---
title: "Modal"
description: "Deploy Sandbox Agent inside a Modal sandbox."
---

## Prerequisites

- `MODAL_TOKEN_ID` and `MODAL_TOKEN_SECRET` from [modal.com/settings](https://modal.com/settings)
- `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` or `OPENAI_API_KEY`

## TypeScript example

```typescript
import { ModalClient } from "modal";
import { SandboxAgent } from "sandbox-agent";

const modal = new ModalClient();
const app = await modal.apps.fromName("sandbox-agent", { createIfMissing: true });

const image = modal.images
  .fromRegistry("ubuntu:22.04")
  .dockerfileCommands([
    "RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y curl ca-certificates",
    "RUN curl -fsSL https://releases.rivet.dev/sandbox-agent/0.2.x/install.sh | sh",
  ]);

const envs: Record<string, string> = {};
if (process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY) envs.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY;
if (process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY) envs.OPENAI_API_KEY = process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY;

const secrets = Object.keys(envs).length > 0
  ? [await modal.secrets.fromObject(envs)]
  : [];

const sb = await modal.sandboxes.create(app, image, {
  encryptedPorts: [3000],
  secrets,
});

const exec = async (cmd: string) => {
  const p = await sb.exec(["bash", "-c", cmd], { stdout: "pipe", stderr: "pipe" });
  const exitCode = await p.wait();
  if (exitCode !== 0) {
    const stderr = await p.stderr.readText();
    throw new Error(`Command failed (exit ${exitCode}): ${cmd}\n${stderr}`);
  }
};

await exec("sandbox-agent install-agent claude");
await exec("sandbox-agent install-agent codex");

await sb.exec(
  ["bash", "-c", "sandbox-agent server --no-token --host 0.0.0.0 --port 3000 &"],
);

const tunnels = await sb.tunnels();
const baseUrl = tunnels[3000].url;

const sdk = await SandboxAgent.connect({ baseUrl });

const session = await sdk.createSession({ agent: "claude" });
const off = session.onEvent((event) => {
  console.log(event.sender, event.payload);
});

await session.prompt([{ type: "text", text: "Summarize this repository" }]);
off();

await sb.terminate();
```

## Faster cold starts

Modal caches image layers, so the `dockerfileCommands` that install `curl` and `sandbox-agent` only run on the first build. Subsequent sandbox creates reuse the cached image.

## Running the test

The example includes a health-check test. First, build the SDK:

```bash
pnpm --filter sandbox-agent build
```

Then run the test with your Modal credentials:

```bash
MODAL_TOKEN_ID=<your-token-id> MODAL_TOKEN_SECRET=<your-token-secret> npx vitest run
```

Run from `examples/modal/`. The test will skip if credentials are not set.

## Notes

- Modal sandboxes use [gVisor](https://gvisor.dev/) for strong isolation.
- Ports are exposed via encrypted tunnels (`encryptedPorts`). Use `sb.tunnels()` to get the public HTTPS URL.
- Environment variables (API keys) are passed as Modal [Secrets](https://modal.com/docs/guide/secrets) rather than plain env vars for security.
- Always call `sb.terminate()` when done to avoid leaking sandbox resources.
