There's a new tool in the kit: the Sandbox — a real, disposable Flarum 2.0 you can spin up in about a minute, break freely, and throw away. It's live now at linkrobins.com/sandbox, and it's free.
Who it's for
- Forum owners — wondering whether that extension or upgrade will break your forum? Try it here first, not in production.
- Extension & theme developers — build and test against a genuine Flarum install, fully isolated. Point the sandbox at your own extension repo (public or private) and install it straight from the Extension Manager.
- The curious — thinking about Flarum? Poke around a real one and see what the buzz is about. Nothing to install.
Pick your database
Every sandbox runs on your choice of engine — all four that Flarum 2.0 supports:
- MariaDB (the default — what most of the extension ecosystem targets)
- MySQL (a distinct driver from MariaDB in Flarum 2.0)
- PostgreSQL (new engine support in 2.0)
- SQLite (the lightest option — a single file, no database server)
That makes it a genuinely useful compatibility rig: test your extension against Postgres or SQLite without standing anything up yourself.
AI wired in
Each sandbox ships with a built-in MCP endpoint in write mode, extension manager included. Paste one command into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client and your AI can install extensions, edit content, and run diagnostics against the sandbox — a safe target for AI-assisted building.
The fine print
- Free — no credit card, no commitment
- Each sandbox runs for 4 hours, then tears itself down automatically (shut it down sooner anytime)
- Up to 3 running at once per account
- If every server happens to be full, you go in line and your sandbox starts automatically — the 4-hour clock only starts when it does
- Admin login and the AI connect command appear right on your dashboard
Launch one from your dashboard or read more at linkrobins.com/sandbox.
— Karl
