- Windows Sandbox is a temporary desktop built into Windows 10 and 11.
- Closing it wipes out every app and file inside.
- It's free with Windows Pro, Enterprise and Education, not Home.
- A settings file can turn off internet access and share a folder read only.
- Only one sandbox can run at a time.
Windows Sandbox is a temporary desktop that Microsoft builds into Windows 10 and 11. A person can open a suspicious download or try a new app inside it without touching their main computer. Closing the window wipes out every app, file and setting inside, so nothing bad sticks around.
Windows Sandbox comes free with Windows Pro, Enterprise, Education and Pro Education or SE, Microsoft says. It doesn't work on Windows Home. A computer needs at least 4 gigabytes of memory, two processor cores and 1 gigabyte of free disk space, with 8 gigabytes recommended. Virtualization, a way to run a separate system inside the same computer, also needs turning on in its startup settings.
Windows Sandbox install requirements
Windows Sandbox ships turned off, so a person has to switch it on first. Microsoft says to search for Turn Windows features on or off, tick the Windows Sandbox box, click OK, then restart the computer if it asks.
Windows Sandbox doesn't need a full second copy of Windows to run. Microsoft says its starter files take up about 500 megabytes of disk space once installed, up from a 30 megabyte package before that. It also reuses many of the same memory pages the real Windows is already using, which Microsoft says keeps its memory use low.
Windows Sandbox can also run from a small settings file ending in .wsb. That file can turn off things like internet access and the clipboard, or share a folder from the real computer. Say a person wants to test a file they downloaded but don't fully trust yet. Microsoft's example settings file turns off networking and shares a read only copy of the Downloads folder, so the file opens with no internet access at all.
<Configuration>
<Networking>Disable</Networking>
<VGpu>Disable</VGpu>
<ClipboardRedirection>Disable</ClipboardRedirection>
<MappedFolders>
<MappedFolder>
<HostFolder>C:\Users\Public\Downloads</HostFolder>
<SandboxFolder>C:\temp\Downloads</SandboxFolder>
<ReadOnly>true</ReadOnly>
</MappedFolder>
</MappedFolders>
<LogonCommand>
<Command>explorer.exe C:\temp\Downloads</Command>
</LogonCommand>
</Configuration>Closing Windows Sandbox deletes everything inside it right away, with no way to save files unless they get copied out first. Microsoft only lets one sandbox run at a time, so a person can't compare two test sessions side by side.
Starting with Windows 11 version 24H2, Microsoft says built-in apps like Notepad, Calculator, Photos and Terminal don't work inside the sandbox. Microsoft says support for those apps is coming back soon.
