boxlite-mcp

MCP server providing isolated sandbox environments for AI agents.

The Problem

Today's AI apps don't just generate text – they write and run code, call tools, read your files, and hit the network. Running all of this directly on your machine creates real risks:

• Security - Malicious or buggy code can damage your system
• Privacy - Sensitive files and credentials are exposed
• Reliability - Runaway processes can consume resources or crash your machine

BoxLite solves this by giving AI agents their own isolated VM – full freedom inside, complete safety outside.

Powered by BoxLite

BoxLite is an embeddable virtual machine runtime that follows the SQLite philosophy - simple, lightweight, and zero-configuration.

Why BoxLite?

• Hardware-level isolation - True VM security, not just containers. Your AI agent runs in a completely isolated environment.
• No daemon required - Unlike Docker, BoxLite doesn't need a background service. Just import and use.
• Embeddable - Designed to be embedded directly into your applications, like SQLite for compute.
• Fast startup - VMs boot in seconds, not minutes.
• Cross-platform - Works on macOS and Linux.

Use Cases

• AI Agent Sandboxing - Let AI agents execute code, browse the web, and use applications safely
• Secure Code Execution - Run untrusted code without risk to your host system
• Browser Automation - Headless browser with CDP for web scraping and testing
• Development Environments - Disposable, reproducible dev environments

Demo

▶️ Watch the demo on YouTube

boxlite-mcp-demo-compressed.mp4

Available Tools

Tool	Description
computer	Full Ubuntu desktop with XFCE. Anthropic computer use API compatible.
browser	Chromium browser with CDP endpoint for Puppeteer/Playwright/Selenium
code_interpreter	Python code execution sandbox
sandbox	Generic container for running shell commands

Quick Start

Claude Code

claude mcp add boxlite -- uvx boxlite-mcp

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boxlite": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["boxlite-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Manual Installation

pip install boxlite-mcp

Development

git clone https://github.com/boxlite-labs/boxlite-mcp.git
cd boxlite-mcp
uv sync --extra dev
uv run pytest

Connect Local Server to Claude Code

claude mcp add boxlite -s local \
  -e BOXLITE_HOME=$HOME/.boxlite-mcp \
  -- uv run --directory /path/to/boxlite-mcp python -m server

Note: Environment variables must be passed via -e, not inline in the args. MCP stdio servers bypass the shell, so VAR=value command syntax won't work.

Connect Local Server to Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boxlite": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/boxlite-mcp", "python", "-m", "server"],
      "env": {
        "BOXLITE_HOME": "/path/to/.boxlite-mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

License

Apache-2.0