boxes.dev vs AQ

At a glance

As of September 2026.

A worktree on a team machine, or a machine for each task

AQ gives each task a Git worktree on one shared machine, and boxes.dev gives each task its own full copy of your environment.

Each AQ workspace is a Git worktree on its own branch, and AQ installs dependencies in each new worktree. Worktrees keep parallel tasks out of each other's files, and AQ's docs note that worktrees on one machine still share its CPU, memory, and whatever credentials the machine holds. On the Team plan, every workspace runs on one always-on machine that AQ runs, or on VMs you connect, and AQ charges per seat.

boxes.dev first sets up your full development environment on a cloud machine called the Template box, with the tools, databases, services, and data your app needs, so an agent can run the app and test its changes end to end. A setup agent can port the environment from your laptop, including the files, local data, agent settings, and skills you choose to upload, or build it from a GitHub repository. boxes.dev then saves the Template box as a snapshot, and every task runs on its own devbox, a full, isolated copy of that machine, so parallel tasks each get their own databases, services, and ports. A maintenance script can keep the Template box current as your code changes, running on a schedule or when files such as a lockfile change, and each successful run saves a new snapshot. Team Templates let an admin prepare one starting environment for everyone on the team.

You'd never let an engineer ship code they hadn't run, and a full environment holds the agent to the same standard. On a boxes.dev devbox, the agent runs your whole app, with its databases, services, and data, and tests its changes in the browser as it builds. It reproduces bugs in the real app to find the root cause instead of guessing from the code, so it writes better code and makes fewer mistakes. It can also take screenshots and record video for you to review, so you can hand it most repetitive manual testing.

Reaching the running app

Both show the running app beside the agent and send comments on it to the agent, and boxes.dev also brings the app to your laptop and gives your project one address that you can move between devboxes.

An AQ workspace can run its dev server as a live preview beside the agent. On the Team plan, the preview has shareable links, guest links for people outside the team, and review links for reviewers who sign in with an email address. Reviewers can pin comments with screenshots on elements of the running app, and any comment can go to the agent as its next prompt.

Each boxes.dev devbox runs a browser that you and the agent share, so you can watch the agent test the app, click through it yourself, or comment on page elements to show the agent what to change. Ports forwards the app to the same localhost port on your laptop, a public link shares it with anyone, and a Project URL gives your project one stable public address that you can point at any devbox, for OAuth callbacks and webhooks.

Working with your team

AQ puts teammates in the same live session, and on boxes.dev, teammates read your threads, while only teammates you allow can send your agent work from Slack.

Teammates who open an AQ workspace watch the same live terminal, editor, and preview. Typing into someone else's terminal needs a control request, which the owner approves in one click. A workspace is visible to the team or private and shared with specific people. AQ uses each person's own agent login and GitHub access, so an agent's commits and pull requests name the person driving the workspace.

Each boxes.dev devbox belongs to one person and works with their access, such as their GitHub login and cloud credentials. Anyone who can prompt its agent could act with that access, so in the app, teammates get read-only access to your work. You can share a thread as a link, and a team admin can let teammates read every thread that isn't marked private and browse each other's projects in a Team workbench. Teammates can't send prompts, open your terminal, or control your devbox.

In Slack, mentioning @boxes.dev in a thread starts Codex or Claude Code on a new devbox, and later mentions in that thread send follow-ups to the same conversation. By default, only you can start work in your project from Slack or follow up on it. If you allow teammates, they can also start work there with @boxes.dev @YourName and send follow-ups, and their requests run with your access and usage. boxes.dev sends you a DM with links to each task a teammate starts, and commits can link to the thread that produced them.

What comes with every boxes.dev devbox

The boxes.dev desktop app opens the same set of tools for whichever devbox you select:

• Terminal, with tabs that keep running after you close the app.
• Files, a file browser and editor with search across the workspace.
• Git/Review, for branch history and diffs, where comments on changed lines go to the agent together as one message.
• Browser, the browser on the devbox that you and the agent share.
• Ports, for forwarding to your laptop, stable .localhost addresses, and public links.
• Activity, which shows the processes using the machine's CPU and memory.

Environment files, MCP servers, agent plugins, AWS, Tailscale, and GitHub are set up once for the project and reach every devbox. Agents can start other agents on new or existing devboxes and message each other, and you can branch a conversation onto a new devbox with the current files.

Where AQ shines

• Live sessions for the whole team. Teammates open the same workspace to watch its terminal, editor, and preview, and can type in the terminal once the owner approves.
• Feedback from outside reviewers. Product managers, designers, and clients can pin comments with screenshots on the live preview through guest and review links, and any comment can go to the agent as a prompt.
• Any agent CLI. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor Agent, Devin CLI, and plain shells run side by side, with AQ Composer for people without an agent account.
• Linear with a person in charge. Labeling an issue ai-task opens a prepared workspace, syncs status both ways, and gives ownership to the assignee, who starts the agent.
• Workspace webhooks and MCP. Signed webhooks report workspace, agent, pull request, and comment events, and a hosted MCP server lets other agents create and manage workspaces.

Pricing

As of September 2026.

A box-hour is one default devbox awake for an hour, and sleeping devboxes don't use any. On Starter, 40 box-hours works out to about two hours of devbox time each working day, and Pro's 250 to about twelve, spread across as many as ten devboxes at once. Your Claude or ChatGPT plan covers the agents' usage. See Plans, seats, and box-hours.

AQ doesn't publish the size of the Team plan's always-on machine. Early-access pricing holds for 12 months against a $200 standard price, and a seat is billed once the person joins. The Free sandbox has no time limit, and AQ reviews each signup request, usually within a day or two. See AQ's pricing.

Using both

AQ and boxes.dev can work on the same repositories and pull requests. You can keep AQ for sessions that teammates and reviewers join live, and use boxes.dev when a task needs its own copy of your full environment.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my Claude and ChatGPT subscriptions with both?

Yes. In AQ, each person signs in to Claude Code, Codex, and other CLIs with their own accounts, and AQ doesn't mark up that usage. boxes.dev runs Claude Code with your Claude plan and Codex with your ChatGPT plan, or with an API key.

What's the difference between an AQ workspace and a boxes.dev devbox?

An AQ workspace is a Git worktree on a machine that other workspaces share, and closing it removes the worktree. A boxes.dev devbox is its own copy of your Template box, with its databases and services, and stays until you delete it.

Can I open a devbox in my own editor?

Yes. dvb ide opens a devbox in VS Code or a JetBrains IDE over SSH. See Install and use the CLI.

Sources

• AQ: home, how AQ works, what is AQ, workspaces, previews and comments, Live Links, Linear, runners, security and isolation, API, running Claude Code from a phone, Devin CLI, and pricing.
• boxes.dev: How boxes.dev works, Update your Template box and snapshots, Startup, teardown, and maintenance, Sleep, wake, and recover a devbox, Review a page with your agent, Preview your app, Project URLs, Create and publish a Team Template, Connect Codex and Claude, Environment files and secrets, Add MCP servers, Install agent plugins, Organize and share threads, Team access and roles, Branch a conversation, Shared project storage, Commit, push, and open a pull request, Install and use the CLI, Work from Slack, Work from Linear, Create an automation, Use boxes.dev on your phone, and Plans, seats, and box-hours.