Sandbox
An action check differs from the environment’s enforced access limits.
A sandbox is an execution environment that restricts what running code can access or change. For an agent’s tools, boundaries can include allowed files, directories, and network destinations.
[Anthropic]In practice
A coding assistant can run tests in a project folder but cannot read a private directory or contact an unapproved host.
[Anthropic]A little deeper
Operating-system controls can enforce boundaries beyond the model’s instructions. Those boundaries constrain access; they do not decide whether every permitted operation is appropriate. [Anthropic]
A common mix-up
A sandbox is just an instruction to behave carefully.
A sandbox enforces restrictions through the execution environment. [Anthropic]