Verify Harbor tasks in a separate sandbox
May 15, 2026
Run task verification in a sandbox separate from the agent, with explicit artifact handoff between the two environments.
Starting today, you can verify Harbor tasks in a separate sandbox from the one used by the agent.
In task.toml, you can specify artifacts to copy between the agent sandbox and verifier sandbox.
Verifying in a separate sandbox:
- enables different resource configurations or dependencies than the agent sandbox
- lets users pre-bake dependencies into a verifier image to avoid flaky package installation
- provides an additional security boundary between the agent and the verification process
It also introduces constraints:
- verification is limited to copied artifacts, not full container state such as running processes
- tasks must explicitly write anything the verifier needs to an artifact path
Separate verification works for both single-step and multi-step tasks. Multi-step tasks can opt into a separate verifier sandbox per step.
To start using this feature, update the create-task skill:
npx skills add harbor-framework/harbor --skill create-taskOr add the following sections to your task.toml:
artifacts = ["/tmp/answer.json"]
[verifier]
environment_mode = "separate"You can also configure the verifier sandbox:
artifacts = ["/tmp/answer.json"]
[verifier.environment]
cpus = 2
memory_mb = 4096
allow_internet = falseFor multi-step tasks, configure the verifier per step:
[[steps]]
name = "grade"
artifacts = ["/tmp/answer.json"]
[steps.verifier]
environment_mode = "separate"Or configure the verifier sandbox for a specific step:
[[steps]]
name = "grade"
artifacts = ["/tmp/answer.json"]
[steps.verifier.environment]
cpus = 2
memory_mb = 4096
allow_internet = falseOpting in treats the tests/ directory as an environment directory, similar to environment/.
As usual, we're excited to see what you build and welcome feedback!
The Harbor Team