sbenv - SyftBox Environment Manager

A virtualenv-like tool for managing isolated SyftBox environments. Create, activate, and manage multiple SyftBox instances without conflicts.

Installation

Quick Install (via curl)

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openmined/sbenv/main/install.sh | bash

Install from crates.io

cargo install sbenv

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/openmined/sbenv
cd sbenv
cargo build --release
sudo cp target/release/sbenv /usr/local/bin/

Quick Start

1. Install Shell Integration

First, install the shell helper utilities for your shell:

sbenv install-shell

Note: If your shell doesn't look like this with nice text on the right, then open a PR to fix it:

~/datasites/me@madhavajay.com                                    ✔  📦 me@madhavajay.com

This will detect your shell (bash/zsh) and add the necessary functions to your shell configuration file.

2. Create an Environment

sbenv init

This creates a new SyftBox environment in the current directory.

Dev mode

Dev mode sets SYFTBOX_AUTH_ENABLED=0 and defaults to localhost:8080. You can override that with the --server_url param.

sbenv init --dev                 # defaults server_url to http://localhost:8080
sbenv init --dev --server_url https://dev.syftbox.net
sbenv init --server_url https://custom.server

Notes:

• With --dev, default server_url is http://localhost:8080 (overridable).
• Without --dev, default server_url is https://syftbox.net.
• In dev mode, sbenv start and sbenv login run syftbox with SYFTBOX_AUTH_ENABLED=0.

3. Activate an Environment

sbenv activate

Or use the shell function (after installing shell integration):

sba

Your prompt will change to show the active environment:

~/datasites/me@madhavajay.com                                    ✔  📦 me@madhavajay.com

4. Start SyftBox

Once activated, start the SyftBox instance:

sbenv start

5. Deactivate

When done, deactivate the environment:

sbenv deactivate

Or use the shell function:

sbd

Commands

Environment Management

# Create a new environment
sbenv create <name>


# Remove an environment
sbenv remove <name>

# Show current environment info
sbenv info

# Show environment status
sbenv status

Activation

# Activate an environment
sbenv activate <name>

# Deactivate current environment
sbenv deactivate

SyftBox Control

# Start SyftBox in current environment
sbenv start [--skip-login-check]

# Stop SyftBox in current environment
sbenv stop

# View SyftBox logs
sbenv logs [--lines <n>] [--follow]

Environment Structure

Each environment is isolated in ~/.sbenv/envs/<name>/ with:

apps
datasites
.syftbox <- config.json and logs go in here

Tips

• Each environment runs its own SyftBox instance on a unique port
• Environments are completely isolated from each other
• Use sbenv info to see details about the current environment
• Use sbenv status to check if SyftBox is running

Troubleshooting

Shell functions not working

Make sure you've run sbenv install-shell and restarted your terminal or run:

source ~/.bashrc  # for bash
# or
source ~/.zshrc   # for zsh

Port conflicts

Each environment automatically gets a unique port. If you have port issues, check:

sbenv status  # Shows port information

SyftBox won't start

Check the logs for the current environment:

sbenv logs --lines 50

Requirements

• Rust 1.70+ (for building from source)
• Bash or Zsh shell (for shell integration)
• SyftBox installed on your system

License

Apache-2.0