Helix Code Sandboxes

Helix Code provides isolated desktop environments where AI coding agents work autonomously. Each agent runs in its own containerized Linux desktop with a full IDE, and you watch their progress via real-time video streaming in your browser.

See also the Coding Agents overview for how sandboxes fit into the broader agent workflow.

How It Works

Each agent session receives its own containerized environment with:

• Isolated Linux desktop running on Wayland (Sway) or X11 (GNOME)
• Zed IDE - a Rust-based editor with native GPU rendering
• AI agent - powered by Claude, Qwen, or other LLMs via the Helix proxy
• WebSocket streaming - H.264 video streamed to your browser over standard HTTPS

The Helix control plane manages orchestration, knowledge sources, and conversation history through the UI.

Architecture

Helix Code uses a three-tier isolation model for security and multi-tenancy:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         HOST MACHINE                             │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                    Helix Control Plane                     │  │
│  │         (API Server, Frontend, PostgreSQL)                 │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                              │                                   │
│  ┌───────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │              HELIX-SANDBOX CONTAINER                       │  │
│  │                  (Docker-in-Docker)                        │  │
│  │  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │  │
│  │  │                     HYDRA                            │  │  │
│  │  │         (Multi-Tenant Docker Isolation)              │  │  │
│  │  │  Each session gets isolated dockerd + network        │  │  │
│  │  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │  │
│  │       │                │                │                  │  │
│  │  ┌────▼────┐     ┌────▼────┐     ┌────▼────┐             │  │
│  │  │ Session │     │ Session │     │ Session │             │  │
│  │  │ Ubuntu  │     │  Sway   │     │ Ubuntu  │             │  │
│  │  │ +Zed+AI │     │ +Zed+AI │     │ +Zed+AI │             │  │
│  │  └─────────┘     └─────────┘     └─────────┘             │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                              │                                   │
│                    WebSocket Video Stream                        │
│                     (H.264 over HTTPS)                          │
│                              ▼                                   │
│                         Browser                                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Hydra manages multi-tenant isolation within the sandbox. Each concurrent session gets its own Docker daemon with isolated networking (separate bridge networks with non-overlapping subnets). Sessions cannot see each other’s containers or network traffic.

Features

AI Agent Integration

Agents connect to Zed IDE via WebSocket and can use any LLM provider configured in Helix:

• Anthropic Claude (Sonnet, Opus)
• OpenAI GPT-4
• Local models via Helix runners (Qwen, Llama)
• Any OpenAI-compatible API

Contextual Awareness

Integrate external knowledge sources into agent environments:

• PDFs and documents
• Jira and Confluence
• MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers
• Custom knowledge bases

Knowledge Aggregation

Conversation histories across all coding sessions are searchable via RAG, enabling knowledge sharing across your team.

Spec-Driven Workflows

Use Kanban boards to manage agent task specifications before implementation, ensuring agents work on well-defined tasks.

Installation

Requirements

• Linux x86_64 (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended)
• Docker
• (Optional) NVIDIA GPU for hardware video encoding

Quick Start

Run the Helix installer:

curl -sL -O https://get.helixml.tech/install.sh
chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

The installer will detect your hardware and configure the sandbox automatically. On systems with NVIDIA GPUs, hardware H.264 encoding provides 60 FPS streaming with minimal CPU overhead.

Configure Inference Providers

After installation, configure AI providers through Account → AI Providers:

• Anthropic (Claude)
• OpenAI
• Together AI
• Any OpenAI-compatible API

Or connect a Helix runner with local models for complete data privacy.

Desktop Environments

Three desktop options are available:

Each desktop includes:

• Zed IDE with AI agent integration
• Firefox browser
• Docker CLI
• Git

Use Cases

Autonomous Development

Agents work asynchronously on tasks while you focus on other work. Review results when ready rather than waiting for completions.

Fleet Management

Manage multiple concurrent agent tasks across your team. Track progress, review outputs, and coordinate work through the Kanban board.

Cloud Development Environments

Persistent development environments that survive disconnections. Pick up where you left off from any device with a browser.

Security

Each agent runs in its own isolated container with:

• Separate filesystem (no access to host)
• Isolated network (no cross-session traffic)
• Dedicated Docker daemon (via Hydra)

Code execution is contained within the session. Even if an agent runs malicious commands, the blast radius is limited to that session’s container.

Getting Started

1. Install Helix with the installer script
2. Access the Helix UI at your deployment URL
3. Go to Helix Code and create a new session
4. Send a message to start the agent working
5. Watch the agent’s desktop in real-time via the video stream