Sandbox SDK reference

API reference for the Cua Sandbox Python package: Sandbox, Image, Localhost, and top-level functions.

Package

cua-sandbox is a Python package imported as cua.

Field	Value
Package	`cua-sandbox`
Import name	`cua`
Python version	3.12+
Install	`pip install cua`

Top-level exports

Export	Description
`Sandbox`	VM or container control class
`Image`	Image builder class
`Localhost`	Direct host control class
`SandboxInfo`	Sandbox metadata structure
`configure()`	Global SDK configuration function
`login()`	Browser login function
`whoami()`	Authenticated user lookup function

Environment variables

Variable	Description
`CUA_API_KEY`	Cua API key for cloud sandboxes

Sandbox class

Sandbox controls a VM or container through .mouse, .keyboard, .screen, .clipboard, .shell, .window, .terminal, .mobile, and .tunnel.

Sandbox.ephemeral

Async context manager. The sandbox is destroyed automatically on exit.

async def ephemeral(cls, image: Image, name=None, api_key=None, local=False, runtime=None, cpu=None, memory_mb=None, disk_gb=None, region='us-east-1') -> AsyncIterator[Sandbox]

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`image`	`Image`	required	Image to run
`name`	`str or None`	`None`	Optional name
`api_key`	`str or None`	`None`	Cua API key; reads `CUA_API_KEY` if `None`
`local`	`bool`	`False`	Use local runtime (Docker/Lume/QEMU)
`runtime`	`Runtime or None`	`None`	Explicit runtime backend
`cpu`	`int or None`	`None`	CPU count (cloud)
`memory_mb`	`int or None`	`None`	Memory in MB (cloud)
`disk_gb`	`int or None`	`None`	Disk size in GB (cloud)
`region`	`str`	`'us-east-1'`	Cloud region

Sandbox.create

Provisions a persistent sandbox. The sandbox keeps running after the script exits.

async def create(cls, image: Image, name=None, api_key=None, local=False, runtime=None, cpu=None, memory_mb=None, disk_gb=None, region='us-east-1') -> Sandbox

Same parameters as ephemeral.

Sandbox.connect

Connects to an existing sandbox by name. Supports both await and async with. When used as a context manager, disconnect() is called on exit. The sandbox keeps running.

def connect(cls, name: str, api_key=None, local=False, ws_url=None, http_url=None, container_name=None, cpu=None, memory_mb=None, disk_gb=None, region='us-east-1') -> _ConnectResult

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`name`	`str`	required	Sandbox name
`api_key`	`str or None`	`None`	Cua API key; reads `CUA_API_KEY` if `None`
`local`	`bool`	`False`	Use local runtime (Docker/Lume/QEMU)
`ws_url`	`str or None`	`None`	WebSocket URL
`http_url`	`str or None`	`None`	HTTP URL
`container_name`	`str or None`	`None`	Container name
`cpu`	`int or None`	`None`	CPU count (cloud)
`memory_mb`	`int or None`	`None`	Memory in MB (cloud)
`disk_gb`	`int or None`	`None`	Disk size in GB (cloud)
`region`	`str`	`'us-east-1'`	Cloud region

Sandbox instance methods

Method	Signature	Description
`disconnect`	`async disconnect() -> None`	Drop transport connection. Sandbox keeps running.
`destroy`	`async destroy() -> None`	Disconnect and permanently delete the sandbox.
`screenshot`	`async screenshot(text=None, format='png', quality=95) -> bytes`	Capture screenshot. `format`: `'png'` or `'jpeg'`. `quality`: 1-95 (JPEG only).
`screenshot_base64`	`async screenshot_base64(text=None, format='png', quality=95) -> str`	Screenshot as base64 string.
`get_environment`	`async get_environment() -> str`	Returns `'linux'`, `'mac'`, `'windows'`, or `'browser'`.
`get_display_url`	`async get_display_url(share=False) -> str`	URL to view the sandbox display. `share=True` returns a public link (cloud only).
`get_dimensions`	`async get_dimensions() -> tuple[int, int]`	Screen width and height in pixels.

Sandbox class methods

Method	Signature	Description
`list`	`async list(local=False, api_key=None) -> list[SandboxInfo]`	List running and suspended sandboxes.
`get_info`	`async get_info(name, local=False, api_key=None) -> SandboxInfo`	Metadata for a specific sandbox.
`suspend`	`async suspend(name, local=False, api_key=None) -> None`	Suspend a sandbox (save state). Local QEMU: QMP snapshot. Local Docker: pause. Local Lume: stop. Cloud: `POST /v1/vms/{name}/stop`.
`resume`	`async resume(name, local=False, api_key=None) -> Sandbox`	Resume a suspended sandbox. Returns connected `Sandbox`.
`restart`	`async restart(name, local=False, api_key=None) -> Sandbox`	Restart (suspend then resume). Returns connected `Sandbox`.
`delete`	`async delete(name, local=False, api_key=None) -> None`	Permanently delete. Local: stops and removes state file. Cloud: `DELETE /v1/vms/{name}`.

Sandbox attributes

Attribute	Type	Description
`name`	`str or None`	Sandbox name
`shell`	`Shell`	Run shell commands
`mouse`	`Mouse`	Mouse control
`keyboard`	`Keyboard`	Keyboard control
`screen`	`Screen`	Screenshots and screen info
`clipboard`	`Clipboard`	Clipboard read/write
`tunnel`	`Tunnel`	Port forwarding
`terminal`	`Terminal`	PTY sessions
`window`	`Window`	Window management
`mobile`	`Mobile`	Mobile (Android) touch and hardware keys

SandboxInfo

Returned by Sandbox.list() and Sandbox.get_info().

Field	Type	Description
`name`	`str`	Sandbox name
`status`	`str`	Current status
`source`	`str`	Runtime source
`os_type`	`str or None`	OS type
`host`	`str or None`	Host address
`vnc_url`	`str or None`	VNC URL
`api_url`	`str or None`	API URL
`created_at`	`str or None`	ISO timestamp

def configure(api_key=None, base_url=None) -> None
# Set global SDK config. Equivalent to setting CUA_API_KEY.
 
def login(base_url=None) -> None
# Open Cua login page in browser; store credentials in ~/.cua/credentials (Clerk flow).
 
def whoami(api_key=None) -> Dict[str, Any]
# Return dict with user info (id, email, etc.) from Cua API.

Localhost

Direct host control via cua_auto. No sandbox. Attributes: screen, mouse, keyboard, clipboard, shell, window, terminal.

# plain await
host = await Localhost.connect()
await host.shell.run('echo hello')
await host.disconnect()
 
# context manager
async with Localhost.connect() as host:
    await host.shell.run('echo hello')

Methods: same signatures as Sandbox (screenshot, screenshot_base64, get_environment, get_dimensions, disconnect).

See Sandbox interfaces reference for the full API of sb.shell, sb.mouse, sb.keyboard, sb.screen, sb.clipboard, sb.tunnel, sb.terminal, sb.window, and sb.mobile. See Image reference for the full Image builder API.