exe.dev
Hosted Linux microVMs with SSH access, an HTTPS proxy, and a built-in coding agent.
Liked for cloud VMs that come up in about a second with SSH and the built-in Shelley coding agent,123 and for a flat monthly fee that covers many always-on VMs.45 Complaints are rare; one commenter notes it lacks an outbound firewall,6 and another points out the VMs are plain microVMs rather than true sandboxes.7
Why people recommend it
Shelley agent · 3
The bundled Shelley coding agent and its web UI write and test apps with little friction.
“Shelley wrote all the code. It was also quite good at launching a browser, seeing the site, scrolling & navigating”
“I used https://exe.dev/ and their Shelley agent to drive Claude. Give it a try, it is jaw dropping.”
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Agent sandboxes · 3
Used as remote machines for running coding agents away from the user's laptop.
“exe.dev is my sandbox infra of choice. You get a new sandbox in literally a second”
“i love exe.dev”
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“I use https://exe.dev to orchestrate several agents, and I am seeing the same benefits as Steve (with a better UI).”
Fast setup · 3
New VMs are quick to start, isolated, disposable, and reachable on the public internet.
“This is good stuff. I hope they get a sustainable paid thing going. I'd use it.”
“exe.dev is my sandbox infra of choice. You get a new sandbox in literally a second”
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“I have been using `exe.dev` lately”
Flat pricing · 3
A fixed monthly fee can be split across many VMs that stay running at no extra cost.
“exe.dev looked like a nice way to try it out.”
“I really like exe.dev's pricing model where I pay a fixed monthly fee for compute”
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“Exe.dev seems like a good middleground where I can allocate the compute from tiny to large.”
Phone access · 3
Commenters check on agents or SSH in from phones and browsers.
“it fits how I use exe.dev to make a code change”
“it's just a reliable computer that i can ssh into from my laptop or phone”
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“Shelley wrote all the code. It was also quite good at launching a browser, seeing the site, scrolling & navigating”
Reliability, support · 1
One customer calls it a reliable computer backed by responsive human email support.
“it's just a reliable computer that i can ssh into from my laptop or phone”
Caveats and dissent
No outbound firewall · 1
One commenter says it would be ideal but lacks an outbound firewall.
“https://exe.dev/ would be perfect but it does not come with outbound firewall.”
Not true sandboxes · 1
The VMs are plain computers/microVMs rather than sandboxes in the strict sense.
“Check out exe.dev for basically what you are describing.”
Hosted only · 1
A self-hoster built a similar setup on their own server instead of using exe.dev.
“exe.dev popularized this UX, but I self-host a lot of things already”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
From the makers not counted in the ranking
“we should build it into Shelley”
Threads where it came up
- Exe.dev/ 6 mentions
- Ask HN: What is your (AI) dev tech stack / workflow? (June 2026) 4 mentions
- I Am Building a Cloud 4 mentions
- Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1 2 mentions
- Show HN: Proliferate- open-source, self-hostable Codex for any coding agent 2 mentions
- All your agents are going async 2 mentions
Also written as Shelley, shelley. Data: exe-dev.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 41
“exe.dev looked like a nice way to try it out.”
“I use a web browser to connect from my laptop, tablet, and phone to use Linux VMs on exe.dev.”
“another Go harness i keep up to date with is:”
“it fits how I use exe.dev to make a code change”
“I run it on exe.dev, it's an ephemeral VM company”
“they have an agent of their own called shelley (which I used locally as well)”
“I use my budget with Shelley on exe.dev.”
“exe.dev has a zillion of them: https://exe.dev/docs/integrations”
“exe.dev + Shelley + terminal multiplexer (https://zmx.sh/ or tmux) + `codex` CLI”
“exe.dev + Shelley + terminal multiplexer”
“https://exe.dev/ would be perfect but it does not come with outbound firewall.”
“The coding agent I use (Shelley on exe.dev) has a pulldown menu where you choose the LLM when starting a new conversation. There is no lock-in.”
“Check out exe.dev for basically what you are describing.”
“I've moved all my web stuff over to exe.dev”
“exe.dev is my sandbox infra of choice. You get a new sandbox in literally a second”
“i love exe.dev”
“you could just use a great agent/harness like Shelley that already uses sqlite to store converians is searchable from the UI as well.”
“I have been using `exe.dev` lately”
“I'd say try it out you won't be disappointed.”
“Build with Shelley, no need to deploy it's already on the VM”
“exe.dev + their Shelley web agent is pretty great”
“exe.dev + their Shelley web agent is pretty great”
“exe.dev is the first "dev container" I've ever *loved*.”
“I use both fly and exe.”
“Exe.dev seems like a good middleground where I can allocate the compute from tiny to large.”
“I really like exe.dev's pricing model where I pay a fixed monthly fee for compute”
“it's just a reliable computer that i can ssh into from my laptop or phone”
“I’m a happy user of exe.dev VM’s.”
“They have a coding agent called Shelley (https://exe.dev/shelley) that works fine in a web browser on my laptop, tablet, and phone.”
“I am just using a 7$/yr vps or exe.dev (I had signed up on it since day one)”
“exe.dev popularized this UX, but I self-host a lot of things already”
“they are pretty cool and I use them quite often”
“I do a fun orchestration system for long running loops on exe.dev”
“the agent Shelley on exe can search past convos when promoted too for continuation.”
“Shelley wrote all the code. It was also quite good at launching a browser, seeing the site, scrolling & navigating”
“check out their neat VM offering”
“I use https://exe.dev to orchestrate several agents, and I am seeing the same benefits as Steve (with a better UI).”
“Shout out to https://exe.dev for this stuff. It'a a VM provider service. It makes it stunningly easy to get https up and going”
“it also has a super sick web based agent, Shelley, that is quite adequate for using from the phone.”
“I used their Shelley coding agent to vibe-code a multiplayer Queen of spade game”
“This is good stuff. I hope they get a sustainable paid thing going. I'd use it.”