# Boat for AI agents: a cloud computer for every bot [Boat](https://boat.dev) rents out persistent Ubuntu virtual machines built for AI agents. Each one is a full Linux computer in the cloud that keeps its disk when it stops, so an agent can come back to the same files and installed tools later. [SFCrew](https://sfcrewai.com/) is an open source app for AI teammates that do real work. You talk to each bot in chat, and each one gets its own computer with a desktop, browser, terminal and files that you can watch and take over. SFCrew Cloud runs those computers on Boat, and if you host SFCrew yourself you can point it at your own Boat account. Boat supplies the machine. SFCrew puts the desktop on it, gives each bot its own screen and browser, and decides when to start and stop it. Updated November 4, 2026. ## What is Boat? [Boat](https://boat.dev) is a Y Combinator company that runs cloud VMs for agents. Its machines are Ubuntu VMs in EU regions. Unlike a short-lived code sandbox, a Boat machine is meant to stay around: you can stop it, and when it resumes the disk is still there. That makes it a good fit for an agent that works like a person at a desk. It signs in to websites, saves files and installs tools, and it expects all of that to still be there tomorrow. ## What your bots can do on a Boat computer When SFCrew runs on Boat, each bot works on a real Linux desktop. You see what it sees in the chat, and you can take the mouse and keyboard whenever you want. - Use a Chrome browser that is only theirs. Each bot keeps its own persistent Chrome profile, so a sales bot's HubSpot login is never visible to the inbox bot. - Read web pages as text as well as by screenshot. On Boat, SFCrew installs a page-reading helper so bots can follow links and fill forms without guessing from pixels. - Run shell commands, read and write files, and open a terminal you can type in yourself. - Share one computer. Bots in a workspace share a team computer by default, and each one gets its own screen on it. - Pick up where they left off. Stopping a computer keeps its disk, and SFCrew also saves each bot's workspace and browser profile on its own side. ## When to choose Boat Choose Boat when you want hosted computers that behave like long-lived machines, and your bots sign in to many different sites. It is what SFCrew Cloud uses, so it is the most exercised path for that kind of work. [E2B](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/e2b/) is the other well-tested hosted option. It pauses idle computers, and SFCrew's live computer test runs on it. [Novita](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/novita/) pauses with memory, so open programs survive a stop. [Daytona](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/daytona/) suits teams that already have an account there. If you don't want a cloud account at all, [Docker](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/docker/) runs computers on your own server. The [sandbox comparison](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/) puts them all side by side. ## Limits - Boat's regions are in the EU, and SFCrew doesn't offer a region choice or a custom image for Boat. - Stopping keeps the disk but not running programs. A long job that was running when the computer stopped has to start again. - Until SFCrew's base snapshot is ready, new computers install the desktop tools themselves, so the first ones start more slowly. - SFCrew creates every Boat machine without your account's environment variables, so nothing from your Boat account leaks into a bot's computer. Anything a bot needs has to come through SFCrew. - Like other hosted providers that bill while running, a computer is stopped after two hours of continuous uptime by default unless a bot is still working on it or you are in control. ## How to set it up On SFCrew Cloud there is nothing to set up: bot computers already run on Boat. These steps are for the admin of a [self-hosted SFCrew](https://sfcrewai.com/self-hosted-ai-agent/). 1. Create a Boat account at [boat.dev](https://boat.dev) and make an API key. 2. Either set `SANDBOX_PROVIDER=boat` and `BOAT_API_KEY` on the SFCrew API and worker, or sign in as an admin and choose Boat under Settings → Computer, then paste the key. `BOAT_API_URL` is optional. 3. Optionally run `pnpm sandbox:boat-snapshot` with the same key to build the base snapshot ahead of time. If you skip it, SFCrew builds it once in the background. 4. Open a bot's computer in SFCrew to check that the desktop comes up. ## FAQ ### What is Boat used for? Running AI agents on persistent Linux VMs in the cloud. SFCrew uses Boat as the computer each bot works on, with a desktop, browser, terminal and files. ### Can AI agents use a browser on Boat? Yes. In SFCrew each bot gets its own Chrome on a Boat desktop, with a persistent profile, and you can watch it or take over. Logins are not shared between bots. ### Do Boat computers see my server's environment variables? No. SFCrew always creates and resumes Boat machines without the account's environment, so your keys don't end up inside a bot's computer. ### Boat vs E2B for AI agents? Both give SFCrew bots a Linux desktop, terminal and files. Boat machines are long-lived VMs that keep their disk when stopped, and SFCrew Cloud runs on them. [E2B](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/e2b/) pauses idle sandboxes and is open source. SFCrew keeps its own copy of each bot's workspace on both. ### Do I need Boat to self-host SFCrew? No. [Docker](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/docker/) is the default and needs no cloud account. Boat is one optional place to run bot computers. ## More sandboxes for AI agents - [Compare all sandboxes](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/) - [E2B](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/e2b/): Public or multi-user deployments - [Daytona](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/daytona/): Teams already on Daytona - [Novita](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/novita/): Bots that pick up where they left off - [Railway](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/railway/): Running everything in one Railway account - [Wuying](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/wuying/): Windows apps, Alibaba Cloud and mainland China - [Docker](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/docker/): Self-hosting with no cloud account - [Kubernetes](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/kubernetes/): Teams that already run Kubernetes - [Your computer](https://sfcrewai.com/sandboxes/your-computer/): Bots that need your real apps and logins ## Sources - [Boat](https://boat.dev) - [SFCrew, computer providers](https://github.com/Isuhail29/sfcrew-ai/blob/main/docs/self-host-sandbox-providers.md) - [SFCrew, computer runtime and isolation](https://github.com/Isuhail29/sfcrew-ai/blob/main/docs/computer-runtime.md)