The sandbox is where the agent performs its tasks. Instead of running commands directly on your computer (which could be risky), the agent runs them inside a Docker container.

The default OpenHands sandbox (python-nodejs:python3.12-nodejs22 from nikolaik/python-nodejs) comes with some packages installed such as python and Node.js but may need other software installed by default.

You have two options for customization:

  • Use an existing image with the required software.
  • Create your own custom Docker image.

If you choose the first option, you can skip the Create Your Docker Image section.

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Create Your Docker Image

To create a custom Docker image, it must be Debian based.

For example, if you want OpenHands to have ruby installed, you could create a Dockerfile with the following content:

FROM nikolaik/python-nodejs:python3.12-nodejs22

# Install required packages
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y ruby

Or you could use a Ruby-specific base image:

FROM ruby:latest

Save this file in a folder. Then, build your Docker image (e.g., named custom-image) by navigating to the folder in the terminal and running::

docker build -t custom-image .

This will produce a new image called custom-image, which will be available in Docker.

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Using the Docker Command

When running OpenHands using the docker command, replace -e SANDBOX_RUNTIME_CONTAINER_IMAGE=... with -e SANDBOX_BASE_CONTAINER_IMAGE=<custom image name>:

docker run -it --rm --pull=always \
    -e SANDBOX_BASE_CONTAINER_IMAGE=custom-image \
    ...

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Using the Development Workflow

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Setup

First, ensure you can run OpenHands by following the instructions in Development.md.

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Specify the Base Sandbox Image

In the config.toml file within the OpenHands directory, set the base_container_image to the image you want to use. This can be an image you’ve already pulled or one you’ve built:

[core]
...
[sandbox]
base_container_image="custom-image"

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Additional Configuration Options

The config.toml file supports several other options for customizing your sandbox:

[core]
# Install additional dependencies when the runtime is built
# Can contain any valid shell commands
# If you need the path to the Python interpreter in any of these commands, you can use the $OH_INTERPRETER_PATH variable
runtime_extra_deps = """
pip install numpy pandas
apt-get update && apt-get install -y ffmpeg
"""

# Set environment variables for the runtime
# Useful for configuration that needs to be available at runtime
runtime_startup_env_vars = { DATABASE_URL = "postgresql://user:pass@localhost/db" }

# Specify platform for multi-architecture builds (e.g., "linux/amd64" or "linux/arm64")
platform = "linux/amd64"

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Run

Run OpenHands by running make run in the top level directory.