Can stay on indefinitely

Note: Auto-sleep is off unless you turn it on.

docs-confirmed “Instances default to `auto_sleep: false` and never sleep on their own unless you opt them in.” Source↗

The deadline can be turned off so the machine runs until you stop it.

docs-confirmed “boat resume bx_f7k2q9hd --no-auto-stop # runs until you stop it” Source↗

Auto-suspend is off by default and auto-hibernate can be set to 0.

docs-confirmed “**Off by default.** When enabled, a machine goes to standby after N seconds without TCP/UDP traffic in either direction.” Source↗

Set the auto-stop interval to 0 and the sandbox runs indefinitely.

docs-confirmed “**`0`**: disables the auto-stop functionality, allowing the sandbox to run indefinitely” Source↗

The SDK and CLI set a five-minute deadline unless you change it; the API and dashboard set none.

docs-confirmed “Set an explicit lifetime: `timeoutMs: 0` at creation disables expiration” Source↗

Devboxes can be set to behave like a persistent server.

docs-confirmed “optionally disable auto-sleep / TTL policies to behave like a persistent VPS” Source↗

A busy sandbox is never cut off; only an idle one pauses.

docs-confirmed “**Busy time is never cut off on a clock.**” Source↗

The hard deadline can be set to null, and the idle pause to zero.

docs-confirmed “`ttlSeconds` | 1 s – 30 days, or `null`” Source↗

The catch: On the two lowest tiers a sandbox is deleted after 7 or 30 days; only higher tiers allow it to wait indefinitely.

docs-confirmed “Some quota tiers enforce expiration dates (Tier 0 and 1, with respectively up to 7 and 30 days). In higher tiers, unlimited persistence is permitted.” Source↗

The catch: An instance stops when nothing has used it for up to 6 hours, the setting is lost on a restart, and Cloudflare promises no set running time.

docs-confirmed “After the Durable Object becomes inactive, the instance keeps running for the time set with [`setInactivityTimeout()`](/containers/api/durable-object-container/#setinactivitytimeout), up to 6 hours.” Source↗

The catch: A sandbox cannot run longer than an hour on the free plan or 24 hours on Pro, whether or not it is busy.

docs-confirmed “**Max continuous runtime**| 1 hour| 24 hours| Custom” Source↗

The catch: Only paid plans can switch off the idle pause; on the free plan a machine always pauses after 30 idle minutes, though nothing is deleted and it wakes when used.

The free plan cannot turn off the 30-minute idle pause, but nothing deletes the machine.

docs-confirmed “**No forced TTL.** A paused or stopped machine and every snapshot you save stay until **you** delete them.” Source↗

The catch: No sandbox can run longer than 24 hours, however busy it is.

docs-confirmed “Sandboxes have a default maximum lifetime of 5 minutes. You can change this by passing a `timeout` of up to 24 hours” Source↗

The catch: A Sprite pauses about 30 seconds after its last activity; a task can hold it awake, but you cannot switch the pause off.

docs-confirmed “When the activity stops, a short idle window passes (about 30 seconds today) and the Sprite pauses.” Source↗

The catch: A free sandbox stops after 2 idle hours and a credit-plan sandbox after 24; only Pro and Enterprise are unlimited.

docs-confirmed “The maximum allowed `timeout_secs` depends on your plan: **2 hours** on Free, **24 hours** with Usage Credits, and unlimited on Pro and Enterprise.” Source↗

The catch: A single session cannot last beyond 45 minutes on the free plan or 24 hours on paid plans.

docs-confirmed “Max Session Duration| 45 minutes| 24 hours| 24 hours” Source↗