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Anthropic Sandbox Runtime vs Windows Sandbox

Anthropic Sandbox Runtime

github.com

Windows Sandbox

learn.microsoft.com

Side by side

FigureAnthropic Sandbox RuntimeWindows Sandbox
Price fromFreeFree
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Open source——
WindowsYesYes
macOSYesYes
LinuxYesYes
Self-hostedYes—
Plans published11
Spec score · Sandbox Software9.0 (#5)7.4 (#17)
PurposeAnthropic Sandbox Runtime (srt) enforces filesystem and network restrictions on arbitrary processes at the OS level without requiring a container.Windows Sandbox provides a lightweight isolated desktop for testing, debugging, exploring unknown files, and experimenting with tools.
Use casesThe README says srt can sandbox agents, local MCP servers, bash commands, and arbitrary processes, and can be used as a CLI tool or library.Microsoft describes using it to test software, browse unfamiliar websites, open untrusted files, and maintain development environments.

Plans

Anthropic Sandbox Runtime

  • Anthropic Sandbox RuntimeFree

Anthropic Sandbox Runtime pricing →

Windows Sandbox

  • Windows SandboxFree

Windows Sandbox pricing →

In their own words

Anthropic Sandbox Runtime

Anthropic Sandbox Runtime (srt) is a free, open-source research preview that applies filesystem and network restrictions to processes at the operating-system level, without requiring a container. It can be used as a CLI tool or library to sandbox agents, local MCP servers, bash commands and other processes. Filesystem writes and network access are denied by default, with configuration options to allow paths and domains. The project documents macOS, Linux and Windows support, using sandbox-exec, bubblewrap or a dedicated local sandbox account with Windows Filtering Platform and filesystem ACLs, respectively. Windows is marked alpha. Install it from npm with `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/sandbox-runtime`. Linux requires bubblewrap, socat and ripgrep; macOS requires ripgrep, and Windows needs a one-time elevated setup step. On macOS, srt can provide real-time alerts from the system sandbox violation log. Linux bubblewrap has no built-in violation reporting, and Linux network filtering relies on proxy environment variables, which some programs may ignore. The preview is developed for Claude Code; its APIs and configuration formats may evolve.

Visit github.com

Windows Sandbox

Windows Sandbox has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Visit learn.microsoft.com