Do I need an API key to run Cline?

No. Pick pay-per-use and a metered key is injected when the sandbox boots — tokens are billed to your prepaid balance at cost plus 3%, and the agent works immediately. Or bring your own key at boot and pay your provider direct.

What does running Cline in the cloud cost?

$0.0342 per hour while the sandbox runs — about $25 a month left on 24/7 — and $0 while it’s paused. You start with free credit — no card. Cline’s default machine is 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM · 80 GB disk, and other sizes start at $10/mo.

What happens when I pause or delete a Cline sandbox?

Two buttons, honestly: Pause shuts the machine down and parks its disk for free — restore it later and pick up where the agent left off. Delete wipes the whole VM — disk, memory, network — permanently. You only ever pay while it runs.

Is it safe to let Cline run unattended with full permissions?

In a sandbox, yes — that’s the point. The box is a hardware-isolated Firecracker microVM with its own kernel and none of your files, keys, or cookies. Close the tab and it keeps working; the blast radius is one disposable machine.

Can I SSH into the sandbox?

Optionally. The browser terminal is the default and needs no setup. Add an SSH public key when you boot and you can also connect from your own terminal — same machine, same session.

ClineOpen source

Hand Cline a goal, not a to-do list.

One prompt, zero babysitting: in the session on this page, Cline hit a PATH problem, reasoned through it, and shipped the README anyway — its closing line called the box “a disposable KVM microVM.” Boot it with auto-approve on and let it work.

Boot Cline Free credit to start — no card →

⊞ Dashboard

swift-lynx

⏵⏵ Auto-approve all enabled (Shift+Tab)

> autonomously: write a README.md documenting this machine (os, cpu, ram, disk), commit nothing, just cat it when done. be brief.

▸ Thinking: ... wants me to: 1. Gather information about this machine (OS, CPU, RAM, Disk) 2. Write a README.md with that information 3. Commit nothing 4. Cat the file when done 5. Be brief Let me gather all the system information in parallel.

* run_commands(cat /etc/os-release && uname -a && lscpu && free -h && lsblk -d -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT,MODEL && df -h /)

... 39 more lines

▸ Thinking: Some commands didn't execute because they aren't in PATH directly. Let me try using /bin/sh or full paths.

* run_commands(sh -c 'cat /etc/os-release 2>/dev/null || echo No os-release' && sh -c 'uname -a' && sh -c 'free -h' && sh -c 'lsblk -d -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT,MODEL 2>/dev/null || df -h / 2>/dev/null' && sh -c 'df -h /')

▸ Thinking: The shell is not available. Let me check what's in PATH and what executables are available.

* run_commands(sh -c echo $PATH && sh --version && which -a)

|/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/workspace/node_modules/.bin

... 7 more lines

▸ Thinking: OK, so `sh` works. Let me get the system info using proper structured commands.

* run_commands(sh -c cat /etc/os-release && sh -c uname -a && sh -c free -h && sh -c df -h / && sh -c cat /proc/meminfo | head -5 && sh -c cat /proc/cpuinfo | head -5)

|PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)"

... 29 more lines

▸ Thinking: ...a brief README.md and cat it. Summary: - OS: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm), kernel 6.1.102 - CPU: Intel Xeon @ 3.20GHz, 4 vCPUs - RAM: 7.8 GiB total - Disk: 30 GB root filesystem, ~2.4 GB used - Hostname: swift-lynx.zbox.sh

* editor(/workspace/README.md)

|+12 lines (new) | markdown

1 + # swift-lynx.zbox.sh

2 +

3 + | Resource | Detail |

4 + |----------|--------|

5 + | **OS** | Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) |

6 + | **Kernel** | 6.1.102 x86_64 |

7 + | **CPU** | Intel Xeon @ 3.20 GHz, 4 vCPUs |

8 + | **RAM** | 7.8 GiB |

9 + | **Disk** | 30 GB (2.4 GiB used, 26 GiB available) |

10 + | **Swap** | None |

11 +

12 + A disposable KVM microVM.

▸ Thinking: Now cat it.

* read_files(/workspace/README.md, start_line=undefined, end_line=undefined)

| 12 lines | markdown

▸ Thinking: Done. README.md written and catted. Brief summary of the machine specs. No commits.

✦ Done. /workspace/README.md written and displayed above. It documents the machine's OS (Debian 12 bookworm), CPU (Intel Xeon @ 3.20 GHz, 4 vCPUs), RAM (7.8 GiB), disk (30 GB / 26 GiB free), and notes it's a disposable KVM microVM. Nothing committed.

deepseek-v4-flash (8,626 tokens) $0.0042◇ Plan ● Act (Tab)

Cline · swift-lynx.zbox.sh⚙ 0%▤ 4%⛁ 8%ⓑ $0.0042⌘K to askPop outDelete

real session · captured live on zipbox.ai · sandbox deleted afterCline source ↗

time to a live terminalseconds

your URLcline.zbox.sh

price$0.0342/hr · $25/mo

How you set up Cline in the cloud

Sign in

Email if you want it simple, a crypto key if you want anonymity. No passwords — every session is cryptographically signed.

Boot Cline

A fresh Firecracker microVM boots and Cline installs and launches itself at first boot. On pay-per-use a metered key is injected; or paste your own key at boot.

It’s live in your browser

A full-root terminal opens in the browser and the box answers at its own zbox.sh subdomain. Pause parks it for free, delete wipes it for good, SSH is optional.

Questions, answered straight

Do I need an API key to run Cline?: No. Pick pay-per-use and a metered key is injected when the sandbox boots — tokens are billed to your prepaid balance at cost plus 3%, and the agent works immediately. Or bring your own key at boot and pay your provider direct.
What does running Cline in the cloud cost?: $0.0342 per hour while the sandbox runs — about $25 a month left on 24/7 — and $0 while it’s paused. You start with free credit — no card. Cline’s default machine is 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM · 80 GB disk, and other sizes start at $10/mo.
What happens when I pause or delete a Cline sandbox?: Two buttons, honestly: Pause shuts the machine down and parks its disk for free — restore it later and pick up where the agent left off. Delete wipes the whole VM — disk, memory, network — permanently. You only ever pay while it runs.
Is it safe to let Cline run unattended with full permissions?: In a sandbox, yes — that’s the point. The box is a hardware-isolated Firecracker microVM with its own kernel and none of your files, keys, or cookies. Close the tab and it keeps working; the blast radius is one disposable machine.
Can I SSH into the sandbox?: Optionally. The browser terminal is the default and needs no setup. Add an SSH public key when you boot and you can also connect from your own terminal — same machine, same session.

every agent zipbox boots