SandboxAPI vs Container Use

In-depth architectural comparison of the SandboxAPI and Container Use MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose SandboxAPI when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Code Execution domain.
• You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
• You have access to required keys: SANDBOXAPI_API_KEY, MCP_API_KEY, MCP_PORT, SANDBOXAPI_URL.
• Primary tools included: execute_code, execute_batch, list_languages.

Explore SandboxAPI Details

Choose Container Use when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Code Execution domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: Isolated container environments per agent with separate git branches, Real-time visibility into commands and logs executed by agents, Terminal access to agent environments for manual intervention.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	SandboxAPI Code Execution	Container Use dagger Code Execution
Summary	Execute code in 8 languages (Python, JS, TS, Go, Java, C++, C, Bash) in gVisor sandboxes.	Containerized environments for coding agents. Multiple agents can work independently, isolated in fresh containers and git branches. No conflicts, many experiments. Full execution history, terminal access to agent environments, git workflow. Any agent/model/infra stack.
Category & Scope	Code Execution

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sandboxapi": {
      "url": "https://mcp.sandboxapi.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dagger-container-use": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "dagger-container-use"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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