# Sandbox Your AI Dev Tools: A Practical Guide for VMs and Lima

DevFeed: [Sandbox Your AI Dev Tools: A Practical Guide for VMs and Lima](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/sandbox-your-ai-dev-tools-a-practical-guide-for-vms-and-lima-31868.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.metachris.dev/2025/11/sandbox-your-ai-dev-tools-a-practical-guide-for-vms-and-lima/>)

Author: Chris Hager

Published: 2025-11-25T00:00:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Chris Hager](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/chris-hager.md>)

Topics: [AI-assisted coding](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai-assisted-coding.md>), [developer tooling](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/developer-tooling.md>), [virtual machines](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/virtual-machines.md>), [sensitive data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/sensitive-data.md>), [API keys](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/api-keys.md>), [ssh](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ssh.md>), [npm](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/npm.md>), [pip](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/pip.md>)

Tags: [ai-assisted-coding](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-assisted-coding.md>), [api-keys](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/api-keys.md>), [dev-tools](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/dev-tools.md>), [npm](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/npm.md>), [python](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python.md>), [sandbox](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sandbox.md>), [sensitive-data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sensitive-data.md>), [ssh](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ssh.md>)

## AI overview

A practical guide to sandboxing AI coding assistants and other development tools in isolated virtual machines using Lima. It explains how isolation helps protect SSH keys, API tokens, credentials, environment variables, and other sensitive data from arbitrary code, scripts, and package installation behavior.

## Source excerpt

AI coding assistants, npm, pip, and other development tools can run arbitrary code and scripts on your machine, potentially stealing SSH keys, API tokens, wallet keys, sensitive credentials and other private data without you noticing. This guide shows you how to sandbox these tools in isolated VMs using Lima, so you can experiment and develop freely without putting your sensitive data at risk. Jump straight to the guide, or read on for a bit of personal context.