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Compare · kosa8 vs Docker

kosa8 vs Docker for AI agents

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Plain Docker containers are namespaces and cgroups on the host's kernel [1]. Docker Sandboxes (sbx) put each agent in a microVM with its own kernel and its own Docker Engine, free for local use [2] [3]. kosa8 also gives each sandbox a microVM, and adds checkpoint, rewind and live fork, a host-side egress broker for keys, and a hash-chained audit log, with a Docker-compatible API.

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01The short verdict

Choose Docker if

  • the code is yours or reviewed, and a hardened container is enough [1];
  • you need NVIDIA GPUs in the box today [20];
  • your team already uses Docker Desktop and wants local agent microVMs free of charge with Docker Sandboxes [3];
  • you want the largest ecosystem of images, tools and SDKs [21].

Choose kosa8 if

  • you want to save a running agent's memory and processes and rewind to them [27];
  • you want to fork a running sandbox into live copies to try several ideas [27];
  • you need a signed, hash-chained audit log and approvals without an extra licence [32];
  • you need the same sandbox on your servers, air-gapped, or in a hosted cloud with an API [26] [27].

02Docker and kosa8, feature by feature

FeatureDockerkosa8
IsolationContainers: namespaces and cgroups on the host kernel [1]. Docker Sandboxes: a microVM per sandbox with its own kernel, on Docker's own VMM [2] [4]A microVM per sandbox with its own Linux kernel: Apple's Virtualization framework on a Mac, Cloud Hypervisor on KVM on x86-64 Linux; kosa8 Cloud runs the same sandboxes on kosa8's hosts [25]
Self-host and air-gapEngine: you install and run it; offline use not documented [5]. Sandboxes: local, with a Docker sign-in; offline not documented [6]Yes: your computer, your own KVM Linux servers, or an air-gapped site with a signed offline licence (Enterprise, quoted) [26]
Bring your own cloud (BYOC)Not documented; Docker's cloud sandboxes run on Docker-managed infrastructure [7]Your own KVM Linux servers join your Cloud organization through an outbound tunnel, $0.20 per host-hour, no compute charge [26]
RegionsEngine on Linux, and macOS and Windows through Desktop [5]; Sandboxes on Apple silicon macOS, Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04+ [6]kosa8 Cloud: US (Dallas, Texas) and EU (Helsinki). Locally: wherever your machines are [27]
Fork a running VMNot documented; docker commit saves files to an image, without volumes [8]Yes: live copies with memory and processes intact (kosa8 fork; on Cloud up to 100 per call). Plans count how many copies run at once [27] [28]
Snapshots and rewinddocker checkpoint (CRIU) is experimental [9]; Sandboxes keep packages and images across restarts and save templates [10] [11]Checkpoint and rewind of memory, processes and disk; a sleeping Cloud sandbox keeps a snapshot at $0.08 per GB-month [27] [28]
Egress allow-listContainers: --network none, no per-domain allow-list documented [12]. Sandboxes: deny by default with sbx policy allow network [13] [14]Host-enforced allow-list (names, *.domain, IPs, CIDRs) fixed at create, with API keys added by an egress broker outside the VM. kosa8 Cloud has no egress policy setting yet [29] [30]
Kill switch or freezedocker container pause uses the freezer cgroup on Linux [15]; Sandboxes: stop and remove [10]kosa8 sandbox pause --all stops every sandbox's CPUs in place; on Cloud an organization freeze refuses new work, sleeps every sandbox and can suspend keys [30] [31]
Audit trailContainer logs and logging drivers [16]; Sandboxes governance audit logs with an AI Governance licence [17]Signed, hash-chained log anyone can check with kosa8 audit verify; Cloud streams it to Splunk, Datadog or a webhook [30] [32]
SSOSAML 2.0 and Entra ID OIDC on Docker Business [18] [19]kosa8 Cloud: OIDC with Okta, Entra ID or Google Workspace, and it can be required. No SAML or SCIM yet [30] [32]
GPUContainers: NVIDIA via --gpus [20]. Sandboxes: not documentedNo. Sandboxes have no GPU today [33]
SDK languagesEngine API with official Go and Python SDKs [21]; Sandboxes API with a TypeScript SDK [22]Python, JavaScript and TypeScript, Go, Ruby, Java; plus an HTTP API, a CLI and an MCP server [27]
Pricing modelEngine is Apache-2.0 [5]; Desktop Personal $0, Pro, Team and Business per user [19]; Sandboxes local compute free, cloud pay as you go [3]Plans from $29 a month for your own machines, each with Cloud credit; Cloud per second at $0.048 per vCPU-hour and $0.0154 per GB-hour [28]
Free tierDesktop free for small businesses, personal use and education [23]; local Sandboxes free, commercial use included [24]Free on your computer after email sign-up (sandboxes, save and undo, dashboard); $30 of Cloud credit once a card is added [28]
Security audit statusNot documented on the pages readSOC 2 in progress (no report yet); no external penetration test yet [34]

Bracketed numbers point to the sources. "Not documented" means the vendor's own pages did not say on 2026-11-14; it does not mean the feature is missing.

03Where Docker is stronger

  • Ecosystem. Docker's images, Compose and official SDKs are the default for containers [21].
  • GPUs. NVIDIA GPUs through --gpus [20]; kosa8 sandboxes have none [33].
  • Free local microVMs. Docker Sandboxes' local compute is free, commercial use included [24]; kosa8's free tier covers sandboxes, save and undo, and the dashboard, while fork needs a plan [28].
  • Maturity and SSO. Docker Business includes SAML and OIDC SSO for Desktop and Hub [18].

04Where kosa8 is different

  • A kernel of its own, every time. A plain container shares the host kernel [1]; every kosa8 sandbox is a microVM [25].
  • Rewind and live fork. Docker's checkpoint is experimental and commit skips volumes [8] [9]; kosa8 checkpoints the whole running machine [27].
  • Keys stay out. An egress broker on the host adds the real key; the agent sees a placeholder [34].
  • Docker-compatible. The Docker CLI and Compose run against kosa8's API; note that kosa8 run shares one VM, and kosa8 sandbox gives each workload its own [25].

05Moving from Docker to kosa8

Docker's docs isolate a container's network with --network none [12], and start a Docker Sandbox with sbx run [10] [6]. In kosa8, a sandbox is a VM you create once and run things in.

Docker: a networkless container, and a Docker Sandbox:

terminal
docker run --rm --network none alpine:latest ip link show

brew install docker/tap/sbx
sbx login
sbx run --name my-sandbox claude

The same in kosa8, on your own machine:

terminal
kosa8 sandbox create agent --egress deny
kosa8 sandbox pull agent alpine:3.20
kosa8 sandbox run agent alpine:3.20 ip link show

kosa8 agent run claude
  • --network none becomes --egress deny; an allow-list is --egress-allow HOST, enforced on the host [29].
  • docker pause becomes kosa8 sandbox pause, or --all for every sandbox [31].
  • docker commit becomes kosa8 checkpoint, which keeps memory and processes; kosa8 rewind goes back [27].
  • sbx policy allow network becomes --egress-allow at create; kosa8 rules are fixed when the sandbox is created [29].

06Questions

Is a Docker container enough to sandbox an AI agent?

For reviewed code, often yes. Docker's docs describe namespaces and cgroups on the host kernel [1], so one kernel bug can reach the host. For code nobody reviewed, a microVM such as Docker Sandboxes or kosa8 adds a kernel of its own.

What is the difference between Docker Sandboxes and kosa8?

Both run agents in local microVMs [2]. kosa8 adds checkpoint, rewind and live fork, an egress broker for API keys, a hash-chained audit log, and the same sandboxes on servers, air-gapped or kosa8 Cloud [26] [27].

Can I keep using the Docker CLI?

Yes. kosa8 has a Docker-compatible API for the Docker CLI and Compose [25].

Does Docker Sandboxes have a GPU?

Its docs do not say. Plain Docker containers can use NVIDIA GPUs with --gpus [20]. kosa8 sandboxes have no GPU today [33].

07Sources, checked on 2026-11-14

Every fact about another product comes from that vendor's own documentation or pricing page, read on 2026-11-14. Where its pages do not say, the table says "not documented" rather than guess. Products change quickly: check the current pages before you decide, and tell us if something here is out of date.

  1. Docker docs: Engine security
  2. Docker docs: Sandboxes isolation
  3. Docker docs: Docker Sandboxes
  4. Docker blog: Why microVMs, the architecture behind Docker Sandboxes
  5. Docker docs: Install Docker Engine
  6. Docker docs: Install Docker Sandboxes
  7. Docker docs: Cloud sandboxes
  8. Docker docs: docker container commit
  9. Docker docs: docker checkpoint
  10. Docker docs: Sandboxes get started
  11. Docker docs: Sandboxes usage
  12. Docker docs: None network driver
  13. Docker docs: Sandboxes security defaults
  14. Docker docs: Network rules
  15. Docker docs: docker container pause
  16. Docker docs: Logging
  17. Docker docs: AI governance for organizations
  18. Docker docs: Single sign-on
  19. Docker: Pricing
  20. Docker docs: GPU access
  21. Docker docs: Engine API SDKs
  22. Docker docs: Sandboxes API
  23. Docker docs: Desktop license
  24. Docker docs: Sandboxes FAQ
  25. kosa8: Security, isolation model
  26. kosa8: Where kosa8 runs
  27. kosa8 docs: kosa8 Cloud
  28. kosa8: Pricing
  29. kosa8 guide: network allow-list
  30. kosa8 docs: Security Center
  31. kosa8 docs: Your first sandbox
  32. kosa8 docs: Governance
  33. kosa8: FAQ
  34. kosa8: Trust Center

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