

Raises

• SandboxFilesystemNotFoundError: the remote path does not exist.
• SandboxFilesystemIsADirectoryError: the remote path points to a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemPermissionError: read permission is denied in the Sandbox.
• SandboxFilesystemError: the command fails for any other reason.
• IsADirectoryError: local_path points to a directory.
• NotADirectoryError: a component of the local_path parent is not a directory.
• PermissionError: writing local_path is not permitted.
  Usage

write_bytes

Write binary content to a file in the Sandbox.

remote_path must be an absolute path to a file in the Sandbox. Parent directories for remote_path are created if needed. The remote file is overwritten if it already exists.

Raises

• SandboxFilesystemNotADirectoryError: a parent path component is not a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemIsADirectoryError: remote_path points to a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemPermissionError: write permission is denied.
• SandboxFilesystemError: the command fails for any other reason.
  Usage

write_text

Write UTF-8 text to a file in the Sandbox.

remote_path must be an absolute path to a file in the Sandbox. Parent directories for remote_path are created if needed. The remote file is overwritten if it already exists.

Raises

• SandboxFilesystemNotADirectoryError: a parent path component is not a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemIsADirectoryError: remote_path points to a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemPermissionError: write permission is denied.
• SandboxFilesystemError: the command fails for any other reason.
  Usage

copy_from_local

Copy a local file into the Sandbox.

remote_path must be an absolute path to a file in the Sandbox. Parent directories for remote_path are created if needed. The remote file is overwritten if it already exists.

Raises

• SandboxFilesystemNotADirectoryError: a parent path component of remote_path is not a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemIsADirectoryError: remote_path points to a directory.
• SandboxFilesystemPermissionError: write permission is denied in the Sandbox.
• SandboxFilesystemError: the command fails for any other reason.
• FileNotFoundError: local_path does not exist.
• IsADirectoryError: local_path is a directory.
• PermissionError: reading local_path is not permitted.
  Usage

open

[Alpha] Open a file in the Sandbox and return a FileIO handle.

.. deprecated:: 2026-03-09 Use the Sandbox.filesystem APIs instead.

See the FileIO docs for more information.

Usage

ls

[Alpha] List the contents of a directory in the Sandbox.

mkdir

[Alpha] Create a new directory in the Sandbox.

rm

[Alpha] Remove a file or directory in the Sandbox.

watch

[Alpha] Watch a file or directory in the Sandbox for changes.

stdout

StreamReader for the sandbox’s stdout stream.

stderr

StreamReader for the Sandbox’s stderr stream.

stdin

StreamWriter for the Sandbox’s stdin stream.

returncode

Return code of the Sandbox process if it has finished running, else None.

list

List all Sandboxes for the current Environment or App ID (if specified). If tags are specified, only Sandboxes that have at least those tags are returned. Returns an iterator over Sandbox objects.