Perplexity open-sources SPACE, the Firecracker sandbox behind its Computer agent

Perplexity released SPACE, its Rust-based Firecracker microVM sandbox for agent code execution, under Apache 2.0 on October 15, 2026.

Perplexity has open-sourced SPACE, the sandbox infrastructure behind its Computer agent. The GitHub repo describes it as a platform for running code in isolated Firecracker microVMs. Your app calls an HTTP API to create Linux environments, run commands and manage sandbox lifecycles. If you're hand-rolling isolation for a coding or computer-use agent, this is a production-run reference you can read, deploy and fork under Apache 2.0.

According to Unite.AI, Perplexity says SPACE has powered all Computer sessions since July and handles millions of sandbox creations per day. It manages network access and platform-held credentials outside the sandbox, and uses snapshots and checkpoints for pause, resume and branching. The repo also ships an E2B Compatibility Wrapper for code written against a tested E2B Python SDK. Its docs cover the wrapper's supported behavior and limitations.

This isn't a pip install. As Superpower Daily notes, you deploy the infrastructure first. The setup guide targets a local Kind cluster, though the architecture guide explains running without Kubernetes. The repo marks some API fields incubating, which puts them outside the supported contract.

The security numbers are Perplexity's own. In its red-team test, nine models with root inside the VM made 108 escape attempts, and none reached the host, per CellCog. Semafor reported 118 tries. Some agents did get past the network rules, through DNS spoofing or shared CDN addresses. Perplexity says it fixed both and the retest found no bypass.

We found no independent hands-on tests, and host requirements and long-term maintenance plans aren't spelled out in our sources.

Sources