> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://e2b.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sandbox lifecycle

Sandboxes stay running as long as you need them. When their timeout expires, they can automatically pause to save resources — preserving their full state so you can resume at any time. You can also configure an explicit timeout or shut down a sandbox manually.

<Note>
  Sandboxes can run continuously for up to 24 hours (Pro) or 1 hour (Base). For longer workloads, use [pause and resume](/docs/sandbox/persistence) — pausing resets the runtime window, and your sandbox's full state is preserved indefinitely.
</Note>

<CodeGroup>
  ```js JavaScript & TypeScript highlight={6} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  import { Sandbox } from 'e2b'

  // Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  // 🚨 Note: The units are milliseconds.
  const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({
    timeoutMs: 60_000,
  })
  ```

  ```python Python highlight={6} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  from e2b import Sandbox

  # Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  # 🚨 Note: The units are seconds.
  sandbox = Sandbox.create(
    timeout=60,
  )
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Change sandbox timeout during runtime

You can change the sandbox timeout when it's running by calling the `setTimeout` method in JavaScript or `set_timeout` method in Python.

When you call the set timeout method, the sandbox timeout will be reset to the new value that you specified.

This can be useful if you want to extend the sandbox lifetime when it's already running.
You can for example start with a sandbox with 1 minute timeout and then periodically call set timeout every time user interacts with it in your app.

<CodeGroup>
  ```js JavaScript & TypeScript theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  import { Sandbox } from 'e2b'

  // Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ timeoutMs: 60_000 })

  // Change the sandbox timeout to 30 seconds.
  // 🚨 The new timeout will be 30 seconds from now.
  await sandbox.setTimeout(30_000)
  ```

  ```python Python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  from e2b import Sandbox

  # Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  sandbox = Sandbox.create(timeout=60)

  # Change the sandbox timeout to 30 seconds.
  # 🚨 The new timeout will be 30 seconds from now.
  sandbox.set_timeout(30)
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Retrieve sandbox information

You can retrieve sandbox information like sandbox ID, template, metadata, started at/end at date by calling the `getInfo` method in JavaScript or `get_info` method in Python.

<CodeGroup>
  ```js JavaScript & TypeScript theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  import { Sandbox } from 'e2b'

  // Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ timeoutMs: 60_000 })

  // Retrieve sandbox information.
  const info = await sandbox.getInfo()

  console.log(info)

  // {
  //   "sandboxId": "iiny0783cype8gmoawzmx-ce30bc46",
  //   "templateId": "rki5dems9wqfm4r03t7g",
  //   "name": "base",
  //   "metadata": {},
  //   "startedAt": "2025-03-24T15:37:58.076Z",
  //   "endAt": "2025-03-24T15:42:58.076Z"
  // }
  ```

  ```python Python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  from e2b import Sandbox

  # Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  sandbox = Sandbox.create(timeout=60)

  # Retrieve sandbox information.
  info = sandbox.get_info()

  print(info)

  # SandboxInfo(sandbox_id='ig6f1yt6idvxkxl562scj-419ff533',
  #   template_id='u7nqkmpn3jjf1tvftlsu',
  #   name='base',
  #   metadata={},
  #   started_at=datetime.datetime(2025, 3, 24, 15, 42, 59, 255612, tzinfo=tzutc()),
  #   end_at=datetime.datetime(2025, 3, 24, 15, 47, 59, 255612, tzinfo=tzutc())
  # )
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Shutdown sandbox

You can shutdown the sandbox any time even before the timeout is up by calling the `kill` method.

<CodeGroup>
  ```js JavaScript & TypeScript theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  import { Sandbox } from 'e2b'

  // Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ timeoutMs: 60_000 })

  // Shutdown the sandbox immediately.
  await sandbox.kill()
  ```

  ```python Python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
  from e2b import Sandbox

  # Create sandbox with and keep it running for 60 seconds.
  sandbox = Sandbox.create(timeout=60)

  # Shutdown the sandbox immediately.
  sandbox.kill()
  ```
</CodeGroup>