git:20260613.bd14b2a to git:20260613.95ab83b

13 added, 29 removed. Audit B to B.

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name: cloud-vm

- description: Provision a persistent cloud Linux VM in seconds with SSH and a dedicated IPv4 — a real Ubuntu machine (4 vCPU / 8 GB / 80 GB) you can keep, resume, and snapshot. $20 buys ~555 hours, billed per second, ~10x cheaper than the usual sandbox providers. Use when the user wants a remote dev box, a server, or any always-available Linux environment.

+ description: Provision a persistent cloud Linux VM in seconds with SSH and a dedicated IPv4 — a real Ubuntu machine (4 vCPU / 8 GB / 80 GB) you can keep, resume, and snapshot. $20 buys ~555 hours, billed per second, ~10x cheaper than typical sandbox providers. Use when the user wants a remote dev box, a cloud VM, or any always-available Linux machine.

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# Cloud VM (Box)

- Use this when the user asks for a **VM, a remote box, a cloud Linux machine, or a dev server** — something they can SSH into, install things on, and come back to later.

- Unlike ephemeral sandboxes, a Box **persists**: stop it, resume it days later, and the disk is intact. It has its own IPv4, so it's a real addressable host.

+ Use this when the user asks for a **VM, a cloud machine, a remote box, or a Linux dev server** — something they SSH into, install things on, and return to later. Unlike ephemeral sandboxes, a Box **persists**: stop it, resume it days later, disk intact, with its own IPv4.

## When to prefer Box

- - "Give me a Linux box I can SSH into" → exactly this.

- - Needs to survive across sessions (persistent state, installed tools) → resume from snapshot.

- - Needs a real IP / to be reachable → dedicated IPv4 per VM.

- - Budget-conscious → per-second flat pricing, ~10× cheaper than E2B/Modal/Vercel Sandbox for steady-state fleets.

+ - "Give me a Linux VM I can SSH into" → exactly this.

+ - Must survive across sessions → resume from snapshot.

+ - Needs a real, reachable IP → dedicated IPv4 per VM.

+ - Budget-conscious → per-second flat pricing, ~10× cheaper than E2B/Modal/Vercel Sandbox for steady fleets.

- Prefer a different tool when: you need GPU serverless (Modal) or a non-EU region (Box is EU-only).

+ Prefer another tool for: GPU serverless (Modal) or non-EU regions (Box is EU-only).

- ## Prerequisites

+ ## Prereqs

- ```bash

- curl -fsSL https://box.ascii.dev/install | sh

- export BOX_API_KEY="bxk_..." # from https://box.ascii.dev/box/dashboard

- box login "$BOX_API_KEY" --json

- ```

+ `curl -fsSL https://box.ascii.dev/install | sh`, then `export BOX_API_KEY=…` and `box login "$BOX_API_KEY" --json`.

## Recipe

```bash

- # Create and get the id

box_id="$(box new --json | jq -r 'select(.event == "ready") | .id')"

- # SSH in — the CLI creates/authorizes its key automatically

- box ssh "$box_id" # interactive session

- box info "$box_id" --json # shows IP / connection details

- # Lifecycle

+ box ssh "$box_id" # CLI provisions its key automatically

+ box info "$box_id" --json # IP / connection details

box stop "$box_id" --json # snapshot + archive

- box resume "$box_id" --json # restore the snapshot later

- box list --json # all boxes for the account

+ box resume "$box_id" --json # restore later

```

## Specs & billing

- Hetzner CX33: 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM / 80 GB SSD, x86_64, root Ubuntu, dedicated IPv4. $20 ≈ 555 VM-hours, billed per second. Default 1 h auto-stop — use `box new --no-auto-stop` or `box extend <id> --hours N` (TTL up to 30 days) for long-lived boxes.

- ## Honest limits

- Disk-level snapshots only (not running-process capture); EU-only; 100 active VMs per account soft cap today.

+ Hetzner CX33: 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 80 GB SSD, x86_64, root Ubuntu, dedicated IPv4. $20 ≈ 555 VM-hours, per second. Default 1 h auto-stop — use `box new --no-auto-stop` or `box extend <id> --hours N` (TTL ≤ 30 days). Disk-level snapshots only; EU-only; 100 active VMs soft cap.