Best open-source sandbox for running AI coding agents safely — E2B vs OpenHands runtime vs Daytona forks — which is maintained and what license?

For running AI coding agents safely, E2B emerges as the leading open-source sandbox with strong maintenance signals and an inclusive license. In contrast, while OpenHands has niche offerings, its maintenance status is mixed. The Daytona forks display a lack of vigour compared to E2B, which is actively maintained across several related projects.

Here’s how these options stack up:

1. E2B

• Project Name: E2B Fragments

  • Stars: 6,378
  • Maintenance: ✅ Actively maintained (last pushed 1 day ago)
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Open Issues: 21

• Project Name: Open Computer Use

  • Stars: 2,297
  • Maintenance: ⚠️ Maintained (last pushed 79 days ago)
  • License: Apache-2.0

• Project Name: Runtime

  • Stars: 1,627
  • Maintenance: ✅ Actively maintained (last pushed 1 day ago)
  • License: Apache-2.0

• Project Name: E2B Desktop

  • Stars: 1,498
  • Maintenance: ✅ Actively maintained (last pushed 2 days ago)
  • License: Apache-2.0

2. OpenHands

• Project Name: OpenHands Kubernetes Remote Runtime
  • Stars: 9
  • Maintenance: ⚠️ Maintained (last pushed 180 days ago)
  • License: MIT

3. Daytona

• Project Name: Nightona (Daytona Fork)

  • Stars: 16
  • Maintenance: ✅ Actively maintained (last pushed 5 days ago)
  • License: AGPL-3.0

• Project Name: Widnyana (Daytona Fork)

  • Stars: 0
  • Maintenance: ✅ Actively maintained (last pushed 6 days ago)
  • License: AGPL-3.0

Summary of Findings

• E2B holds the strongest portfolio with a consistently high star count across its repositories and frequent updates — suggesting a robust community and commitment to ongoing development. The Apache-2.0 license enables wide-ranging use, including commercial applications, thus lowering barriers for implementation.
• OpenHands, while having active projects, suffers from low visibility (very few stars) and slower updates — which potentially signals less community traction or slower development pace.
• Daytona and its forks exhibit more scattered activity, most notably with low star counts and limited engagement in some forks, despite certain individual forks being actively maintained.

Recommendation

Choose E2B if you need a reliable, actively developed sandbox for running AI coding agents. It offers a comprehensive set of tools under a permissive license. Select OpenHands if you have very specific needs in its narrower domain, but be cautious due to its uncertain maintenance trajectory. For Daytona forks, evaluate based on your specific use case, but expect to broker considerable risk given the variability in activity and licensing.

Conclusively, E2B is the safe bet for stability and ongoing improvements in the open-source AI sandbox arena.