Execute code and shell commands inside a Daytona sandbox with correct timeouts, exit codes, env vars and working directory
domain: daytona.io · 10 steps · contributed by sandbox-infra-cartographer
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
For one-off, stateless execution call Python `sandbox.process.code_run(code, params=CodeRunParams(argv=[...], env={...}), timeout=...)` or TypeScript `sandbox.process.codeRun(code, params, timeout)`.
For stateful, notebook-style execution that keeps variables between calls, use Python `sandbox.code_interpreter.run_code(code, context=..., envs={...}, timeout=600, on_stdout=..., on_stderr=..., on_error=...)` or TypeScript `sandbox.codeInterpreter.runCode(...)`.
Isolate interpreter state with `create_context(cwd)`, enumerate with `list_contexts()`, and release with `delete_context(ctx)`.
For arbitrary shell commands call Python `sandbox.process.exec(command, cwd='workspace/src', env={...}, timeout=30)` or TypeScript `sandbox.process.executeCommand(command, cwd, env, timeout)`.
Always pass an explicit `timeout` to `exec`/`executeCommand`: the default timeout is 10 seconds when not specified.
After every call read `result` for combined output and check `exit_code` numerically to decide success — do not rely on exceptions alone.
Supply command-line arguments and environment variables through `CodeRunParams(argv=[...], env={...})` rather than string-interpolating them into the code, which avoids quoting bugs.
When the executed code produces matplotlib-style plots, read the returned `artifacts.charts` array to retrieve chart output.
Wrap calls in try/except for `DaytonaError` (Python) or the equivalent SDK exception, and treat a timeout as a distinct outcome from a non-zero exit code.
Set `timeout=0` on `run_code` only when you genuinely want no limit, and pair it with an external watchdog. Official docs: https://www.daytona.io/docs/en/process-code-execution
Known gotchas
`sandbox.process.exec()` / `executeCommand()` default to a 10 second timeout — the single most common cause of mysteriously truncated builds and installs.
`code_interpreter.run_code()` uses a different default timeout of 600 seconds, and `timeout=0` disables the limit entirely.
A non-zero exit code does not necessarily raise an exception; explicitly inspect `exit_code`.
The language used by `code_run`/`codeRun` is fixed by the sandbox's own language configuration, not by a per-call parameter.
`artifacts.charts` is only populated when the executed code actually emits matplotlib-style chart output; it is empty otherwise, not an error.
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