What is it?
What it is
A virtual filesystem that lives inside a Cloudflare Durable Object, providing an authoritative SQLite-backed state and a pluggable execution surface.
Why it exists
To provide a way to manage durable state and execute code (via containers, shells, or JavaScript) within a unified, persistent workspace environment.
Who should use it
Developers building experimental prototypes, agents, or tools that require a programmable virtual filesystem with multiple execution backends (container, isolate shell, isolate JavaScript) on Cloudflare Workers, especially those exploring Durable Objects, FUSE mounts, or sandboxed compute environments.
Who should avoid it
Production systems requiring stable APIs, high-throughput workloads, or teams unwilling to manage preview-quality, rapidly changing infrastructure; users needing guaranteed performance or SLAs.
How it works
A quick walkthrough in plain English
How computer works
Step 1 of 3
You interact with it
Open computer, send a request, or connect it to your stack.
Features
Advantages
- Authoritative state management via Durable Objects
- Flexible execution environments (Container vs. Isolate)
- No second store or sync round trip for Isolate backends
- High metadata performance via FUSE mount in container mode
- Extensible architecture for custom runtimes
Disadvantages
- Preview only: APIs are unstable and subject to change
- Not suitable for production use at this time
- Container I/O trails real disk on large sequential operations
Installation
cloud
Not specified
docker
Not specified
native
install `@cloudflare/computer`
compose
Not specified
FAQ
Is Cloudflare Computer suitable for production environments?
No. The package is currently in preview and is intended for experiments, exploration, and prototypes only. The APIs are unstable and the design is subject to change.
What are the available execution backends for a Workspace?
There are three primary backends: Container (a sandbox container with a FUSE mount), Isolate shell (running just-bash in a Dynamic Worker), and Isolate JavaScript (running ECMAScript modules in a Dynamic Worker).
How does the Container backend handle filesystem synchronization?
The Container backend uses a sandbox-side daemon called `computerd` which mounts the SQLite state as a FUSE mount and synchronizes changes back to the Durable Object via a capnweb RPC channel.
Can I use a Workspace without an execution backend?
Yes, a Workspace can be constructed without a backend, which allows callers to interact with the underlying filesystem directly.
How do I get started with the library?
You should install the `@cloudflare/computer` package and refer to its specific README for installation steps, entrypoint maps, and usage examples.
Featured in Videos
YouTube tutorials and walkthroughs for computer
Alternatives
Similar projects ranked by category, topics, and text overlap.
