Daytona

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72,467 GitHub stars — Secure, elastic sandbox infrastructure for running AI-generated code. Launch isolated environments with git sync and live previews.

Overview

Daytona provides a secure runtime environment where AI agents can execute code, run tests, preview builds, and interact with services without touching your real machine or production infrastructure. Each sandbox is disposable, network-isolated, and automatically cleaned up.

When to Use

Scenario	Benefit
AI-generated code execution	Run untrusted code in isolated sandboxes
Preview deployments	Spin up ephemeral preview environments for each PR
Multi-agent work	Give each agent its own sandbox to prevent conflicts
CI/CD integration	Run build and test pipelines in reproducible environments
Learning and experimentation	Explore tools and frameworks without polluting your local setup

How It Works

Daytona creates isolated environments on demand:

1. Agent requests a sandbox — The agent calls the Daytona tool with a project reference or git URL.
2. Daytona provisions a sandbox — A lightweight container or VM is created with the requested runtime.
3. Code is synced — Git clone or file sync populates the sandbox with the project code.
4. Agent works inside the sandbox — Commands, edits, and tests run inside the isolated environment.
5. Sandbox is destroyed — When work is complete, the sandbox is torn down and resources are reclaimed.

Installation

Daytona is a standalone infrastructure tool. Install it directly:

Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/daytonaio/daytona/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

macOS

brew install daytonaio/tap/daytona

Configuration

Initialize Daytona and configure your provider:

daytona init
daytona provider add
daytona target set

opencode.json Integration

Add the Daytona MCP server to your OpenCode config:

{
  "mcp": {
    "daytona": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["daytona", "mcp"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Usage

Create a Sandbox

daytona create --repo https://github.com/user/project.git

Run Inside Sandbox

daytona exec <sandbox-id> "npm test"

List Sandboxes

daytona list

OpenCode Integration Example

{
  "command": {
    "sandbox-test": {
      "description": "Run tests in an isolated Daytona sandbox",
      "template": "Create a Daytona sandbox for the project at $1 and run the full test suite. Report results."
    }
  }
}

Best Practices

Environment Parity

• Use the same runtime versions in sandboxes as in production.
• Define sandbox images with all required tools pre-installed.

Resource Limits

• Set CPU and memory limits per sandbox to prevent resource exhaustion.
• Configure auto-shutdown for idle sandboxes.

Security Isolation

• Treat every sandbox as potentially compromised.
• Never mount production credentials into sandboxes.
• Use network policies to restrict outbound access.

GitHub

• Repo: daytonaio/daytona
• Topics: ai-runtime, ai-sandboxes, code-execution, developer-tools
• License: Apache-2.0
• Category: Workspace / Environment