Devtoolwatch BoardRunloop review
Runloop is a Python SDK for creating secure Linux sandboxes, called Devboxes, where AI agents run code, edit files, and expose ports.
TL;DR
Runloop is the official Python SDK for Runloop's hosted Devboxes, isolated Linux sandboxes for AI agents and AI-generated code. It is for developers building coding agents that need a shell, files, networking and snapshots. Runloop is winding down its services, and support for existing customers continues through November 13, 2026.
- 28GitHub stars
- +0new stars, week of Oct 25
- –not ranked this week
Runloop at a glance
- Category
- Sandboxes and runtimes
- Maintained by
- Runloop AI (organization, @runloopai on GitHub)
- License
- MIT
- Language
- Python, Shell, Dockerfile
- Repository
- github.com/runloopai/api-client-python
- Website
- docs.runloop.ai
- npm package
- @runloop/api-client 2.0.0
- PyPI package
- runloop_api_client 2.0.0
- Latest release
- v2.0.0 on GitHub, Oct 8, 2026
- First published
- Jun 20, 2024
What Runloop does
- Runloop creates Devboxes, isolated Linux sandboxes with a shell, a filesystem, networking, and optional GPUs.
- Runloop runs commands in a sandbox and reads and writes files inside it.
- Runloop exposes sandbox ports over HTTPS.
- Runloop snapshots the whole machine so you can suspend, resume, and branch an agent's machine state.
- Runloop Blueprints bake dependencies into a reusable image so agents do not install tooling on every run.
- Runloop isolates every devbox at both the VM and container level.
- Runloop offers secrets injection, AI gateways, network policies, and VPC deployment as part of the platform.
How it works
Runloop is a client library for a hosted platform. You install the Python package, set RUNLOOP_API_KEY, and call the API from your code. The package has two layers: the object-oriented RunloopSDK and a generated REST client built with Stainless. Both have sync and async variants, typed requests and responses, and use httpx, with optional aiohttp.
How to install and start using Runloop
With pip
pip install runloop_api_clientWith pip and the aiohttp backend
pip install runloop_api_client[aiohttp]Requirements
- Python 3.9 or later
- A Runloop account and API key set as RUNLOOP_API_KEY
First steps
- Get an API key from runloop.ai and set RUNLOOP_API_KEY in your environment.
- Create a RunloopSDK client, which reads RUNLOOP_API_KEY by default.
- Create a devbox in a with block so it is cleaned up on exit.
- Write a file with devbox.file.write, run it with devbox.cmd.exec, and print the output.
Who Runloop is for
- Developers building AI agents that need to run untrusted, AI-generated code in isolation.
- Long-running agents that need persistent machines with suspend and resume.
- Existing Runloop customers maintaining integrations during the service wind-down.
Limitations to know
- Runloop is winding down its services. Support for existing customers continues through November 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.
- Runloop sandboxes run on the hosted platform, so the SDK needs network access and an API key.
- Runloop 2.0.0 removed the benchmark and scenario APIs, a breaking change for code that used them.
- Runloop retries POST requests only on 429 errors by default.
Is Runloop growing? Usage data
Runloop was not ranked on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026: it needs 25 or more new stars or 1,000 or more added downloads in a week to rank.
Show the weekly numbers
| Week of | New stars |
|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2026 | 0 |
| Aug 16, 2026 | 1 |
| Aug 23, 2026 | 1 |
| Aug 30, 2026 | 0 |
| Sep 6, 2026 | 0 |
| Sep 13, 2026 | 0 |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 0 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 0 |
| Oct 4, 2026 | 0 |
| Oct 11, 2026 | 0 |
| Oct 18, 2026 | 0 |
| Oct 25, 2026 | 0 |
The Board ranks tools by four signals each week: new stars, new stars for the repo's size, added downloads and download growth beyond the market. How the ranking works.
Runloop alternatives
Other AI sandboxes and runtimes on the Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum:
| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | OpenSandboxOpenSandbox is a sandbox runtime that gives AI agents isolated environments to run code, commands, files, browsers, and desktops on your… | 16.3k | 328.9k |
| #2 | microsandboxmicrosandbox is a local-first microVM runtime and library for running untrusted workloads like AI agents, user code, and CI jobs in… | 8.9k | 26.8k |
| #3 | E2BE2B is open-source infrastructure for running AI-generated code in secure, isolated cloud sandboxes, controlled through JavaScript and… | 14.6k | 5M |
| #4 | Agent Sandboxagent-sandbox enables easy management of isolated, stateful, singleton workloads, ideal for use cases like AI agent runtimes and… | 4.5k | – |
| #5 | Trigger.devTrigger.dev is an open-source TypeScript platform for building and deploying durable AI agents, workflows, and long-running background… | 16.7k | 1.7M |
| #6 | InngestInngest is a workflow orchestration platform for running durable step functions, background jobs, and AI workflows on serverless,… | 6k | 3.7M |
Recent Runloop releases
Runloop FAQ
Is Runloop free and open source?
Yes. Runloop's source code is on GitHub (runloopai/api-client-python) under the MIT license, so you can use it for free.
How do I install Runloop?
Run pip install runloop_api_client. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.
Is Runloop still maintained?
Yes. The runloopai/api-client-python repository was last updated on Oct 8, 2026, and the latest release, v2.0.0 on GitHub, came out on Oct 8, 2026.
How popular is Runloop?
Runloop has 28 GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 0 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 0 a week.
Runloop vs Daytona: how do they compare?
Runloop and Daytona are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as AI sandboxes and runtimes. Runloop has 28 GitHub stars and Daytona has 71.4k. Daytona is infrastructure for running AI-generated code in isolated sandboxes, controlled through SDKs, a REST API, and a CLI. Daytona review.
What are the best alternatives to Runloop?
Other AI sandboxes and runtimes on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: OpenSandbox (#1), microsandbox (#2), E2B (#3), Agent Sandbox (#4), Trigger.dev (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.
What is Runloop AI?
Runloop is a platform for building AI software engineering agents. It provides Devboxes as sandboxes, Axons for event streams, Blueprints for devbox templates, and Snapshots for suspend and resume.
Is Runloop shutting down?
Yes. Runloop is winding down its services. Support for existing customers continues through November 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT. The docs include transition guides for moving to Tensorlake, Modal, and Freestyle.
Does Runloop support async Python?
Yes. Runloop provides AsyncRunloop, which mirrors the synchronous client. You use await with each call. It uses httpx by default and can use aiohttp through DefaultAioHttpClient.
Is there a Runloop SDK for TypeScript?
Yes. Runloop publishes an official TypeScript SDK on npm as @runloop/api-client.
How does Runloop handle API errors and retries?
Runloop raises subclasses of APIError, such as APIConnectionError and RateLimitError. Some errors are retried 5 times with exponential backoff by default. Requests time out after 30 seconds by default.
Sources
Runloop README badge
Maintainers can show the tool's weekly Board rank in their README:
[](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/runloop/)How this page is made: Devtoolwatch writes each review from the project's README, releases, package metadata and website, with an AI model, then checks every claim against the source it cites and drops what the sources don't support. The numbers come from Devtoolwatch's daily GitHub snapshots, GitHub's stargazer history, and the npm and PyPI download APIs. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].