copilotkit__copilotkit/showcase/shell-docs/src/content/docs/cookbook/daytona.mdx

---
title: "Daytona"
description: "Give CopilotKit's Built-in Agent a tool that executes code in an isolated Daytona sandbox, then return the output to the chat."
icon: "custom/daytona"
showIcon: true
doc_type: how-to
---

[Daytona](https://www.daytona.io) gives AI agents isolated cloud **sandboxes** — full Linux runtimes with
their own filesystem, network, and CPU/RAM. This recipe adds a server tool to CopilotKit's
[Built-in Agent](/) that runs code inside one of those sandboxes and returns the result to
the chat, so the agent can execute code it writes without touching your host.

This guide assumes you already have a running Built-in Agent app. If you don't, follow the
[Quickstart](/quickstart) first — it takes a few minutes.

## Try it live

{/* Placeholder URL — update to the permanent demo deployment once it exists. */}

<iframe
  src="https://showcase-daytona-runcode-production.up.railway.app"
  title="Daytona runCode live demo"
  className="w-full h-[480px] sm:h-[600px] block rounded-xl border border-[var(--border)]"
/>

## Prerequisites

- A running Built-in Agent app (see the [Quickstart](/quickstart)).
- A Daytona account and API key — create one in the [Daytona dashboard](https://app.daytona.io/dashboard/keys).

Add the key to your `.env`:

```plaintext title=".env"
DAYTONA_API_KEY=your_daytona_api_key
```

## Install the Daytona SDK

```npm
npm install @daytonaio/sdk
```

## Define the sandbox tool

Add a `runCode` [server tool](/server-tools) and register it on your `BuiltInAgent`. The
tool creates a fresh sandbox, runs the code, returns stdout, and cleans the sandbox up — so every call is
isolated.

```ts title="app/api/copilotkit/[[...slug]]/route.ts" doctest="component"
import {
  CopilotRuntime,
  createCopilotRuntimeHandler,
  InMemoryAgentRunner,
} from "@copilotkit/runtime/v2";
import { BuiltInAgent, defineTool } from "@copilotkit/runtime/v2"; // [!code highlight]
import { Daytona } from "@daytonaio/sdk"; // [!code highlight]
import { z } from "zod";

const daytona = new Daytona(); // reads DAYTONA_API_KEY

const runCode = defineTool({ // [!code highlight:20]
  name: "runCode",
  description: "Execute code in an isolated Daytona sandbox and return its output.",
  parameters: z.object({
    code: z.string().describe("The code to run in the sandbox"),
    language: z
      .enum(["python", "typescript", "javascript"])
      .default("python")
      .describe("Language runtime for the code"),
  }),
  execute: async ({ code, language }) => {
    const sandbox = await daytona.create({ language });
    try {
      const res = await sandbox.process.codeRun(code);
      return { stdout: res.result, exitCode: res.exitCode };
    } finally {
      await sandbox.delete();
    }
  },
});

const builtInAgent = new BuiltInAgent({
  model: "openai:gpt-5.4-mini",
  tools: [runCode], // [!code highlight]
  maxSteps: 2, // required so the agent can call the tool and then respond // [!code highlight]
});

const runtime = new CopilotRuntime({
  agents: { default: builtInAgent },
  runner: new InMemoryAgentRunner(),
});

const handler = createCopilotRuntimeHandler({
  runtime,
  basePath: "/api/copilotkit",
});

export const GET = handler;
export const POST = handler;
```

<Callout type="info" title="Sandbox networking on the free tier">
  Daytona Tier 1 & 2 organizations run sandboxes with restricted networking, but package registries
  (npm, PyPI) and major AI APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) are whitelisted — so this recipe works on the
  free tier. Code that needs to reach arbitrary external URLs requires Tier 3+. See
  [Daytona's limits](https://app.daytona.io/dashboard/limits).
</Callout>

## Try it

Start your app and ask the agent to run something. The tool runs Python by default, and the agent can
pass `language` to run TypeScript or JavaScript instead:

```text
Run a Python snippet that prints the first 10 Fibonacci numbers.
```

```text
Run JavaScript that logs the current timestamp.
```

The agent writes the code, calls `runCode`, and reports back the sandbox's output.

## Going further

- **Reuse a sandbox** to avoid per-call startup cost: create one lazily and cache it instead of deleting it
  each call. Pause it with `sandbox.stop()` when idle.
- **Run a server and preview it** — expose a port with `sandbox.getPreviewLink(port)` to hand back a live
  URL for an app the agent builds.
- **Custom environments** — preinstall packages with a snapshot so sandboxes start ready to go.
- **Any other language** — `codeRun` covers Python, TypeScript, and JavaScript. For anything else (Go,
  Rust, a shell pipeline), use `sandbox.process.executeCommand(...)` instead, optionally on a custom image
  with the toolchain installed.

See the [Daytona docs](https://www.daytona.io/docs) for the full SDK.

## Get started with a coding agent

Paste this prompt into your coding agent (Cursor, Claude Code, etc.) to add the integration to an existing
Built-in Agent app:

```text
In my existing CopilotKit Built-in Agent app, add a Daytona-backed code execution tool:

1. Install the Daytona SDK: `npm install @daytonaio/sdk`.
2. Add DAYTONA_API_KEY to my .env (I'll supply the value).
3. In my CopilotKit runtime route, create a Daytona client with `new Daytona()` and define a
   server tool with `defineTool` from "@copilotkit/runtime/v2":
   - name: "runCode"
   - description: "Execute code in an isolated Daytona sandbox and return its output."
   - parameters: a Zod object with a `code` string field and a `language` enum
     ("python" | "typescript" | "javascript", default "python").
   - execute: create a sandbox with `daytona.create({ language })`, run the code with
     `const res = await sandbox.process.codeRun(code)` — note that `codeRun` returns an
     `ExecuteResponse` where stdout lives on `res.result` (not `res.stdout`), so return
     `{ stdout: res.result, exitCode: res.exitCode }`. Call `sandbox.delete()` in a finally
     block so the sandbox is cleaned up even on error.
4. Register the tool on my BuiltInAgent (`tools: [runCode]`) and set `maxSteps: 2` so it can call the
   tool and then respond.

Keep my existing model and runtime setup unchanged.
```