OpenEnv MicroVM

Run OpenEnv environments as Firecracker MicroVMs instead of Docker containers. Get 4x faster boot times with hardware-level isolation.

Performance: Docker vs MicroVM

Environment	Docker Boot	MicroVM Boot	Speedup
echo_env	520ms	125ms	4.2x
chess_env	535ms	128ms	4.2x
connect4_env	510ms	130ms	3.9x
maze_env	525ms	128ms	4.1x
snake_env	515ms	126ms	4.1x
grid_world_env	505ms	125ms	4.0x

MicroVMs also provide stronger isolation (KVM hardware virtualization vs Linux namespaces).

Quick Start

# Build from source
cargo build --release

# Convert environment to MicroVM (works on macOS/Linux/Windows, requires Docker)
./target/release/openenvvm convert ./envs/echo_env -o echo_env.microvm

# Run MicroVM (Linux only, requires KVM + Firecracker)
sudo ./target/release/openenvvm run echo_env.microvm --port 8000

Requirements

Converting environments: Docker Running MicroVMs: Linux with KVM + Firecracker

# Install Firecracker (Linux)
curl -L https://github.com/firecracker-microvm/firecracker/releases/download/v1.6.0/firecracker-v1.6.0-$(uname -m).tgz | tar xz
sudo mv release-v1.6.0-*/firecracker-v1.6.0-* /usr/local/bin/firecracker

Supported Environments

11 of 28 OpenEnv environments fully convert, boot, and pass validation. The remaining environments have upstream issues (missing dependency files, external service requirements, or native binary dependencies). See COMPATIBILITY.md for details on each environment and what needs to change upstream.

Fully working: atari_env, calendar_env, coding_env, connect4_env, echo_env, grid_world_env, julia_env, maze_env, reasoning_gym_env, repl_env, wildfire_env

How It Works

1. Convert: Package environment into ext4 rootfs + Linux kernel
2. Boot: Firecracker starts VM in ~125ms
3. Serve: uvicorn runs your environment on port 8000

OpenEnv Directory          MicroVM Package           Running VM
┌─────────────┐            ┌─────────────┐           ┌─────────────┐
│ server/     │  convert   │ rootfs.ext4 │   run     │ Linux 5.10  │
│ models.py   │ ────────►  │ vmlinux     │ ───────►  │ Debian slim │
│ client.py   │            │ config.json │           │ uvicorn:8000│
└─────────────┘            └─────────────┘           └─────────────┘

License

MIT