User Guide

The Dialog

When you run SandboxStart, a configuration dialog appears with these sections:

Folder Mapping

• Folder - Select a folder to access in the sandbox
• Sandbox Folder Name - Name it will have on the sandbox desktop
• R/O - Make the folder read-only
• File - Select a specific file to run

Package Lists

Install WinGet packages in the sandbox:

• AutoInstall (⚙) - Special list that always installs first
• Select from dropdown or create new lists
• Press Delete key to remove a list

WinGet Options

• Version - Select specific WinGet version or leave blank for latest
• Prerelease - Use pre-release WinGet version
• Clean - Clear cached dependencies

Runtime Options

• Verbose - Show detailed output and wait before closing
• Skip WinGet - Enable networking without WinGet installation (faster startup)

WSB Configuration

• Networking - Allow internet access
• Memory - RAM allocated to sandbox
• GPU - Graphics acceleration setting

Script Editor

PowerShell script that runs in the sandbox after initialization.

Buttons:

• Edit mappings - Configure which script runs for different file types
• Load - Load a saved script
• Save - Save current script
• Save as - Save as new file
• Clear - Clear editor (opens Explorer in sandbox instead)

Examples

Test an Installer

1. Click Folder and select folder containing Setup.exe
2. Script auto-loads (detects installer)
3. Click OK
4. Sandbox launches and runs the installer

Test a WinGet Manifest

1. Click Folder and select folder with *.installer.yaml
2. Script auto-loads for manifest validation
3. Click OK
4. Sandbox validates and installs from manifest

Install Packages

1. Select a package list (e.g., "Python")
2. Click OK
3. Sandbox installs all packages in the list

Using AutoInstall

Create wsb\AutoInstall.txt with package IDs:

Notepad++.Notepad++
7zip.7zip

These packages now install first in every sandbox session.

Custom Package Lists

1. Create wsb\MyList.txt
2. Add WinGet package IDs (one per line)
3. Restart SandboxStart
4. List appears in dropdown

Editing Scripts

Default scripts (Std-*.ps1) are auto-downloaded from GitHub.

To customize:

1. Click Load and select wsb\Std-Install.ps1
2. Add # CUSTOM OVERRIDE as first line
3. Make your changes
4. Click Save

Your changes are now protected from GitHub updates.

Network-Only Mode

For quick testing without WinGet:

1. Check Enable Networking
2. Check Skip WinGet installation
3. Click OK

Faster startup (~25-30s vs ~45s) with internet access but no WinGet.

Tips

• Use Verbose mode to see what's happening
• AutoInstall is useful for tools you always need
• Custom scripts must use $SandboxFolderName variable
• Package lists support comments (lines starting with #)