Cloud Sandbox Cheat Sheet
Last reviewed · content updated
BeginnerWhat you'll learn
~5 min- Compare cloud sandbox options by cost, capabilities, and limitations
- Identify which sandboxes support CLI tool installation
- Understand persistence, timeouts, and gotchas for each option
- Know where to check for current pricing and quotas
A single reference for every cloud sandbox option. Bookmark this page — prices and quotas change frequently.
Recommended for beginners: Start with Claude Code Web (claude.ai/code) for zero-setup project editing, or Codespaces if you want a full terminal. Both work on any machine with a browser. Codex Cloud is available at chatgpt.com/codex.
Cloud sandbox pricing, free tiers, and quotas change regularly. Always check the provider’s official pricing page before making a decision.
Sandbox providers disappear or reshape with little warning. Recent casualties: Firebase Studio (formerly Project IDX) stopped taking new signups June 22, 2026 and fully sunsets March 22, 2027 — existing workspaces keep running until then, but you cannot start a new one. Gitpod Classic was sunset October 15, 2025; its successor, Ona, has no free tier at all. Glitch ended free app hosting. AWS Cloud9 is closed to new customers. None of these appear in the tables below. Before you commit a class, team, or personal workflow to any sandbox — including the ones this cheat sheet does recommend — check the provider’s current status page, not just this table.
Pricing & Access
Pricing & Access
Cost, free tiers, and authentication for each cloud sandbox
| Sandbox | Provider | Cost | Free Tier | Auth Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code Web | Anthropic | Pro $20/mo, Max 5x $100/mo, Max 20x (see claude.com/pricing), Team $20–125/seat/mo | None — paid plan required (research preview) | Anthropic account + GitHub |
| Codex Cloud | OpenAI | Go $8/mo, Plus $20/mo, Pro 5x $100/mo, Pro 20x $200/mo | Codex included on Free/Go (Terra only); cloud tasks confirmed from Plus up | OpenAI account (usage shared with Codex CLI) |
| GitHub Codespaces | GitHub | Free tier + paid overage; underlying quota is 120 core-hours/mo | 60 hrs/mo on a 2-core machine, 15 GB storage | GitHub account |
| Google Cloud Shell | Free | 50 hrs/week, 5 GB persistent storage; idle timeout 40 min | Google account | |
| Cursor | Cursor (SpaceX) | Hobby (free), Pro $20/mo, Pro+ $60/mo, Ultra $200/mo; Teams $40–120/user/mo | Hobby tier — no credit card; cloud agents need a paid plan | Cursor account |
| Bolt | StackBlitz | Free tier + paid plans | Token-limited free tier (daily + monthly caps) — check bolt.new for current numbers | StackBlitz/GitHub account |
| v0 | Vercel | Free tier + paid plans (Plus $30/user/mo) | $5 of included credits per month | Vercel account |
| Replit Agent | Replit | Effort-based agent billing (per-request cost varies — check current rates); Core $17/mo billed annually ($20/mo month-to-month), Pro $95/mo billed annually ($100/mo month-to-month) | Starter — free, daily Agent credits (amount not published), 1 published project | Replit account |
| ChatGPT Interpreter | OpenAI | Go $8/mo, Plus $20/mo, Pro 5x $100/mo, Pro 20x $200/mo | Limited free access | OpenAI account |
| Gemini Web | Free; AI Plus $4.99/mo, AI Pro $19.99/mo, AI Ultra $99.99 or $199.99/mo | Free tier with compute-based limits (5-hour refresh + weekly cap) | Google account | |
| Jules | Free 15 tasks/day; AI Pro 100/day; AI Ultra 300/day | Yes | Google account + GitHub | |
| Copilot cloud agent | GitHub | Pro $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo, Max $100/mo (AI Credits) | No — paid plans only | GitHub account |
Capabilities
Capabilities
What each sandbox can and cannot do
| Capability | Claude Code Web | Codex Cloud | Codespaces | Cloud Shell | ChatGPT Interpreter | Gemini Web |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-file projects | Yes (via GitHub) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Upload/download only | Upload/download only |
| Install CLI tools | No | No | Yes | Partial (session only) | No | No |
| Shell commands | Sandboxed | Sandboxed | Full | Full | Sandboxed | No |
| Persistent storage | Via GitHub | Via ChatGPT | Yes (30-day idle limit) | 5 GB home dir | No | No |
| Offline use | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Chromebook support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network access | Limited | Limited | Full | Full | No | No |
Persistence & Gotchas
Persistence & Gotchas
What survives between sessions and key limitations
| Sandbox | What Persists | What Doesn’t | Idle Timeout | Key Gotcha |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code Web | Commits pushed to GitHub | Uncommitted work, environment state | Session-based | Must connect a GitHub repo — no standalone file editing |
| Codex Cloud | Task history in ChatGPT | Environment state beyond ~12 hours | Task-based | Each task runs in its own container; environment state is cached for up to 12 hours |
| Codespaces | Everything in the codespace | Codespaces auto-delete after 30 days of inactivity | 30 min default | Free tier hours deplete faster on 4-core machines |
| Cloud Shell | Files in ~/ (5 GB), tools installed via nvm in ~/ | System-level packages outside ~/ | 40 min inactive, 12 hr max | Install CLI tools yourself via nvm + npm (Node lives in ~/). Pre-installed tooling varies — verify with which agy before assuming. Your home directory is deleted after 120 days without use. Google Cloud Agent Platform “express mode” offers a 90-day no-billing tier for extra capacity. |
| ChatGPT Interpreter | Nothing | Everything | Session-based | Upload/download only — no persistent file tree |
| Gemini Web | Nothing | Everything | Session-based | Cannot run shell commands or install packages |
This cheat sheet is your reference for specs. For help deciding which sandbox to use, see Choosing Your Cloud Sandbox. For hands-on setup, see Your First Sandbox.
🏛️In Your Field: Government / State Devclick to expand
Data sovereignty warning: All cloud sandboxes process your code and data on external servers. Do not paste sensitive, PII, CUI, or classified agency data into public cloud sandboxes without explicit authorization from your security office. Verify that your agency’s firewall allows connections to claude.ai, github.com, chatgpt.com, shell.cloud.google.com, or gemini.google.com. Codespaces and Cloud Shell often work on networks that block direct software installation, since they run entirely in the browser. Check with your IT security team for approved cloud development environments.
📊In Your Field: MIS / Businessclick to expand
University computer labs typically block software installation but allow web access. Codespaces is the strongest option for class projects — the free tier is usually sufficient for coursework, and your professor may provide a template repository through GitHub Classroom. If your lab network blocks GitHub, Cloud Shell is a fallback for terminal practice.
🧬In Your Field: Biotechclick to expand
Shared lab workstations where you cannot install software are common in research environments. For bioinformatics scripting, Codespaces provides a full Linux environment with pre-installed Node.js and Python. For quick data processing tasks (parsing CSVs, reformatting FASTA files), ChatGPT Interpreter works well — upload the file, describe the transformation, download the result.
Key Takeaways
- Codespaces is the most flexible — it is a real Linux machine where you can install any CLI tool from this course
- Claude Code Web is the closest to the terminal CLI experience — but it’s a paid-plan-only research preview (no free tier)
- Cloud Shell is the fastest zero-setup terminal — good for practicing commands, limited for full development
- Codex Cloud shares one usage pool with Codex CLI — a long cloud task eats the same five-hour window; treat it like a project budget
- Replit Agent’s effort-based billing can produce surprise charges — set a spend cap before long agent runs
- Prices and quotas change frequently — always check the provider’s official page before committing
- All cloud sandboxes require internet access — none work offline