Introducing Windows Devboxes

Rob CroweRob Crowe2 MIN READ

A real Windows machine for you and your agents, with the same Devbox experience you already use on Linux and macOS. Available today in early access.

Try it for freeRead the docs

When we launched Mac Devboxes, we said Windows was coming next, and customers have been asking for it ever since. Today, Namespace runs Devboxes on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and you can move between all three without anyone keeping a Windows machine on their desk.

one agent · three platformsCONTROL DEVBOX · LINUXYOUR AGENTworking on a change$ # needs a real windows instancewindows · not createdMACOS DEVBOXon demandLINUX DEVBOXon demandeach devbox is isolated · no shared state, only the network

One agent in a Linux control Devbox creates a Windows Devbox, runs a command on it, and reads the result back. macOS and Linux Devboxes work the same way.

One agent, every operating system

The Devbox CLI now ships inside every Devbox, and it runs with workload permissions instead of acting as you. That means an agent in a Devbox can create more Devboxes.

Here's how we use it internally. We run an agent in a Linux Devbox that acts as the control machine. Our main code runs on Linux, and we don't run Windows tests as part of it. So when a change needs checking on Windows, the agent says it needs a real instance, offers to create a Windows Devbox, and then uses devbox exec to run commands there: look at this file, run this process, check the result.

Command Line
$
devbox exec --detach my-windows-devbox -- <command>
$
devbox logs my-windows-devbox <exec-id>

This is a single agent sending commands to remote machines, not a fleet of subagents splitting up the work. Each Devbox is isolated and has its own file system. Devboxes can talk to each other over the network, but they don't share state. The agent keeps what it learned in its own context, so the control Devbox holds the thread of work while each Windows, macOS, or Linux Devbox does one job.

The Devbox experience you know

Windows Devboxes aim for parity with the rest of Devboxes, not a stripped-down sandbox. You can configure them with Blueprints, drive them with the Devbox CLI, connect over SSH, and open them in VS Code.

CapabilityWindows Devboxes in early access
Devbox CLI: create, exec, logs, SSHAvailable
VS Code over SSHAvailable
BlueprintsAvailable

Early access

We're opening up Windows Devboxes today as an early access preview. It's self-serve, so you can start using them for your own projects and tell us how they work for you.

Windows Devboxes are ephemeral in this preview: when you shut one down, its files go away. Persistent volumes and Devbox Desktop will be enabled shortly.

We'd like to hear what you're using Windows Devboxes for and what would help you use them more. Give them a try and share your feedback.

Try it for free

Install the Devbox CLI to get started.

Command Line
$
brew install namespacelabs/devbox/cli

See the CLI installation docs for macOS, Linux, and Windows instructions.