Vercel Open Agents

Canonical version: Vercel Open Agents.

Vercel Open Agents is an open-source, fork-able reference app for running coding agents that live in the cloud and keep working after you close the tab. Built on Vercel's own stack. MIT.

The pitch: spawn agents that run "infinitely in the cloud". The design move that makes that possible is keeping the agent outside the sandbox. The agent loop runs as a durable workflow and drives an isolated VM through tools, so execution survives restarts and isn't tied to a request lifecycle.

The three-layer stack

  1. Web interface — auth, chat, streaming UI (Next.js, Better Auth).
  2. Agent workflow — durable, resumable execution via the Workflow SDK. Checkpoints, cancellation, multi-step coordination.
  3. Isolated sandbox VM — ephemeral Vercel Sandboxes with git, auto-hibernation, and filesystem snapshots for resumption.

The agent runs outside the VM and talks to it through tools (file ops, search, shell, web). That separation is the whole point.

What it ships with

  • Chat-driven coding with explorer/executor sub-agents for parallel work.
  • Repo cloning, branch management, optional auto-commit, auto-push, and PR creation.
  • Snapshot-based resume; read-only session sharing links.
  • Voice input via ElevenLabs transcription.

The Vercel pieces it wires together

  • Vercel AI SDK — unified model interface, provider switching, tool calling.
  • Vercel AI Gateway — routing with fallbacks and rate limiting.
  • Sandbox — secure isolated execution.
  • Workflow SDK — resumable, durable orchestration.

TypeScript monorepo (pnpm), Postgres for persistence, optional Redis/KV. Sandboxes run around $0.02/month. Sign in with Vercel and fork it.

References


About Sébastien

Ready to get to the next level?

Found this valuable? Share it with someone who needs it.

Join 6,000+ readers. Get practical systems for knowledge & AI. Free.

Subscribe ✨

Free: Knowledge System Checklist

A clear roadmap to building your own knowledge system. Subscribe and get it straight to your inbox.

6,000+ readers. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Subscribe