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Bx

macOS native sandbox for AI and coding tools

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Wrapper around Apple's macOS sandbox-exec tool, which usually sandboxes native apps. It is "allow-first" i.e. it will not overprotect everything, just crucial information and therefore allows most tools to run without issues. Limiting is done using a .gitignore like file schema. Further TOML config options available.I built it because Docker sandboxing requires config and planning. Build in sandboxing of AI tools instead is limited to the very tools themselves, instead I wanted to have a simple cage around Claude running inside VSCode. Also needed to protect files inside a folder like .env.local or keys.Install via: brew install holtwick/tap/bxRun like: bx claude .

HN · launched Apr 7, 2026 · 8 upvotes (top 52%) · 0 views

Niche: ai agent execution sandboxes · 137 launches, 6 in the last 7 days ▼ -25% · Explore this niche →

Category and tags
  • Security
  • Dev tools
  • Developer
  • AI feature
  • Commercial product

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More like this: all 137 launches in ai agent execution sandboxes →

Could you build this?

Partial While wrapping the macOS sandbox-exec CLI is straightforward, designing robust, secure sandbox profiles (.sb / Scheme files) that prevent filesystem escapes without breaking developer workflows requires deep OS-level knowledge.

What it would actually take: The project requires generating dynamic Apple Seatbelt / Scheme-based sandbox profiles and interfacing with macOS Security frameworks (`sandbox_init` / `sandbox-exec`). The hard part is preventing bypasses (such as symlink attacks, IPC escapes, or unmapped temp directories) while gracefully permitting developer tooling (compilers, package managers, network sockets). Requires deep macOS systems programming and reverse-engineered Seatbelt internals expertise.

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Competitors

Other products that read as similar to this one : 341 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.

Attention rank: #191 of 342 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).

Launched 141 days after the earliest competitor.

  • A usable macOS sandbox for Claude Code · ph · 2026-09-30 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.57
  • Lima-devbox · hn · 2026-01-22 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.50
  • Fence · hn · 2026-01-20 · 78 upvotes · similarity 0.49
  • Zerobox · hn · 2026-03-30 · 141 upvotes · similarity 0.49
  • WBX Sandbox · ph · 2026-11-10 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.48
  • kosa8 · ph · 2026-10-24 · 23 upvotes · similarity 0.48
  • fleet · github · 2026-09-30 · 10 upvotes · similarity 0.47
  • AgentBox · hn · 2026-04-23 · 8 upvotes · similarity 0.47

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