It’s always cool when someone takes a new spin on VPS hosting.  You’d think by now that every possible variation of this service category had been tried…but you’d be wrong!

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shellbox.

Shellbox is an instant Linux environment service.  There’s no signup form, no web dashboard, and no configuration.  You connect connect via ssh shellbox.dev and have a running KVM instance in seconds. The entire workflow, including creating boxes, managing billing, and adding funds, happens over SSH.

I tried out it out myself and it’s really neat.  You do need to have an SSH key (man ssh-keygen if you don’t know how, or read our tutorial).  That’s all you need.

And – you pay by the hour, which makes it perfect for short-lived uses, test cases, and services you don’t need running 24×7.  Boxes automatically suspend when users disconnect and resume exactly where they left off, so customers only pay for actual compute time. The service runs on Firecracker microVMs on dedicated hardware in Helsinki

Shellbox launched publicly in 2025 and has been featured on Hacker News.

I played around with the service.  The cool thing is that everything is done over SSH.  For example:

$ ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 XXXXXXX@shellbox.dev help

Shellbox - Instant Linux Boxes

Commands:
  create  [xN]  Create a new box (x1-x8 size, default x1)
  duplicate    Copy a stopped box (inherits size)
  rename       Rename a box
  list                List your boxes
  keepalive     Toggle keepalive (box stays running on disconnect)
  wakeup  [min] Toggle wakeup (auto-start on HTTP, stop after idle)
  cron   [run] Toggle cron (periodic wake, run, stop)
  stop          Force-stop a box (clears keepalive, preserves wakeup/cron)
  delete        Delete a box
  key [list|add|remove]  Manage SSH keys (multi-device access)
  billing             Show your account balance and usage
  funds       Add funds to your account (min $10)
  refund      Refund funds from your account
  payments            Show payment history
  promocode (code)    Redeem a promo code for free credits
  help                Show this help
  about               About Shellbox

Connect to a box:
  ssh @shellbox.dev

File transfer:
  scp file.txt @shellbox.dev:/path
  scp @shellbox.dev:/path ./local/
  sftp @shellbox.dev

Billing:
  Boxes stop when balance falls below $5, deleted at $0.

Examples:
  ssh shellbox.dev create mybox
  ssh shellbox.dev list
  ssh mybox@shellbox.dev
  scp file.txt mybox@shellbox.dev:/root/
  sftp mybox@shellbox.dev
  ssh shellbox.dev billing
  ssh shellbox.dev funds 20

I love the minimalist ethos and command-line esthetic.  In a world where you need two hundred JavaScript packages and a megabyte of CSS to make a web page, having everything right there in the terminal is awesome.

Shellbox is not a traditional VPS — it’s an entirely SSH-native experience with no web panel, no signup, and pay-per-minute billing with automatic suspend/resume. A typical developer using a box 2–4 hours per day pays $1.20–$2.40/month. Stopped boxes cost just $0.50/month, so users can maintain dozens of environments for pennies. Every box gets a public HTTPS endpoint with automatic TLS and an email endpoint. Full SCP/SFTP support means it works with VSCode Remote SSH and Zed out of the box. Try it yourself: ssh shellbox.dev about

Read more on shellbox.dev – their web site also has a command-line feel – and be sure to check out their terms and refund policy.  Billing is per-hour, and there’s a minimum $10 top-up, which makes sense since no one wants to be doing per-penny credit card billing.  They accept credit/debit cards, Google Pay, and other methods via Paddle.

Datacenter and Test IPs

Hetzner HEL1-DC4 — Helsinki, Finland

• Test IPv4: N/A (boxes do not receive dedicated IPs; access is via SSH to shellbox.dev)
• Test IPv6: N/A (not currently offered)
• Test file: https://vm3-2268c445.shellbox.dev/100MB.test
• Looking glass: N/A (try the service directly: ssh shellbox.dev about)

Host Node Specifications

• AMD EPYC 7502P (32 cores / 64 threads)
• 512GB DDR4 ECC Registered (16x 32GB)
• 1x 3.84TB NVMe U.2 SSD (Datacenter)
• 1x 1.92TB NVMe U.2 SSD (Datacenter)
• 1x 12TB SATA HDD (Enterprise)
• 1Gbps uplink (Intel I350)

VPS Offer

Shellbox — Instant Linux Box via SSH

• 2 vCPUs
• 4GB RAM
• 50GB SSD
• Unmetered transfer
• 1Gbps shared uplink
• KVM (Firecracker microVM)
• 1 public HTTPS endpoint with automatic TLS
• 1 email endpoint
• Full SSH/SCP/SFTP access
• $0.02/hour while running
• $0.50/month while stopped
• Effective cost: $1.20–$7.20/month depending on usage (2–12 hrs/day)
• No monthly commitment, prepaid balance with refunds available

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.