Rift

Rift vs Modal

Modal runs containers and GPU jobs at scale. Rift syncs files between the machines you already have.

Modal

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work
api
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runs
.env
Modal
It stores your files and can read them.
work
api
billing
runs
.env
an environment
OpenClawOpenClawanother company's agent
uses a workspace token
work
api
billing
runs
.env

Rift

Youlaptop
work
api
billing
runs
.env
Rift Cloud
It cannot read your files. It holds only ciphertext.
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one folder, read
OpenClawOpenClawanother company's agent
holds its own key
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What Modal is

Modal is a serverless compute platform driven from Python. It is built for running many short-lived containers and GPU jobs, and its Volumes serve large data such as model weights to all of them at once.

How they differ

Modal runs code and gives it shared volumes, and the smallest grant its documentation describes is an environment. Rift keeps a folder in sync across every machine it runs on and grants one folder at a time.

ModalRift
IdentityModalThe agent has none by default. It uses a workspace API token.RiftA key that each machine and agent makes for itself. No account.
Smallest shareModalAn environment, with a role, on the Team and Enterprise plans. Read-only and subpath are mount options chosen by the code that starts the container.RiftA folder, a subfolder or one file, as read or write.
Who checks accessModalModal.RiftEach machine that receives a file checks the grant itself.
Who can read your filesModalNot established. Modal's security page says stored data is encrypted at rest and lists customer-supplied encryption keys as a feature. It does not say who holds the keys otherwise.RiftOnly the machines you shared with. Rift Cloud holds ciphertext.
When your machines are offModalVolume files stay reachable through Modal's own tools.RiftFiles stored in Rift Cloud stay available.
When a run endsModalA sandbox lives 24 hours at most. A mounted Volume keeps its data, and a filesystem snapshot can save the rest.RiftFiles the run wrote to a Rift folder are already on your other machines.

Which to choose

Choose Modal when

  • You run GPU jobs or many containers at once.
  • You serve large read-mostly data such as model weights.

Choose Rift when

  • What a job writes should reach your own machines with no download step.
  • A person or agent outside your workspace should receive one folder and nothing else.

Using them together

Modal runs the code and Rift keeps the files. Rift runs on Linux, which is what a Modal container runs.

Use Rift with Modal

Based on Modal's documentation, read in October 2026. Sources: sandboxes, volumes, access control, security.

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