smol machines gives agents real Linux computers

Agent infrastructure is moving from “call a sandbox” to “provision a workstation.” That unlocks longer-running, more capable workflows, but makes lifecycle control, secrets, networking, and cleanup essential.

• –Hardware-isolated guest kernels provide stronger boundaries than standard containers.
• –Persistent filesystems let agents resume work without rebuilding environments.
• –Local, cloud, and self-hosted support reduces infrastructure lock-in.
• –Usage-based billing fits bursty agent workloads better than flat subscriptions.
• –Persistent environments require careful controls for stale state, egress, and credentials.