Quickstart

Install isol8, build runtime images, run your first secure execution, and understand what to check at each step.

Migration: The CLI is now @isol8/cli (installed as isol8 command). The library is @isol8/core.

This quickstart is intentionally practical. You will:

1. install and verify the CLI
2. build runtime images
3. run real sandboxed code
4. check effective defaults

Prerequisites

• Docker installed and running
• Bun or Node.js runtime available

Default behavior: network: "none", timeoutMs: 30000, memoryLimit: "512m".

1. Install and verify

   Install the global CLI.

   npm

   npm install -g @isol8/cli
   

   Verify installation and Docker connectivity:

   Command

   isol8 --version && docker info >/dev/null
   
2. Build runtime images

   Run setup to build the base Docker images (isol8:python, isol8:node, etc.). This creates the local isol8 image hierarchy.

   isol8 setup
   

   This step is idempotent. Is uses Docker labels to detect if images are already up-to-date, so you can run it safely as part of your deployment script.

3. Run code

   Execute a simple Python script.

   Command

   isol8 run -e "print('hello from sandbox')" --runtime python
   
4. Try core capabilities

   Install a package (ephemeral) and inspect config.

   # Install numpy on the fly
   isol8 run \
     -e "import numpy; print(numpy.array([1,2,3]))" \
     --runtime python \
     --install numpy
   
   # Check resolved configuration
   isol8 config
   

Next steps

Execution guide

Learn request fields, modes, and streaming behavior.

CLI reference

Complete command and flag behavior.

Option mapping

Map every feature to CLI/config/API/library inputs.

Troubleshooting

Diagnose setup, runtime, and server issues.