smol machines

smol machines: Linux microVM platform providing checkpointing, undo, and branching for an AI agent's entire computer state.

smol machines provides fast, isolated Linux microVMs designed to give AI agents an undo button. It captures an agent's entire computer state, including memory, running processes, and disks together, preventing broken file handles and mismatched state. Developers can checkpoint before risky actions, roll back to prior points, or branch running machines to explore multiple execution paths simultaneously. The software runs via an SDK and portable .smolmachine artifacts across local environments, cloud, or self-hosted setups.

smol machines at a glance

Best for: Software engineer
Runs on: macOS, Linux, API, self-hosted
Pricing: Usage-based running and consumption fees with 1-minute minimum; $100 sign-up credit for new accounts.
Released: July 2026
Category: AI coding tool
Website: smolmachines.com

Key features

Checkpoint whole machine memory, running processes, and disk state
Undo failed execution steps to resume matching processes and files
Branch running machines using copy-on-write base layers
Maintain non-chained checkpoint history up to 32 points by default
Run portable .smolmachine artifacts across environments
Deploy isolated microVMs with dedicated kernels

Use it for

Undoing failed steps in AI agent execution loops
Branching a running machine to test alternative execution paths at once
Debugging broken machine states after an agent error
Rewinding full Linux desktop environments to prior save points

Alternatives to smol machines

forkd — Spawns 100 isolated microVMs in approximately 100 milliseconds.
Memdebug — Tracks AI agent memory in a tamper-evident ledger and rolls it back safely.
LMDeploy — Accelerates inference with high-performance engines and quantization tools.
claude-mem — It shares persistent, searchable agent memory across sessions and devices.
CubeSandbox — Provides sub-60ms cold starts and hardware-level microVM kernel isolation.
Lloyal — Builds apps with embedded models that run offline without user API keys.
AgentOps — Track token usage, costs, and traces across 400 plus LLMs and agent frameworks.
MLflow — Complete observability and evaluation for production AI apps.
OpenMonoAgent — Runs locally on your own hardware with no recurring subscription fees.
RunThisLLM — Provides exact hardware and VRAM requirements for over 295 local AI models.
AgentOS SDK — Runs agents directly inside the backend using WebAssembly and V8 isolates.
Golem — Provides type-safe agent abstractions and zero-dependency Go implementation.

All smol machines alternatives