> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://productos.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sandboxes

> Every Code project runs in its own isolated cloud sandbox with a live preview URL. Learn the lifecycle, cold boot behavior, and plan-based resources.

Every project on the Code surface runs in its own isolated cloud sandbox: a disposable environment with a file system, a terminal, and a running dev server. The coding agent works inside the sandbox, and you watch the result through a live preview URL embedded in the workspace. Nothing runs on your machine, and AI-generated code never touches the ProductOS host environment.

## One sandbox per project

Sandboxes are project-scoped. Opening a project either reconnects to its existing sandbox or provisions a fresh one. The lifecycle looks like this:

1. **Create**: a sandbox is provisioned when the project needs one.
2. **Execute**: the agent writes files, installs dependencies, and runs build commands.
3. **Preview**: a live URL is returned and embedded in the workspace, with an option to open it in a new tab.
4. **Teardown**: after a period of inactivity, the sandbox is cleaned up. Your code is safe; it lives in the project's Git repository, not only in the sandbox.

Mobile projects use a dedicated mobile build environment rather than the web one. If a mobile project ever resumes onto the wrong environment type, it is detected and recreated automatically. See [Mobile](/code/mobile).

## Cold boots

When you return to a project whose sandbox has been torn down, ProductOS restores it: it pulls your code back in, reinstalls anything missing, and restarts the dev server. A boot loader shows progress while this happens.

A few things keep cold boots short:

* **Prewarming**: after your code is pulled in, the home route is compiled ahead of time, so you do not pay a cold compile on your first navigation.
* **Volume-backed templates**: curated templates that ship with a prepared volume boot in about 3 seconds instead of roughly 25 seconds for the standard import path. See [Templates](/code/templates).
* **A hard ceiling on the loader**: if the preview cannot be restored within the time limit (150 seconds by default), you get an actionable error with options to try again or start a build, instead of an indefinite spinner.

<Note>
  The preview loader is dismissed when the app actually responds, not on a fixed timer. If you see the loader for a while on a large project, the sandbox is still compiling; it will hand off as soon as the app serves a real page.
</Note>

## Resources by plan

Sandbox memory is sized by your plan, so heavier builds get more headroom:

| Plan | Sandbox RAM |
| ---- | ----------- |
| Free | 8 GB        |
| Pro  | 16 GB       |
| Max  | 32 GB       |

Credit consumption is tracked per sandbox session and per AI call; you can review it on your usage page. See [Plans and credits](/getting-started/plans-and-credits).

## Security notes

* Sandboxes are isolated from each other and from ProductOS infrastructure.
* Platform credentials never enter your sandbox. For example, when a template is cloned for you, the download happens server-side and only the extracted files reach the sandbox.
* Your project's canonical code lives in Git, so a torn-down sandbox never means lost work.