Node Code Sandbox MCP

Instructions

import fs from "fs/promises";
await fs.writeFile("./files/hello.txt", "Hello world!");
console.log("Saved ./files/hello.txt");

Implementation Reference

• src/tools/runJsEphemeral.ts:60-139 (handler)

  Main handler function that spins up an ephemeral Docker container, installs dependencies, runs the provided JavaScript code, captures output and file changes, and cleans up.

  export default async function runJsEphemeral({
    image = DEFAULT_NODE_IMAGE,
    code,
    dependencies = [],
  }: {
    image?: string;
    code: string;
    dependencies?: NodeDependenciesArray;
  }): Promise<McpResponse> {
    if (!isDockerRunning()) {
      return { content: [textContent(DOCKER_NOT_RUNNING_ERROR)] };
    }
  
    const telemetry: Record<string, unknown> = {};
    const dependenciesRecord = preprocessDependencies({ dependencies, image });
    const containerId = `js-ephemeral-${randomUUID()}`;
    const tmpDir = tmp.dirSync({ unsafeCleanup: true });
    const { memFlag, cpuFlag } = computeResourceLimits(image);
  
    try {
      // Start an ephemeral container
      execSync(
        `docker run -d --network host ${memFlag} ${cpuFlag} ` +
          `--workdir /workspace -v ${getFilesDir()}:/workspace/files ` +
          `--name ${containerId} ${image} tail -f /dev/null`
      );
  
      // Prepare workspace locally
      const localWorkspace = await prepareWorkspace({ code, dependenciesRecord });
      execSync(`docker cp ${localWorkspace.name}/. ${containerId}:/workspace`);
  
      // Generate snapshot of the workspace
      const snapshotStartTime = Date.now();
      const snapshot = await getSnapshot(getMountPointDir());
  
      // Run install and script inside container
      const installCmd =
        'npm install --omit=dev --prefer-offline --no-audit --loglevel=error';
  
      if (dependencies.length > 0) {
        const installStart = Date.now();
        const installOutput = execSync(
          `docker exec ${containerId} /bin/sh -c ${JSON.stringify(installCmd)}`,
          { encoding: 'utf8' }
        );
        telemetry.installTimeMs = Date.now() - installStart;
        telemetry.installOutput = installOutput;
      } else {
        telemetry.installTimeMs = 0;
        telemetry.installOutput = 'Skipped npm install (no dependencies)';
      }
  
      const { output, error, duration } = safeExecNodeInContainer({
        containerId,
      });
      telemetry.runTimeMs = duration;
      if (error) return getContentFromError(error, telemetry);
  
      // Detect the file changed during the execution of the tool in the mounted workspace
      // and report the changes to the user
      const changes = await detectChanges(
        snapshot,
        getMountPointDir(),
        snapshotStartTime
      );
  
      const extractedContents = await changesToMcpContent(changes);
  
      return {
        content: [
          textContent(`Node.js process output:\n${output}`),
          ...extractedContents,
          textContent(`Telemetry:\n${JSON.stringify(telemetry, null, 2)}`),
        ],
      };
    } finally {
      execSync(`docker rm -f ${containerId}`);
      tmpDir.removeCallback();
    }
  }

• src/tools/runJsEphemeral.ts:31-56 (schema)

  Zod schema defining input parameters: optional image, array of dependencies (name/version), and code string.

  export const argSchema = {
    image: z
      .string()
      .optional()
      .default(DEFAULT_NODE_IMAGE)
      .describe(
        'Docker image to use for ephemeral execution. e.g. ' +
          generateSuggestedImages()
      ),
    // We use an array of { name, version } items instead of a record
    // because the OpenAI function-calling schema doesn’t reliably support arbitrary
    // object keys. An explicit array ensures each dependency has a clear, uniform
    // structure the model can populate.
    // Schema for a single dependency item
    dependencies: z
      .array(NodeDependency)
      .default([])
      .describe(
        'A list of npm dependencies to install before running the code. ' +
          'Each item must have a `name` (package) and `version` (range). ' +
          'If none, returns an empty array.'
      ),
    code: z
      .string()
      .describe('JavaScript code to run inside the ephemeral container.'),
  };

• src/server.ts:82-98 (registration)

  Registration of the 'run_js_ephemeral' tool on the MCP server using server.tool, linking name, description, schema, and handler.

  server.tool(
    'run_js_ephemeral',
    `Run a JavaScript snippet in a temporary disposable container with optional npm dependencies, then automatically clean up. 
    The code must be valid ESModules (import/export syntax). Ideal for simple one-shot executions without maintaining a sandbox or managing cleanup manually.
    When reading and writing from the Node.js processes, you always need to read from and write to the "./files" directory to ensure persistence on the mounted volume.
    This includes images (e.g., PNG, JPEG) and other files (e.g., text, JSON, binaries).
  
    Example:
    \`\`\`js
    import fs from "fs/promises";
    await fs.writeFile("./files/hello.txt", "Hello world!");
    console.log("Saved ./files/hello.txt");
    \`\`\`
  `,
    ephemeralSchema,
    runJsEphemeral
  );

• src/server.ts:16-18 (registration)

  Import of the runJsEphemeral handler and its schema (ephemeralSchema) from the implementation file.

  import runJsEphemeral, {
    argSchema as ephemeralSchema,
  } from './tools/runJsEphemeral.ts';