Quickstart
Create a machine from the console, open a terminal, and run your first process.
SnapVM Overview
SnapVM provides isolated development workspaces that keep their filesystem, packages, and configuration across hibernation. Each machine gives you a Linux environment with browser access to a terminal, editor, and HTTP services without asking every developer to run local infrastructure.
Organizations, users, and access are managed in the SnapVM web console. Machines can hibernate when idle and wake when you reconnect, so teams keep useful state without keeping every workspace hot all day.
SnapVM also includes a CLI for terminal-based workflows. Use the web console for browser-first machine management, and use the CLI when you want to sign in, create or list machines, open a shell, run commands, or manage checkpoints from your local terminal.
What SnapVM provides
Section titled “What SnapVM provides”SnapVM packages persistent workspaces and hibernation behind a web console, CLI, authentication and authorization, clear plans, and a browser-first connection model.
- Create machines from the console or CLI and manage their state, runtime, and application URLs.
- Manage organizations, users, and access in SnapVM so teams can control who can use each workspace.
- Keep files, packages, repositories, service definitions, and configuration across stop and hibernation.
- Open terminals and HTTP services from the browser, or use the CLI to run commands from your local terminal.
What makes SnapVM different?
Section titled “What makes SnapVM different?”SnapVM machines behave like stateful Linux environments you can wake when you need them. They are designed for work that should keep useful state without requiring every machine to run continuously.
| Feature | Serverless Functions | SnapVM |
|---|---|---|
| State | Ephemeral | Persistent ✓ |
| Filesystem | Read-only or temporary | Writable and persistent ✓ - persists between sessions |
| Startup | Cold starts (100ms–seconds) | Wake from hibernation ✓ - continue from saved state |
| Billing | Per-invocation | Machine-count plans ✓ — simple and predictable |
| Environment | Fixed container image | Full Linux ✓ — install any tools |
| Isolation | Container-level | Isolated machine ✓ - separate workspace per machine |
Use cases
Section titled “Use cases”SnapVM is a fit for workflows where code needs to run safely while keeping useful state:
- Execute AI-generated code in an isolated environment
- Run user-submitted or otherwise untrusted code safely
- Provide development environments that survive across sessions
- Run HTTP services that can go idle and wake on demand
- Execute project tasks with repositories, dependencies, and tools available
Core concepts
Section titled “Core concepts”Persistence
Section titled “Persistence”A machine keeps its filesystem. Files written during execution, installed packages, and checked-out repositories remain available when the machine wakes later.
Idle behavior
Section titled “Idle behavior”An unused machine can become idle and hibernate. It wakes on the next connection or request, which lets you preserve state without keeping compute running all the time.
HTTP access
Section titled “HTTP access”HTTP services running inside a machine can be reached through application URLs when your deployment exposes them.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”Working with SnapVM
Learn how machines, sessions, services, and hibernation fit together.
CLI Installation
Install the CLI and verify the snapvm command from your terminal.
Machines
Understand machine states, naming, runtime types, and application URLs.