# Custom Environments and Per-Cell Data

> Org base images, private packages, org secrets, internal network reachability, region choice — plus a per-cell datastore and object storage so tracking tools actually work.

Published: 2026-09-19  
Canonical: https://agentcell.dev/resources/environments-persistence  
Markdown: https://agentcell.dev/resources/environments-persistence.md

> **TL;DR:** Every company wants its own environment — base images, private packages, internal APIs, network boundaries, residency. AgentCell makes environment an org-level property cells inherit, and gives each cell a small datastore plus object storage. This is the enterprise unlock: small software that happens *safely* instead of as shadow IT.

## Environment as inheritance, not configuration

The fifth failure in our thesis: a platform with one blessed runtime gets rejected by exactly the teams with the most small-software demand. The answer is org-customizable environments, set once by whoever owns the platform relationship, inherited by every cell:

| Knob | What the org sets | What the builder experiences |
|---|---|---|
| Base images | Sanctioned images with approved toolchains | `deploy` just works; no Dockerfile |
| Private packages | Internal registries and mirrors | `import internal_sdk` resolves |
| Org secrets | Scoped credentials at the boundary | Names, never values, in code |
| Network reachability | Egress to internal endpoints (warehouse, APIs) | The app reaches what it's allowed, nothing else |
| Region choice | Data-residency as a region selection | Compliance without a migration project |

Deliberately in v1's *design* even where it ships in stages: the team plan (org identity, groups, audit trail, custom runtime) is the monetization motion, arriving after the personal-auth acquisition motion proves sharing is real.

## Buy the runtime, build above it

Competing on raw isolation performance means competing with E2B ($43.8M raised), Modal ($355M at $4.65B), and Daytona ($24M) — all funded within twelve months to own that problem. So: **do not write a sandbox runtime.** Prototype on Cloudflare primitives (Workers for Platforms, Sandbox SDK, Durable Objects, Containers), keep OpenSandbox (Apache 2.0) or microsandbox as the self-host fallback, and build the auth/sharing/UX layer distinctively enough that swapping compute vendors is a backend change, not a product rewrite.

## Per-cell data: tools that track things

A dashboard that forgets is a screenshot. Cells get:

- **A small per-cell datastore** (SQLite-shaped or managed Postgres) — the sprint tracker keeps sprints, the reconciler keeps state.
- **Object storage** — uploads, exports, attachments.
- **Ownership transfer** — data survives the author's departure along with the cell.

Sized for tools, not production estates: the warehouse stays where it is, reached over configured egress.

## The enterprise motion (later, honestly sequenced)

Wedge is the individual builder (months 0–12, self-serve, personal card). Expansion is the team with accumulated cells (org identity, groups, audit, custom runtime). Only then the enterprise platform team offering sanctioned small software: base image, network boundary, SSO enforcement, visibility into what exists. That order matters — selling governance before anyone has tools to govern is how internal-tools startups stall.

India note (global-first, stated once): residency survives as *a region and a DPA*, available as a 2027 story if DPDP enforcement bites — not as positioning.

## FAQ

**Can we bring our private PyPI/npm mirror?**
That's the design: org registries resolve inside cells, set once, inherited everywhere.

**Can cells reach our VPC/internal APIs?**
Internal network reachability with egress rules is the enterprise-tier shape — allow-listed endpoints, default-deny everything else.

**What about self-hosting on our metal?**
Later, if at all — stated explicitly so nobody plans around it. The independence argument (our only business is small software) is the counterweight.

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