Boat Public API v1

Use the Boat Public API from services, CI jobs, hosted workers, and product automation code. For typed clients, start with the Boat SDKs, Python SDK, or TypeScript/JavaScript SDK.

Recommended flow

Create a Boat API key with boat api-key create or in the dashboard.
Create a sandbox with POST /sandboxes, or resume/fork an existing sandbox when the user is continuing prior work.
Poll GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId} until the sandbox is ready or idle.
Queue work with POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/prompt.
Read GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/events while work is running.
Use POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/desktop when the user or your support team needs live computer-use visibility.
Stop/archive, resume, fork, or delete the sandbox according to your retention policy.

Everything the Boat CLI does programmatically is available here: first-class endpoints cover lifecycle, prompts, events, files, desktop, and snapshots. Anything else, including in-sandbox tools like host, package installs, or your own scripts, is driven through POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/commands. For high-frequency or streaming control, run your own daemon in the sandbox; see the daemon pattern.

Base URL

https://boat.dev/api/v1

Authentication

Pass a Boat API key as a bearer token on API requests:

curl -sS "https://boat.dev/api/v1/sandboxes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY"

Create, rotate, and revoke service keys with the boat api-key CLI command or in the Boat dashboard. For key lifecycle guidance, see API Keys.

Treat Boat API keys and returned desktop URLs as secrets. Desktop and VNC URLs can contain access tokens and should not be logged or persisted unredacted.

Updating PATCH /account/data-retention is the exception: it requires an interactive sandbox session and refuses API keys. Per-Sandbox keys are restricted to their sandbox; use an account service key for account-wide reads.

Response envelope

Every v1 JSON response has an explicit success discriminator:

{
  "ok": true,
  "type": "sandbox.list",
  "sandboxes": []
}

Field	Description
`ok`	`true` for success, `false` for failure.
`type`	Stable response or event discriminator, such as `sandbox.list`, `sandbox.created`, `sandbox.stopping`, or `prompt.queued`.

Error model

HTTP status remains authoritative. Error bodies also use a structured JSON envelope:

{
  "ok": false,
  "type": "sandbox.error",
  "status": 409,
  "code": "provider_not_configured",
  "message": "Prompting is locked until Codex is configured on the Agents page.",
  "error": {
    "code": "provider_not_configured",
    "message": "Prompting is locked until Codex is configured on the Agents page.",
    "status": 409,
    "details": {
      "provider": "codex",
      "setupUrl": "https://boat.dev/dashboard?tab=agents"
    }
  },
  "requestId": "req_..."
}

Status	Typical codes	What to do
`400`	`invalid_json`, `prompt_required`, `provider_required`, `invalid_name`, `no_changes`, `machine_not_running`, `trial_auto_stop_required`	Fix the request body, wait for the sandbox machine to start, or retry once the sandbox reaches a runnable state.
`401`	`unauthorized`	Provide a valid bearer token.
`402`	`billing_required`, `team_member_cap_reached`	Send the user to the returned billing URL, or ask the organization owner to raise the member’s usage cap.
`403`	`trial_machine_class_not_allowed`, `org_suspended`	The requested machine size needs a payment method, or the organization wallet is suspended.
`404`	`not_found`	Refresh local state; the sandbox or key no longer exists.
`409`	`account_not_ready`, `provider_not_configured`, `sandbox_not_promptable`, `resume_failed`, `fork_failed`	Resolve the prerequisite or resource-state conflict.
`429`	`rate_limited`, `daily_limit_reached`, `limit_reached`, `member_limit_reached`	Back off and show the limit message.
`5xx`	`invalid_json_response`, `stream_failed`, `http_500`	Retry idempotent calls with jitter and include `requestId` in support logs.

Idempotent sandbox creation

POST /sandboxes and POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/fork each provision a new sandbox that bills on success, so a lost response (timeout or 5xx after the sandbox was already accepted) leaves you unsure whether to retry. Send an Idempotency-Key header with your own account-unique value (a UUID) to make create and fork safe to retry: the first request creates the sandbox and binds it to the key; every retry with the same account, key, and request body returns that same sandbox instead of a second, billable one.

curl -sS -X POST "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: 6f9619ff-8b86-d011-b42d-00cf4fc964ff" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"from":"web-stack","noEnv":true,"ttlSeconds":1800}'

Situation	Result
Retry after a lost `202` or a `5xx`	Same key returns the original sandbox (no second sandbox).
Retry while the first sandbox is still being created	`409` `idempotency_in_progress`. Retry shortly with the same key.
Same key, different request body	`409` `idempotency_key_reused`.
Create that failed before the sandbox existed	Key auto-releases within ~2 minutes so a retry can create the sandbox.

Keys are retained for 24 hours, and are scoped to your account (two accounts can use the same key value with no collision). Omit the header to keep the default (non-idempotent) behavior. The header is optional on every SDK’s create and fork call (Idempotency-Key / idempotencyKey); see Create sandbox and Fork sandbox.

Sandbox lifecycle

A Sandbox moves through these states:

State	Meaning	Client behavior
`provisioning`, `provisioned`, `cloning`	The sandbox is being created or prepared.	Poll `GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}`.
`ready`, `idle`	The sandbox can accept prompts and interactive access.	Prompt, open desktop, SSH, or inspect events.
`running`	The Sandbox is actively working.	Read events; interrupt only when the caller intends to stop current work.
`archiving`	Stop/snapshot is in progress.	Poll until `archived` or another terminal state.
`archived`	The machine is stopped; a snapshot may be available.	Resume or fork.
`error`	Provisioning or runtime failed.	Show the error and let the user stop, delete, resume, or fork when allowed.

idle and running only reflect work queued through POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/prompt. Processes you run yourself, over SSH or the command endpoint, do not change the state: a sandbox can show idle while your own agent works inside it.

Providers, models, and reasoning

POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/prompt runs work through an agent harness (provider):

Provider	Aliases	Notes
`codex`		OpenAI Codex / ChatGPT models
`claude-code`	`claude`	Claude Code models
`pi`		Multi-model: Anthropic, OpenAI, and OpenRouter/llmgateway-routed models
`opencode`		Multi-model
`prime-agent`	`prime`	Multi-model
`kimi`	`kimi-code`	Kimi Code CLI: Kimi models (subscription or Moonshot API key)

Omit provider to use the harness the user selected on the Agents dashboard. Models and reasoning effort are harness- and model-specific and change over time, so fetch them from the live catalog rather than hardcoding lists: GET /provider-models returns, per provider, every model and which reasoningEffort levels it accepts (none, low, medium, high, xhigh, max; some models accept none). The boat prompt --help CLI command prints the same catalog. pi, opencode, and prime-agent also expose OpenRouter- and llmgateway-routed models (ids like openrouter:anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5). If you omit model, Boat uses the user’s saved dashboard default for that harness. Use the dashboard’s provider setup page to configure credentials before prompting. If credentials are missing, the API returns provider_not_configured with a setup URL.

A Sandbox runs many conversations in parallel. POST /prompt takes new or conversationId and returns the conversationId; GET /events and POST /interrupt take a conversation filter. See Integrated agents.

Request examples

These are raw HTTP. Every one of them has a CLI, TypeScript and Python equivalent on the feature page it belongs to: Snapshots, Environments, Webhooks, Data retention, Desktop, Hosting. The CLI reference maps commands to endpoints. Set shared variables:

export BOAT_API_BASE="https://boat.dev/api/v1"
export BOAT_API_KEY="sandbox_your_secret_here"

Create a one-hour sandbox and store its id:

BOAT_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ttlSeconds":3600}' | jq -r '.sandbox.id')

Create a sandbox without automatic archival:

curl -sS -X POST "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ttlSeconds":null}'

Poll readiness:

curl -sS "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes/$BOAT_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY"

Prompt a sandbox to work in a repo:

curl -sS -X POST "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes/$BOAT_ID/prompt" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "provider": "codex",
    "model": "gpt-5.4",
    "reasoningEffort": "medium",
    "prompt": "Work on the selected repo: run tests, fix failures, commit the result, and report the preview URL if you start a server."
  }'

Read Sandbox work and lifecycle events:

curl -sS "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes/$BOAT_ID/events" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY"

Get a desktop streaming URL for live inspection:

curl -sS -X POST "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes/$BOAT_ID/desktop?vnc=1" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY"

To return a VNC URL that does not require an access token, send:

curl -sS -X POST "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes/$BOAT_ID/desktop?vnc=1" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"publicAccess":true}'

Stop/archive a sandbox when the workflow is complete:

curl -sS -X POST "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes/$BOAT_ID/stop" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY"

Archive keeps snapshots for resume. Permanent delete requires the exact target id as a confirmation header, returns 202, and cannot be canceled:

curl -sS -X DELETE "$BOAT_API_BASE/sandboxes/$BOAT_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BOAT_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Ascii-Confirm-Delete: $BOAT_ID"

Poll GET /deletion-operations/{operationId} until status is completed. See Data retention and deletion.

Endpoint reference

Endpoint	Reference
`GET /me`	Get current Boat user
`GET /limits`	Get Boat limits
`GET /account/data-retention`	Get account data-retention policy
`PATCH /account/data-retention`	Update account data-retention policy
`GET /deletion-operations/{operationId}`	Get deletion operation
`GET /repos`	List GitHub repositories available to Boat
`POST /repos`	Select repository for sandboxes
`GET /api-keys`	List API keys
`GET /api-keys/{apiKeyId}/usage`	Get API key usage
`GET /secrets`	Get Boat secrets setup
`POST /secrets`	Update Boat secrets setup
`GET /sandboxes`	List sandboxes
`POST /sandboxes`	Create sandbox
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}`	Get sandbox
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/usage`	Get boat usage
`PATCH /sandboxes/{sandboxId}`	Update sandbox
`DELETE /sandboxes/{sandboxId}`	Permanently delete sandbox data
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/stop`	Stop and archive sandbox
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/resume`	Resume sandbox
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/fork`	Fork sandbox
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/prompt`	Prompt Sandbox
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/events`	List boat events
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/prompts/{promptId}`	Get prompt run status
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/files`	Read a file from a sandbox
`PUT /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/files`	Write a file in a sandbox
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/commands`	Execute a command in a sandbox
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/artifacts`	Download a sandbox artifact
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/interrupt`	Interrupt running work
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/desktop`	Get desktop streaming URL
`POST /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/sshkey`	Configure sandbox SSH key
`GET /snapshots`	List snapshots
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/snapshots`	List boat snapshots
`GET /sandboxes/{sandboxId}/snapshots/latest`	Get latest boat snapshot
`GET /snapshots/{snapshotId}/tree`	Get snapshot file tree
`GET /snapshots/{snapshotId}/files`	Download a file or folder from a snapshot
`GET /snapshots/{snapshotId}/download`	Get snapshot download
`DELETE /snapshots/{snapshotId}`	Permanently delete snapshot data

​Recommended flow

​Base URL

​Authentication

​Response envelope

​Error model

​Idempotent sandbox creation

​Sandbox lifecycle

​Providers, models, and reasoning

​Request examples

​Endpoint reference

Recommended flow

Base URL

Authentication

Response envelope

Error model

Idempotent sandbox creation

Sandbox lifecycle

Providers, models, and reasoning

Request examples

Endpoint reference