CodeSandbox was founded by Ives van Hoorne and Bas Buursma in 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company has raised over $15 million in funding and serves millions of developers monthly.
Unlike simpler code playgrounds, CodeSandbox runs full development environments. You can create React, Vue, Angular, Next.js, and dozens of other framework projects that work exactly like they would on your local machine. The environment includes a terminal, file explorer, package management, and hot module replacement.
CodeSandbox Devboxes, launched in 2023, run full Linux micro-VMs in the cloud. Each devbox gets its own container with root access, Docker support, and any language or tool you need. You can run databases, servers, and CLI tools — it’s essentially a full development machine in your browser. They integrate with VS Code through a remote connection, so you can use your local editor while the code runs in the cloud.
Collaboration features are a major strength. Multiple people can edit the same sandbox simultaneously with real-time cursors, like Google Docs for code. Teams use this for pair programming, code reviews, and technical interviews. You can share a URL and anyone can see your running application and code instantly.
The platform hosts over 10 million sandboxes. It’s embedded in documentation for React, Apollo, Material UI, and many other libraries. GitHub integration lets you import and create repositories directly. CodeSandbox has over 13,000 GitHub stars and it’s become an essential tool for the JavaScript community.
