Function Compute:Desktop template

Compared with the Browser template, the Desktop template controls an entire virtual desktop rather than driving a browser exclusively through CDP. This page covers image configuration, template building, and minimal verification. For full mouse/keyboard operations, live streaming, and security recommendations, see Use Computer Use Sandbox.

Features

Default configuration

This page uses the Beijing-region image at version v0.0.44:

Build the Desktop template

The Desktop template is not a ready-to-use built-in template. You must first build a named custom template from the official Desktop image. No start command or ready command is needed — the Desktop SDK automatically starts the desktop environment and live streaming service.

uv venv .venv --python 3.12
source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install e2b-desktop==2.4.1 python-dotenv

"""Desktop template build example."""

from dotenv import load_dotenv
from e2b import Template, default_build_logger

load_dotenv()

# The SDK automatically reads E2B_API_KEY / E2B_API_URL / E2B_DOMAIN from environment variables.
FROM_IMAGE = "fc-e2b-registry.cn-beijing.cr.aliyuncs.com/runtime/desktop:v0.0.44"

build = Template.build(
    Template().from_image(FROM_IMAGE),
    name="my-desktop-template",
    cpu_count=4,
    memory_mb=8192,
    on_build_logs=default_build_logger(),
)
print(f"template_id: {build.template_id}")

python build.py

npm install e2b@^2.31.0 @e2b/desktop@2.3.1 dotenv
npm install --save-dev tsx
npm pkg set type=module

// Desktop template build example.
import "dotenv/config";
import { Template, defaultBuildLogger } from "e2b";

const FROM_IMAGE =
  "fc-e2b-registry.cn-beijing.cr.aliyuncs.com/runtime/desktop:v0.0.44";

const build = await Template.build(
  Template().fromImage(FROM_IMAGE),
  "my-desktop-template",
  {
    cpuCount: 4,
    memoryMB: 8192,
    onBuildLogs: defaultBuildLogger(),
  },
);
console.log(`template_id: ${build.templateId}`);

node build.mjs

Minimal verification

After the template is built, create a sandbox, launch Chrome, and take a screenshot to verify the desktop environment and application launch capability.

Python:

from pathlib import Path

from dotenv import load_dotenv
from e2b_desktop import Sandbox

load_dotenv()

desktop = None
try:
    desktop = Sandbox.create(template="my-desktop-template", timeout=600)
    desktop.launch("google-chrome", "https://example.com")
    # Wait for the application window to render before taking the screenshot.
    desktop.wait(10000)
    Path("desktop.png").write_bytes(desktop.screenshot())
finally:
    if desktop is not None:
        desktop.kill()

TypeScript: Save the following code as desktop.ts.

import "dotenv/config";
import { writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
import { Sandbox } from "@e2b/desktop";

let desktop: Sandbox | undefined;
try {
  desktop = await Sandbox.create("my-desktop-template", { timeoutMs: 600_000 });
  await desktop.launch("google-chrome", "https://example.com");
  // Wait for the application window to render before taking the screenshot.
  await desktop.wait(10_000);
  writeFileSync("desktop.png", await desktop.screenshot());
} finally {
  await desktop?.kill();
}

Run the example:

npx tsx desktop.ts

Common capabilities

Usage constraints

Related documentation

• Use Computer Use Sandbox

• Browser Template

• All-In-One Template

• Built-in Templates