ARK Sandbox

Isolated container environments for AI agent code execution with MCP tool access.

Overview

ARK Sandbox provides:

Sandbox CRDs - Kubernetes-native sandbox lifecycle management
MCP Server - Tools for agents to execute commands, upload/download files
Warm Pools - Pre-created sandboxes for instant availability
PVC Mounting - Share files between workflows and sandboxes

Requirements

Ark 0.1.50+: ARK Sandbox requires Ark version 0.1.50 or later due to MCP server path configuration changes
For older Ark versions, set mcpServer.path: "" in your Helm values

Install


ark install marketplace/services/ark-sandbox

Or with DevSpace:


cd services/ark-sandbox
devspace deploy

Or with Helm:


# Install CRDs first
kubectl apply -f chart/crds/
 
# Install ARK Sandbox
helm install ark-sandbox ./chart -n default

Access via:

Port forward: kubectl port-forward svc/ark-sandbox 2628:80
Ark Dashboard → Services page

MCP Tools

The following tools are available to agents:

Tool	Description
`create_sandbox`	Create a new sandbox container
`delete_sandbox`	Delete a sandbox
`execute_command`	Execute a command in a sandbox
`upload_file`	Upload a file to a sandbox
`download_file`	Download a file from a sandbox
`get_sandbox_logs`	Get logs from a sandbox
`list_sandboxes`	List all sandboxes

CRDs

Sandbox


apiVersion: ark.mckinsey.com/v1alpha1
kind: Sandbox
metadata:
  name: my-sandbox
spec:
  image: python:3.12-slim
  ttlMinutes: 60
  pvcName: my-shared-volume  # Optional

SandboxTemplate


apiVersion: ark.mckinsey.com/v1alpha1
kind: SandboxTemplate
metadata:
  name: python-dev
spec:
  image: python:3.12-slim
  ttlMinutes: 120
  resources:
    limits:
      cpu: "1"
      memory: "2Gi"

SandboxPool


apiVersion: ark.mckinsey.com/v1alpha1
kind: SandboxPool
metadata:
  name: python-pool
spec:
  templateRef:
    name: python-dev
  minSize: 3
  maxSize: 10

Configuration

Parameter	Description	Default
`app.image.repository`	Container image	`ghcr.io/mckinsey/agents-at-scale-marketplace/ark-sandbox`
`service.port`	Service port	`80`
`mcpServer.enabled`	Register as MCPServer	`true`
`httpRoute.enabled`	Enable Gateway API HTTPRoute	`false`

Integration with Argo Workflows

Use the included WorkflowTemplates:


# Create a sandbox with PVC
- name: create-sandbox
  templateRef:
    name: ark-sandbox-create
    template: create-with-pvc
  arguments:
    parameters:
      - name: pvc-name
        value: "workflow-shared-storage"

See the Argo templates directory for all available templates.

Uninstall

Using DevSpace:


cd services/ark-sandbox
devspace purge

Using Helm:


helm uninstall ark-sandbox -n default