diff --git a/scripts/sandbox.sh b/scripts/sandbox.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..44efe9b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/sandbox.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# parse flags
+interactive=false
+while getopts "i" opt; do
+    case "$opt" in
+    \?)
+        echo "usage: sandbox.sh [-i] [sandbox-name-or-index = AUTO] [command... = bash -l]"
+        echo "  -i: enable interactive mode for custom command (enabled by default for login shell)"
+        echo "      (WARNING: interactive mode causes stderr to be redirected to stdout)"
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+    i)
+        interactive=true
+        if [ ! -t 0 ]; then
+            echo "ERROR: interactive mode (-i) requested without a terminal attached"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        ;;
+    esac
+done
+shift $((OPTIND - 1))
+
+
+IMAGE=gemini-code-sandbox
+
+# use docker if installed, otherwise try to use podman instead
+if command -v docker &> /dev/null; then
+    CMD=docker
+elif command -v podman &> /dev/null; then
+    CMD=podman
+else
+    echo "ERROR: missing docker or podman for sandboxing"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# list all containers running on sandbox image
+sandboxes=()
+while IFS= read -r line; do
+    sandboxes+=("$line")
+done < <($CMD ps --filter "ancestor=$IMAGE" --format "{{.Names}}")
+
+# take first argument as sandbox name if it starts with image name or is an integer
+# otherwise require a unique sandbox to be running and take its name
+if [[ "${1:-}" =~ ^$IMAGE(-[0-9]+)?$ ]]; then
+    SANDBOX=$1
+    shift
+elif [[ "${1:-}" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+    SANDBOX=$IMAGE-$1
+    shift
+else
+    # exit if no sandbox is running
+    if [ ${#sandboxes[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "No sandboxes found. Are you running gemini-code with sandboxing enabled?"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    # exit if multiple sandboxes are running
+    if [ ${#sandboxes[@]} -gt 1 ]; then
+        echo "Multiple sandboxes found:"
+        for sandbox in "${sandboxes[@]}"; do
+            echo "  $sandbox"
+        done
+        echo "Sandbox name or index (0,1,...) must be specified as first argument"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    SANDBOX=${sandboxes[0]}
+fi
+
+# check that sandbox exists
+if ! [[ " ${sandboxes[*]} " == *" $SANDBOX "* ]]; then
+    echo "unknown sandbox $SANDBOX"
+    echo "known sandboxes:"
+    for sandbox in "${sandboxes[@]}"; do
+        echo "  $sandbox"
+    done
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# determine command and args for exec
+if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
+    cmd=(bash -l -c "$(printf '%q ' "$@")") # fixes quoting, e.g. bash -c 'echo $SANDBOX'
+    exec_args=()
+    if [ "$interactive" = true ]; then
+        exec_args=(-it)
+    fi
+else
+    cmd=(bash -l)
+    exec_args=(-it)
+fi
+
+# run command in sandbox
+exec_args+=("$SANDBOX" "${cmd[@]}")
+$CMD exec "${exec_args[@]}"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/start_sandbox.sh b/scripts/start_sandbox.sh
index efa8ecc2..04f3a55f 100755
--- a/scripts/start_sandbox.sh
+++ b/scripts/start_sandbox.sh
@@ -41,7 +41,10 @@ INDEX=0
 while $CMD ps -a --format "{{.Names}}" | grep -q "$IMAGE-$INDEX"; do
     INDEX=$((INDEX + 1))
 done
-run_args+=(--name "$IMAGE-$INDEX")
+run_args+=(--name "$IMAGE-$INDEX" --hostname "$IMAGE-$INDEX")
+
+# also set SANDBOX environment variable as container name
+run_args+=(--env "SANDBOX=$IMAGE-$INDEX")
 
 # enable debugging via node --inspect-brk (and $DEBUG_PORT) if DEBUG is set
 node_args=()