Instant Linux boxes via SSH. Create stock boxes or OCI image-backed VMs. Scale to zero and pay only for what you use.
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██████ ██ ██ ████████ ████████ ████████ ███████ ██████ ██ ██ $ ssh shellbox.dev about
- Scalable instances: x1 (2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM, 50GB SSD) up to x8 (16 vCPUs, 32GB RAM, 400GB SSD)
- Stock boxes run Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with Docker pre-installed; OCI image-backed boxes share the same SSH-first VM workflow
- Pure SSH access: no special clients or browser plugins required
- Persistent state: boxes pause on disconnect and resume where you left off
- Per-minute billing: $0.02/hr per x1 slot while running, $0.5/month per x1 slot while stopped
- Automatic cost control: boxes stop when balance falls below $5
- HTTPS endpoints: every box gets a public URL with automatic TLS
- Wakeup mode: boxes auto-start on HTTP request and stop after configurable idle timeout
- Cron mode: boxes wake on a schedule, run a webhook, then stop
- Email endpoints: each box gets an email address that POSTs to a webhook on your box
- Multi-device access: link multiple SSH keys to one account
- Full SSH support including port forwarding and scp
- OCI images are prepared into bootable VMs with SSH support, then cached for fast reuse
- Prepaid balance with refunds for unused funds (within 3 months)
$ ssh shellbox.dev create dev1 x2
Creating box... Box 'dev1' created successfully (x2) URL: https://dev1-a1b2c3d4.shellbox.dev Email: dev1-a1b2c3d4@in.shellbox.dev Connect with: ssh dev1@shellbox.dev
$ ssh shellbox.dev image prepare docker.io/library/debian:bookworm-slim
Image prepared: docker.io/library/debian:bookworm-slim Digest: sha256:abc123... Status: ready Prepared rootfs: /mnt/hdd/firecracker-prepared-images/prepared-abc123.ext4
$ ssh shellbox.dev create-from-oci debbox docker.io/library/debian:bookworm-slim
Creating box... Box 'debbox' created successfully (x1) URL: https://debbox-a1b2c3d4.shellbox.dev Email: debbox-a1b2c3d4@in.shellbox.dev Connect with: ssh debbox@shellbox.dev
$ ssh dev1@shellbox.dev
Starting box... Connected! root@dev1:~# _
$ ssh shellbox.dev list
NAME SIZE SRC STATE URL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- dev1 x2 stock running [keepalive] https://dev1-a1b2c3d4.shellbox.dev debbox x1 oci stopped https://debbox-a1b2c3d4.shellbox.dev cronbox x1 stock stopped [cron 60m/5m] https://cronbox-a1b2c3d4.shellbox.dev
$ ssh shellbox.dev show debbox
Name: debbox State: stopped Size: x1 Source: oci Image ref: docker.io/library/debian:bookworm-slim Image digest: sha256:abc123...
$ ssh shellbox.dev duplicate myapp myapp-backup
Duplicating box... Box 'myapp-backup' created from 'myapp' URL: https://myapp-backup-a1b2c3d4.shellbox.dev Connect with: ssh myapp-backup@shellbox.dev
$ ssh shellbox.dev billing
Account Balance ============================== Funds added: $30.00 Funds refunded: $10.00 Usage costs: $1.50 ------------------------------ Current balance: $18.50 Remaining hours at current rates: Running boxes: ~925 hours Idle boxes: ~26 months
$ ssh shellbox.dev funds 10
Add $10.00 to your account
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https://pay.paddle.com/...
Scan QR code or visit URL to complete payment.
Your account will be credited automatically. $ ssh shellbox.dev key add "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3Nza...xyz ariel@work-laptop"
Key added successfully ══════════════════════════════════════ Fingerprint: SHA256:xK4r...9Qm2 Type: ssh-ed25519 Comment: ariel@work-laptop This key can now manage your boxes.
$ ssh shellbox.dev help
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| create <name> [xN] | Create a new stock box (x1-x8 size, default x1) |
| create-from-oci <name> <image-ref> [xN] | Create a box from a prepared OCI image |
| duplicate <src> <name> | Copy a stopped box |
| rename <name> <new> | Rename a box |
| list | List your boxes with source, status, and URLs |
| show <name> | Show detailed box metadata |
| image <prepare|status> <image-ref> | Prepare and inspect OCI image cache entries |
| ssh <name>@shellbox.dev | Connect to a box |
| keepalive <name> | Toggle keepalive (box stays running on disconnect) |
| wakeup <name> [min] | Toggle wakeup (auto-start on HTTP, stop after idle) |
| cron <name> <int> [run] | Toggle cron (periodic wake, run webhook, stop) |
| stop <name> | Force-stop a running box (clears keepalive, preserves wakeup/cron) |
| delete <name> | Permanently remove a box |
| key [list|add|remove] | Manage SSH keys for multi-device access |
| billing | Show balance and usage |
| funds <amount> | Add funds to your account (min $10) |
| refund <amount> | Refund unused balance |
| payments | Show payment history |
| promocode <code> | Redeem a promo code for free credits |
| help | Show available commands |
$ # file transfer:
$ scp file.txt dev1@shellbox.dev:/root/
$ scp dev1@shellbox.dev:/root/file.txt ./
$ sftp dev1@shellbox.dev
$ # email endpoint:
Read the original article
Comments
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By messh 2026-01-284:33 it is not the cheapest on a per hr basis, so I hope it will self select to not be used for such purposes
By inemesitaffia 2026-01-1618:25 It's been up for years
By derrida 2026-01-1619:29 yeah that is what I was thinking "Ah how cute, it's the ops team from a state" lol but probably not - didn't look into / not interested but guessing it's an existing info sec consultancy behind it that do sometimes work those kinda places or banks etc.
By Imustaskforhelp 2026-01-1521:261 reply This is fascinating idea. I created an idea like this on top of firecracker and custom golang ssh client to build something like this for my own personal use case (the abstraction part of pricing and how to connect it seemed the more difficult part for me atleast)
What stack does this use underneath?
Good luck with launch, this idea is similar to railway in terms of pricing model. I discussed about it a few comments back and I think its an interesting idea and we are seeing alternatives within such pricing model
Also are you using some cloud provider itself or building it yourself, I'd be interested in so many details to discover
Have a nice day and looking forward to ya response! Good luck with your project!
Hi thanks for the interest!
This is all written in python and the AsyncSSH package. Firecracker for VMs with memory mapped files for ram. Paddle for billing. Caddy as a reverse proxy for certificates.
It works on top of very large bare metal instances.
I'm thinking maybe open sourcing but it will take some more work on the code to make it publishable w/o embarrassing myself :)
By Imustaskforhelp 2026-01-1522:122 reply THanks for your response! as well
I am interested in which bare metal instances from which provider are you using if I may ask since I had a similar idea (as mentioned before) and I wanted to deploy it on hetzner but I was always worried that hetzner's policy might be too harsh for it even though they are one of the cheapest options out there
Which server provider did you end up using?
Thanks once again for your in depth response, these are the things I come to hackernews for! cheers and looking to ya response
Hetzner is cheap but they are sticklers for rules. Need photocopy of ID when renting servers etc. I just got elsewhere now
By qingcharles 2026-01-171:231 reply I wrote a very slow, good citizen DHT scraper the other day to do some research and the second I spun it up on a Hetzner box I got an email from them that summarized as "For real, bro? Computer says no."
They actually look into the stuff you put on the computer? That's even worse than I thought. I did get a strong feeling of distrust towards their customers when I tried to sign up but because of that I never went ahead with the deal. Dodged a bullet, clearly.
Ps what's a DHT scraper?
By qingcharles 2026-01-183:59 They just look at the traffic coming and going. I have a bunch of Hetzner boxes for different web projects that I've had forever and never heard a peep from them.
DHT is the protocol for P2P BitTorrent metadata transfer, essentially. It sorta lets you bootstrap a BitTorrent download without having a centralized tracker site. I'm trying to find a list of torrents for a research project and I need to monitor a lot of DHT traffic to see what is out there.
By Imustaskforhelp 2026-01-169:201 reply Where did you go if I may ask?
Scaleway in France. Very happy with them.
Ps not doing anything illegal but I just don't like having copies of my ID everywhere. Too much data getting leaked these days. With Scaleway you just pay with your card and that's it.
By Imustaskforhelp 2026-01-170:241 reply Scaleway is on a bit more expensive side of things
Scaleway does have every primitive you might need but I don't know how good scaleway's support system is.
I have tried Upcloud for free and they are more expensive but they offer unlimited bandwidth (and the cap after 24 TB of free bandwidth/month is at 100 mbps)
Personally it depends on the solution, I have evaluated tons of servers and Scaleway's 0.10cents per month or 3 years per month for 1 gig 1 gb server is the cheapest for the smallest amount of resources needed
https://www.scaleway.com/en/pricing/virtual-instances/ and I think they offer only ipv6 but cloudflare tunnels is awesome
That being said, I personally prefer OVH as well. I have heard that their support can be shit but they are much more lenient than hetzner but their support is heard at times to be rough (someone recommended here to go talk on twitter to them if you want concerns solved as well and they have discord too so I guess)
But even after all of this, Hetzner's especially auction box are the king of undisputed prices and I am telling you after creating scripts scraping lowendtalks and many other things. There are some other options but none provide the safety of well founded company like hetzner (in terms of uptime etc.) and hetzner's pretty cool
They can be the very best (for some purposes they already are) but for the purposes of hosting other people's stuff or building own server on, they aren't so good because I think hetzner follows a strict policy.
Personally I am on netcup, I somehow looped it in such a way to get server of 8 gigs 4 core cpu 500 gb for 8$ / 3 months. I don't really use that server (too much or even barely, I have to give my brother access to that server so that he can run supabase on it because my servers literally empty aside from some basic stuff), I think at this point, these companies actively lose money for sure if I actually use what I own a decent amount of degree.
VPS/Cloud business is really fascinating ngl. I feel like though for some average use cases for which people used to buy 3$ servers for sprites.dev/exe.dev and now shellbox.dev are gonna be even cheaper (I thought about shellbox.dev and being honest, if I was capable to get hetzner auctions I would've done the same and there must be a middleman and they are more open about things as well and a lot of decisions are same of what I would've built)
Yup So I am probably throwing my full weight behind shellbox.dev as someone who wanted to build a cloud sometime ago. I got the idea of building cloud because I wanted to build something like this and none existed so I went into the rabbit hole but now its built. Now I can go the layer up that I wanted to in the first place now that this primitive has been built (an open source cloud solution where people can pay x$ to get access to a primitive like this)
I think I ended up building my own firecracker based (bottlefire) + ssh/golang based in the end for personal use and I will have it open source in the future (its really simple) and I hope that shellbox.dev can host it as well.
Honestly, we are seeing a lot of products in this space so lets hope that the best one wins! (I always appreciate competition)
By wolvoleo 2026-01-174:15 > Scaleway is on a bit more expensive side of things
I don't agree. They're a lot cheaper than Amazon. And they don't charge all these hidden fees like ingress bandwidth for their compute services. Their glacier is also a ton cheaper than Amazon's (it does charge transfer fees but that's part of the model). I have 3 VPSes (stardust) for 9 euros a month, it's pretty ideal for me. They're in 3 countries too (you can only get 1 stardust per datacenter)
> Scaleway does have every primitive you might need but I don't know how good scaleway's support system is.
I have not had issues with them for years. But a few years back you could just contact them on slack and they would respond quickly. None of that hassle with creating tickets and CS agents deflecting because they're lazy or don't know. One time there was a recurring random issue and they just plainly told me "we know this particular service keeps having random issues, we'll discontinue it soon, much better to use this one instead".
This was really impressive. I work at work with the big tech names and they would never admit random instability issues like that. And they would never admit that one of their services is less than perfect. Probably because they're afraid someone will post it online and it'll cause a big fuss and requests for refunds. However I don't care about their reasoning. But these guys just plain told me what was up. It gives me a lot of trust, which I don't get from a party like Microsoft or AWS. They outsource their support to companies that outsource it again themselves and the resulting agents have no more knowledge than the kbase you can look up yourself.
So yeah I'm impressed. Not sure if their support is still like this because it's been rock-steady for years now.
> Personally it depends on the solution, I have evaluated tons of servers and Scaleway's 0.10cents per month or 3 years per month for 1 gig 1 gb server is the cheapest for the smallest amount of resources needed
Yes that's it, stardust
> https://www.scaleway.com/en/pricing/virtual-instances/ and I think they offer only ipv6 but cloudflare tunnels is awesome
No you can get IPv4 but you pay for it. This is the main cost of my stardust instances, about 3 euro per month including VAT. I don't use much IPv6 myself so I need it and it's not bad. That 3 bucks per VPS is nothing and it performs great. I really get a lot of use out of them.
> That being said, I personally prefer OVH as well. I have heard that their support can be shit but they are much more lenient than hetzner but their support is heard at times to be rough (someone recommended here to go talk on twitter to them if you want concerns solved as well and they have discord too so I guess)
OVH are really cowboys.. The fire in that datacenter exposed a lot of practices that really really should never have happened in a sane company.
And yes Hetzner is the king of power for the buck (if you need 24/7), that is true, especially baremetal if you don't mind your server being a few generations old.
PS: There's also the free server thing from Oracle of course. If you don't mind doing business with them. I do absolutely mind so that was not an option for me.
But I use my VPSes for constantly running stuff so one that goes on standby is simply not an option.
By Imustaskforhelp 2026-01-1522:46 Hm I had thought the same! Interesting thanks for responding once again but what are your thoughts on the fact that someone can abuse the situation and your account might get banned and hetzner has a pretty strict policy in that
When I wished to create something as such, this was the most major thing I was worried about. I am curious what your thoughts are on it and how are you managing it (the fact that anyone might abuse in your service which could then impact you and hetzner relations and they might block/restrict you)
I have heard that hetzner requires you to respond in hours or similar. Like I am interested, did you talk to hetzner people (they are usually very kind and I love that about them) or not, because I remember asking some question to that in similar vein but I had gotten the answer that I am still responsible for what happens downstreams and that worried me
By Trufa 2026-01-162:28 How will you handle for example if someone uses this for crypto stuff that's against TOS is hetzner.
Do you do something similar to the modifications codesandbox has done to firecracker, regarding mmap ram? (They have multiple blogposts about it on their blog)
Would love to chat about details there
By messh 2026-01-1522:15 I have read about it, but currently using vanilla Firecracker w/o any memory optimizations. It is as simple as it gets for now
As others pointed out, this isn't a very strong offer, but I'm wondering, if it would be competitive (price/performance wise), does anyone have a use-case for this? I mean, I can name quite a few if it would offer me some hardware that my laptop I'm using to access it just doesn't have, like some A100-level GPUs and stuff, then it would be fantastic: login, do your job, forget about it until the next time you need it. But for anything else it feels like I'd just prefer something more… traditional? Like, DigitalOcean droplet, AWS instance, Linode VPS, you get the idea. At least a managed Docker container. Even if it's technically more expensive and less performant, we are talking like $5/mo, and you can pretty much always easily scale-up or buy additional storage volume, all these things. And it's all yours, for pretty much all practical intents and purposes.
Does anyone have a legit use-case when it would be actually nicer to use this on-demand type of service? (Once more, unless we are talking some serious on-demand hardware.)
For these kinds of services, I think the main value would be UX improvements, such as offering an environment preconfigured with a certain set of tools (e.g. nmap, tmux, curl, etc.) and other defaults. SSH in, and don't deal with a web panel. They may also be valuable in a learning environment where you don't want student servers running 24/7.
Other than those points, offering access to more powerful hardware is probably the best use-case.
What you've described sounds a bit like the very new https://exe.dev service! Which I discovered on HN just weeks ago.
By LevkaDev 2026-01-1610:25 A legit use-case is long-lived but infrequently accessed sessions.
Think debugging, learning environments, or experiments where the hard part is recreating state, not paying for compute. A VPS can do it, but suspend/resume avoids either leaving it running or constantly rebuilding it.
