***

title: Community Sandboxes
description: Use pre-built sandboxes from the OpenShell Community catalog or contribute your own.
keywords: Generative AI, Cybersecurity, Community, Sandbox, Container Image, Open Source
position: 6
---------------------

For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/openshell/latest/sandboxes/llms.txt. For full documentation content, see https://docs.nvidia.com/openshell/latest/sandboxes/llms-full.txt.

Use pre-built sandboxes from the OpenShell Community catalog, or contribute your
own.

## What Are Community Sandboxes

Community sandboxes are ready-to-use environments published in the
[OpenShell Community](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell-Community) repository.
Each sandbox bundles a Dockerfile, policy, optional skills, and startup scripts
into a single package that you can launch with one command.

## Current Catalog

The following community sandboxes are available in the catalog.

| Sandbox    | Description                                                                                                                                                                |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `base`     | Foundational image with system tools and dev environment                                                                                                                   |
| `ollama`   | Ollama with cloud and local model support, Claude Code, OpenCode, and Codex pre-installed. Use `ollama launch` inside the sandbox to start coding agents with zero config. |
| `openclaw` | Open agent manipulation and control                                                                                                                                        |
| `sdg`      | Synthetic data generation workflows                                                                                                                                        |

## Use a Community Sandbox

Launch a community sandbox by name with the `--from` flag:

```shell
openshell sandbox create --from openclaw
```

When you pass `--from` with a community sandbox name, the CLI:

1. Resolves the name against the
   [OpenShell Community](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell-Community) repository.
2. Pulls the Dockerfile, policy, skills, and any startup scripts.
3. Builds the container image locally.
4. Creates the sandbox with the bundled configuration applied.

You end up with a running sandbox whose image, policy, and tooling are all
preconfigured by the community package.

### Other Sources

The `--from` flag also accepts:

* Local directory paths: Point to a directory on disk that contains a
  Dockerfile and optional policy/skills:

  ```shell
  openshell sandbox create --from ./my-sandbox-dir
  ```

* Container image references: Use an existing container image directly:

  ```shell
  openshell sandbox create --from my-registry.example.com/my-image:latest
  ```

## Contribute a Community Sandbox

Each community sandbox is a directory under `sandboxes/` in the
[OpenShell Community](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell-Community) repository.
At minimum, a sandbox directory must contain the following files:

* `Dockerfile` that defines the container image.
* `README.md` that describes the sandbox and how to use it.

You can also include the following optional files:

* `policy.yaml` that defines the default policy applied when the sandbox launches.
* `skills/` that contains agent skill definitions bundled with the sandbox.
* Startup scripts that are any scripts the Dockerfile or entrypoint invokes.

To contribute, fork the repository, add your sandbox directory, and open a pull
request. Refer to the repository's
[CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell-Community/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
for submission guidelines.

<Note>
  The community catalog is designed to grow. If you have built a sandbox that
  supports a particular workflow (data processing, simulation, code review,
  or anything else), consider contributing it back so others can use it.
</Note>

## Next Steps

Explore related topics:

* **Need to supply API keys or tokens?** Set up [Manage Providers](/sandboxes/manage-providers) for credential management.
* **Want to customize the sandbox policy?** Write custom rules in [Policies](/sandboxes/policies).