> Documentation index: https://rift.sh/llms.txt

# Rift vs OpenAI Agents API

The Agents API gives each session its own hosted workspace. Rift gives every session the same files.

### What OpenAI Agents API is

The OpenAI Agents API runs the Codex agent for developers, with a hosted Linux sandbox for each session. Files an agent writes to its outputs folder are published as artifacts, which stay downloadable after the sandbox expires. A self-hosted mode lets the agent work on files on your own machine. It has been in public beta since September 2026.

### How they differ

Each hosted session has a separate workspace, so the sandbox is not a shared store. Rift is one set of files that every session and every machine sees.

- Identity
  - OpenAI Agents API: The agent has none. It uses an OpenAI API key that belongs to a project.
  - Rift: A key that each machine and agent makes for itself. No account.

- Smallest share
  - OpenAI Agents API: A project role or an API key permission, inside one OpenAI organization.
  - Rift: A folder, a subfolder or one file, as read or write.

- Who checks access
  - OpenAI Agents API: OpenAI.
  - Rift: Each machine that receives a file checks the grant itself.

- Who can read your files
  - OpenAI Agents API: OpenAI stores session state and artifacts on its servers. Enterprise customers can have stored content encrypted with a key they manage in their own cloud.
  - Rift: Only the machines you shared with. Rift Cloud holds ciphertext.

- When your machines are off
  - OpenAI Agents API: Published artifacts stay available. A hosted sandbox can be deleted after an hour without activity.
  - Rift: Files stored in Rift Cloud stay available.

### Which to choose

Choose OpenAI Agents API when

- Your agents run on OpenAI's platform.
- You want a managed workspace for each session.
- Downloading the finished artifacts is enough.

Choose Rift when

- Sessions should share files while they work.
- The same files have to be on several machines as they are written.
- Another company's agent needs some of the files.

Based on OpenAI's documentation, read in October 2026. Sources: [Agents API](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/agents-api/overview) , [files](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/agents-api/environments/files) , [hosted sandbox](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/agents-api/environments/openai-hosted) , [self-hosted](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/agents-api/environments/self-hosted) , [access control](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/rbac) , [your data](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/your-data).