Agent needs a computer, not a container – introducing Cloudflare/computer

8 hours ago

Cloudflare introduces @cloudflare/computer, an agent runtime providing a computer-like environment for agents, handling compute across isolates, containers, or browsers.
The package addresses scalability challenges of container-only agent systems by using lightweight isolates for most tasks, with containers only when necessary.
Key features: a shared filesystem across isolates and containers, support for code and bash execution, and AI SDK-compatible tools for file manipulation.
Workspace is the core, a virtual filesystem backed by SQLite, with isolate and container backends for executing tasks.
Goal: agents use containers for less than 10% of work, with isolates handling the rest, improving efficiency and scalability.

The author's laptop was the bottleneck in AI coding sessions because closing the lid would kill running sessions like Claude Code.
Solution: Move all development work (agents, code, databases, editor GUI) to a VPS, accessible from any device via Tailscale VPN.
Key benefits: close laptop without stopping work, instant handoff between devices, survives dropped connections, no need for caffeine hacks to keep laptop awake.

AI coding agents need autonomy to run commands, install packages, and edit files efficiently, but granting this directly on host machines poses risks like system damage, secret leaks, and interference.
Eclipse Enclave provides a sandboxed runtime with isolated containers, filesystems, process trees, and network stacks, allowing multiple agents to work in parallel without interference via separate Git worktrees.
The platform includes a sidecar gateway to restrict and log outbound network traffic, along with features for auth, configuration, history persistence, and a control center for managing agents.

Wire, a context container service for AI agents, is moving off Cloudflare Durable Objects due to four structural limits.
Limitations include the vector index being separate from the object, compute not being next to data, placement being static at creation, and inability to self-host.
Wire built a new runtime using Bun on Fly Machines, with each container as an SQLite file embedding a vector index via sqlite-vec for in-process retrieval.

Docker Sandboxes allow running AI coding agents in isolated microVM environments, each with its own Docker daemon, filesystem, and network.
Agents can perform tasks like building containers, installing packages, and modifying files without affecting the host system.
The sbx CLI is free for commercial and personal use, with only organization governance requiring a paid subscription.

Knock Agent is an AI agent for managing customer messaging resources, capable of creating and updating workflows, templates, audiences, segmenting users, and answering performance questions.
The agent was built using a virtual filesystem and bash, inspired by Vercel's approach, allowing it to explore and script on resources via a filesystem instead of exposing numerous API tools.
A custom Elixir-based virtual bash interpreter called just-bash was developed to provide a lightweight, in-memory environment without the performance overhead of a full sandbox.

The author's laptop was the bottleneck in AI coding sessions because closing the lid would kill running sessions like Claude Code.
Solution: Move all development work (agents, code, databases, editor GUI) to a VPS, accessible from any device via Tailscale VPN.
Key benefits: close laptop without stopping work, instant handoff between devices, survives dropped connections, no need for caffeine hacks to keep laptop awake.

AI coding agents need autonomy to run commands, install packages, and edit files efficiently, but granting this directly on host machines poses risks like system damage, secret leaks, and interference.
Eclipse Enclave provides a sandboxed runtime with isolated containers, filesystems, process trees, and network stacks, allowing multiple agents to work in parallel without interference via separate Git worktrees.
The platform includes a sidecar gateway to restrict and log outbound network traffic, along with features for auth, configuration, history persistence, and a control center for managing agents.

Wire, a context container service for AI agents, is moving off Cloudflare Durable Objects due to four structural limits.
Limitations include the vector index being separate from the object, compute not being next to data, placement being static at creation, and inability to self-host.
Wire built a new runtime using Bun on Fly Machines, with each container as an SQLite file embedding a vector index via sqlite-vec for in-process retrieval.

Docker Sandboxes allow running AI coding agents in isolated microVM environments, each with its own Docker daemon, filesystem, and network.
Agents can perform tasks like building containers, installing packages, and modifying files without affecting the host system.
The sbx CLI is free for commercial and personal use, with only organization governance requiring a paid subscription.

Knock Agent is an AI agent for managing customer messaging resources, capable of creating and updating workflows, templates, audiences, segmenting users, and answering performance questions.
The agent was built using a virtual filesystem and bash, inspired by Vercel's approach, allowing it to explore and script on resources via a filesystem instead of exposing numerous API tools.
A custom Elixir-based virtual bash interpreter called just-bash was developed to provide a lightweight, in-memory environment without the performance overhead of a full sandbox.

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