How to install system packages in Vercel Sandbox

The sandbox comes with a base set of tools pre-installed, including Node.js, Python, Git, and common utilities. You can see the full list in the System Specifications docs. When your use case requires something beyond the defaults, you can install it yourself using dnf on the RunCommand method.

The sandbox runs Amazon Linux 2023, so you’ll install packages using dnf, the system's package manager. Any command that modifies system packages needs root privileges, which you can enable by setting sudo: true.   

In this example, we’ll install Go using TypeScript and the Sandbox runCommand:

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import { Sandbox } from '@vercel/sandbox';
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const sandbox = await Sandbox.create();
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await sandbox.runCommand({
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  cmd: 'dnf',
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  args: ['install', '-y', 'golang'],
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  sudo: true,
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});

You’ll pass any arguments and flags that you normally would. For example, the -y flag automatically confirms the installation prompt.                                                                                                    

And in Python:

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from vercel.sandbox import Sandbox
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sandbox = Sandbox.create()
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sandbox.run_command(
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  'dnf',
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  ['install', '-y', 'golang'],
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  sudo=True,
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)

Set sudo: true because package installation requires root privileges.

Packages you install don't persist between sessions. When a sandbox shuts down, any packages you added are lost. If you're setting up an environment you want to reuse, install your packages and then create a snapshot of the sandbox. When you create a new sandbox from that snapshot, your packages will already be there.    

The sandbox runs Amazon Linux 2023. Check the Amazon Linux 2023 package list to see what's available.

Common examples include:

• Language runtimes: golang, rust, ruby
• Build tools: make, cmake, gcc
• Utilities: jq, htop, tmux