Lightning fast, local first sandboxes that secure the supply chain across devs, agents, and CI.
$ minimal run claude
Boot secure environments in seconds. Outperform the Docker daemon.
Shared global caching. Prebuilt packages that won't bloat disks.
Resolve dependencies in milliseconds. Stop waiting for failed builds.
Repeatable executions. Identical sandbox configurations.
Minimal provides reproducible environments that run entirely from an isolated sandbox on your machine. Declare your packages and dependencies once, in a configuration file that lives within your code and travels across branches, forks, and worktrees.
Run your tasks from anywhere and get the same result on every machine.
Minimal comes with:
| Docker | Nix | Minimal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandboxed execution | yes | no | yes |
| Environmental parity | partial | yes | yes |
| Daemonless | no | yes | yes |
| Declarative configuration | yes | partial | yes |
| Content addressed | no | yes | yes |
| Supply chain visibility | partial | partial | yes |
| Rapid invocation | no | no | yes |
Because developers, managers, and infosec teams deserve better.
Every tool on the market demands a tradeoff. You can have isolation OR speed, reproducibility OR simplicity, usability OR supply chain security.
Minimal exists to provide a consistent foundation for software development, whether the dev is physical or not, with features like real isolation, supply chain attestation, rapid invocation, and more.
$ minimal update
✓ base 1.0.0
✓ rust-toolchain 1.82.0
✓ openssl 3.4.1
✓ zlib 1.3.1
✓ curl 8.11.1
✓ nodejs 22.12.0
✓ python 3.13.1
... 7 more
Resolved in 1.2s
$ Minimal curates a library of verified, open-source packages that fit directly into your project. These packages are defined by Nickel-based build specifications and reviewed regularly for security vulnerabilities.
All packages are compiled from source and built in a SLSA-compliant, hermetically sealed environment. The outputs are stored in a content-addressable cache, enabling dependency resolution in seconds. Whenever the package build specification is updated, the package is rebuilt and revised in the cache.
$ minimal dump --packages openssl
[{
"name": "perl",
"spec_hash": "51789e95...22b5401",
"is_prebuilt": false,
"is_collection": false,
"target": "amd64/linux",
"build_deps": [
{
"type": "local_file",
"filename": "build.sh",
"hash": "bfb6961f...5efeb684"
},
{
"type": "source",
"from": {
"type": "web",
"url": "gs://minimal-registry/perl-5.42.0.tar.xz",
"sha256": "73cf6cc1...bdbdd0c3"
}
},
...
]
}]To join Minimal's curated library, every package has its provenance tested and verified. Packages require:
Minimal ships packages for:
Get the work done directly with:
[upstream]
repo = "https://github.com/gominimal/pkgs"
branch = "main"
[harness]
use = "bun"
[defaults]
state_key = "dev"
[tasks.shell]
packages = ["base"]
exec = "bash -l"
[tasks.test]
packages = ["base"]
bash = "bun test"
[tasks.claude]
packages = ["base", "claude-code"]
exec = "claude --dangerously-skip-permissions"Minimal is available for early access on Linux and macOS.
curl --proto "=https" --tlsv1.2 -fsSL https://go.minimal.dev/install.sh | sh $ minimal policy check
✓ provenance SLSA Build L3 attestation
✓ sbom CycloneDX v1.5 with PURLs
✓ vuln-scan max severity ≤ medium
✓ eol-detection no end-of-life packages
✓ version-pinning pin_major = true
✓ allowed-packages base, rust-*, nodejs-*, python-*
✓ denied-packages *-nightly
✓ shared-cache cache.minimal.dev/acme-corp
42 packages audited in 0.3s
policy: pass
$Minimal Cloud provides managed infrastructure for teams needing deterministic environments at scale, including shared caches, policy enforcement, and audit-ready attestation for SLSA Build L2 and beyond.
Minimal provides reproducible and performant environments that are secure by default. "Works on my machine" becomes "works on every machine."
Every Minimal environment is isolated, so you can safely run your workload with agents or on CI and expect deterministic results.
Every dependency is vetted and cached, with SBOM and attestation generated for every environment.
Minimal is local first, and can be tested today using our installer. Sign up for early access to Minimal Cloud.
Minimal supports x86-64 and ARM64 on Debian 13 / Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or later, and ARM64 on macOS 26.3 or later.
Minimal supports most modern languages, such as C, C++, Rust, Python, Java, Go, and JavaScript.
No. Minimal was built from the ground up with Rust to be fast, performant, and driven from provenance while maintaining declarative simplicity.
Minimal uses microVMs on endpoints that are likely to contain sensitive information.
On Linux, Minimal has lightweight controls focused on balancing isolation and performance through traditional process sandboxing.