Agent Sandbox
An agent sandbox is an isolated execution environment that constrains the filesystem, network and system calls available to an AI agent, bounding the consequences of a compromised or malfunctioning agent.
Containment Assumes the Agent Will Misbehave
Sandboxing starts from the position that an agent will at some point do something wrong, through a model error or through manipulated input, and designs for the consequences instead of the prevention. The agent runs inside a boundary it cannot cross, so a destructive command reaches a disposable filesystem and an exfiltration attempt reaches a network that refuses the destination.
Four Dimensions Define the Boundary
Filesystem isolation limits the agent to a working directory, keeping credentials and unrelated repositories out of reach. Network egress control restricts which destinations the agent can open, which is the single most effective constraint against data leaving. Process and system call restriction prevents the agent from spawning what it was not meant to spawn. Resource limits cap compute and runtime, bounding the cost of a loop that never terminates.
Sandboxing Collides With Usefulness
Agents are deployed to act on systems, and an agent sealed away from everything accomplishes nothing. The working compromise narrows the boundary to exactly what a task requires and widens it per task rather than permanently, which relates directly to the conditions described under overprivileged agent. Coding agents are the clearest case, since they need to execute code to be useful and executing code is the thing worth containing.
Containment Is Not a Substitute for Observation
A sandbox bounds the damage and records nothing by itself. Knowing that an agent attempted a blocked action is governance evidence, and that evidence has to be captured at the boundary and retained, which is what an AI agent audit trail is for. An agent repeatedly striking the edge of its sandbox is a finding, whether the cause is manipulation or a task scoped incorrectly.
Related Terms
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