Your agent runs all month for $39. Codespaces stop at 12 hours
Codespaces bills by the hour and stops every codespace after 12 hours, even mid-run. Your Compute stays on around the clock at a flat price, with the three agent CLIs, Docker and a terminal on any phone. $39 a month.
From $39 a month · Docker and sudo included · Cancel from the dashboard any time
| Them | GitHub Codespaces, 2 cores | detachbox |
|---|---|---|
| Keeps running while you are away | Idle stop after 5 to 240 minutes, and a 12-hour cap even while you work | Around the clock, no cap |
| Price | $0.18 an hour plus storage: $134.90 a month left on with 50 GB | $39 a month, flat |
| Docker | Yes | Yes, with compose |
| Interface | VS Code in the browser | A browser terminal with tmux behind every tab |
| Agent CLIs | Install them per codespace | Preinstalled, the latest in every new terminal |
| All subscription limits in one view | No | Yes |
| Pings when the agent needs you | No agent notifications | Push, Telegram and email |
GitHub Codespaces docs and billing, read 17 October 2026.
When it is the better pick
Codespaces wins when you sit in a VS Code session tied to your GitHub repos. Hand the agent that works while you are gone to your Compute.
Questions about this
Will a codespace keep my agent running?
For 12 hours at most. GitHub stops every codespace after 12 hours, even while you use it. An idle timeout of 5 to 240 minutes stops it sooner, and every hour it runs is billed. Your Compute runs all month for one flat price.
How did you get $134.90?
GitHub's public rates, read 17 October 2026: $0.18 an hour for a 2-core codespace times the roughly 730 hours in a month, plus 50 GB of storage at $0.07 per GB a month. A personal account's free monthly allowance takes up to $11.85 off.
Can I use VS Code with detachbox?
Side by side. Keep VS Code on your laptop for the code you write yourself; the agents on your Compute push branches you pull into it, and the browser terminal needs nothing installed.
Other comparisons
- lid closedvs your laptopThe laptop stops the agent when the lid closes. Your Compute keeps going.
- laptop appvs Orca and ConductorDesktop apps make the laptop a better place for agents. detachbox makes the laptop optional.
- €19.99 + an eveningvs a DIY VPSA bare VPS is cheap until you count the evening of setup.
- €6vs TerminalboxBoth stay on. detachbox adds Docker, three terminals and a limits board for $39.
- In your planvs cloud agentsEach cloud session or task gets a new environment. Your Compute keeps the repo, the history and a warm database for the next one.
- API ratesvs Cursor background agentsCursor meters agent runs at API rates. detachbox runs your own plan at a flat price.
- $20–$200vs DevinDevin is its own agent on its own plans. detachbox runs the agents you already use.
Your agent runs all month for $39. Codespaces stop at 12 hours
Pick a size, hand the agent the job and close the tab. Come back to finished work.
Get my ComputeYour first overnight run works, or your money back · Cancel from the dashboard; it runs to the end of the paid month