From 8b697245ebe835bedc4e386dbfb15c422e2f6e11 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AochenShen99 <142667174+ShenAC-SAC@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 2026 14:44:34 +0800
Subject: [PATCH] fix(sandbox): avoid blocking sandbox readiness polling
 (#2822)

* fix(sandbox): offload async sandbox acquisition

Run blocking sandbox provider acquisition through the async provider hook so eager sandbox setup does not stall the event loop.

* fix(sandbox): add async readiness polling

Introduce an async sandbox readiness poller using httpx and asyncio.sleep while preserving the existing synchronous API.

* test(sandbox): cover async readiness polling

Lock in non-blocking readiness behavior so the async helper does not regress to requests.get or time.sleep.

* fix(sandbox): allow anonymous backend creation

* fix(sandbox): use async readiness in provider acquisition

* fix(sandbox): use async acquisition for lazy tools

* test(sandbox): cover anonymous remote creation

* fix(sandbox): clamp async readiness timeout budget

* fix(sandbox): offload async lock file handling

* fix(sandbox): delegate async middleware fallthrough

* docs(sandbox): document async acquisition path

* fix(sandbox): offload async sandbox release

* docs(sandbox): mention async release hook

* fix(sandbox): address async lock review

Reduce duplicate sync/async sandbox acquisition state handling and move async thread-lock waits onto a dedicated executor with cancellation-safe cleanup.

* chore: retrigger ci

Retrigger GitHub Actions after upstream main fixed the stale PR merge lint failure.

* test(sandbox): sync backend unit fixtures

---------

Co-authored-by: Willem Jiang <willem.jiang@gmail.com>
---
 backend/CLAUDE.md                             |   2 +-
 backend/README.md                             |   2 +-
 .../aio_sandbox/aio_sandbox_provider.py       | 297 ++++++++++++++----
 .../deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/backend.py |  32 +-
 .../community/aio_sandbox/local_backend.py    |   2 +-
 .../community/aio_sandbox/remote_backend.py   |   4 +-
 .../harness/deerflow/sandbox/middleware.py    |  45 +++
 .../deerflow/sandbox/sandbox_provider.py      |  11 +
 .../harness/deerflow/sandbox/tools.py         | 174 ++++++++++
 backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_provider.py    | 177 +++++++++++
 backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_readiness.py   | 119 +++++++
 backend/tests/test_remote_sandbox_backend.py  |  20 ++
 backend/tests/test_sandbox_middleware.py      | 225 +++++++++++++
 13 files changed, 1037 insertions(+), 73 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_readiness.py
 create mode 100644 backend/tests/test_sandbox_middleware.py

diff --git a/backend/CLAUDE.md b/backend/CLAUDE.md
index b951f919c..886b82dcb 100644
--- a/backend/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/backend/CLAUDE.md
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ Proxied through nginx: `/api/langgraph/*` → Gateway LangGraph-compatible runti
 ### Sandbox System (`packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/`)
 
 **Interface**: Abstract `Sandbox` with `execute_command`, `read_file`, `write_file`, `list_dir`
-**Provider Pattern**: `SandboxProvider` with `acquire`, `get`, `release` lifecycle
+**Provider Pattern**: `SandboxProvider` with `acquire`, `acquire_async`, `get`, `release` lifecycle. Async agent/tool paths call async sandbox lifecycle hooks so Docker sandbox creation, discovery, cross-process locking, readiness polling, and release stay off the event loop.
 **Implementations**:
 - `LocalSandboxProvider` - Local filesystem execution. `acquire(thread_id)` returns a per-thread `LocalSandbox` (id `local:{thread_id}`) whose `path_mappings` resolve `/mnt/user-data/{workspace,uploads,outputs}` and `/mnt/acp-workspace` to that thread's host directories, so the public `Sandbox` API honours the `/mnt/user-data` contract uniformly with AIO. `acquire()` / `acquire(None)` keeps the legacy generic singleton (id `local`) for callers without a thread context. Per-thread sandboxes are held in an LRU cache (default 256 entries) guarded by a `threading.Lock`.
 - `AioSandboxProvider` (`packages/harness/deerflow/community/`) - Docker-based isolation
diff --git a/backend/README.md b/backend/README.md
index 8c61e2db2..0ee0d454b 100644
--- a/backend/README.md
+++ b/backend/README.md
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ Middlewares execute in strict order, each handling a specific concern:
 Per-thread isolated execution with virtual path translation:
 
 - **Abstract interface**: `execute_command`, `read_file`, `write_file`, `list_dir`
-- **Providers**: `LocalSandboxProvider` (filesystem) and `AioSandboxProvider` (Docker, in community/)
+- **Providers**: `LocalSandboxProvider` (filesystem) and `AioSandboxProvider` (Docker, in community/). Async runtime paths use async sandbox lifecycle hooks so startup, readiness polling, and release do not block the event loop.
 - **Virtual paths**: `/mnt/user-data/{workspace,uploads,outputs}` → thread-specific physical directories
 - **Skills path**: `/mnt/skills` → `deer-flow/skills/` directory
 - **Skills loading**: Recursively discovers nested `SKILL.md` files under `skills/{public,custom}` and preserves nested container paths
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/aio_sandbox_provider.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/aio_sandbox_provider.py
index 292a43758..4d7e16cab 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/aio_sandbox_provider.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/aio_sandbox_provider.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ The provider itself handles:
 - Mount computation (thread-specific, skills)
 """
 
+import asyncio
 import atexit
 import hashlib
 import logging
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ import signal
 import threading
 import time
 import uuid
+from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 
 try:
     import fcntl
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@ from deerflow.sandbox.sandbox import Sandbox
 from deerflow.sandbox.sandbox_provider import SandboxProvider
 
 from .aio_sandbox import AioSandbox
-from .backend import SandboxBackend, wait_for_sandbox_ready
+from .backend import SandboxBackend, wait_for_sandbox_ready, wait_for_sandbox_ready_async
 from .local_backend import LocalContainerBackend
 from .remote_backend import RemoteSandboxBackend
 from .sandbox_info import SandboxInfo
@@ -46,6 +48,9 @@ DEFAULT_CONTAINER_PREFIX = "deer-flow-sandbox"
 DEFAULT_IDLE_TIMEOUT = 600  # 10 minutes in seconds
 DEFAULT_REPLICAS = 3  # Maximum concurrent sandbox containers
 IDLE_CHECK_INTERVAL = 60  # Check every 60 seconds
+THREAD_LOCK_EXECUTOR_WORKERS = min(32, (os.cpu_count() or 1) + 4)
+_THREAD_LOCK_EXECUTOR = ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=THREAD_LOCK_EXECUTOR_WORKERS, thread_name_prefix="sandbox-lock-wait")
+atexit.register(_THREAD_LOCK_EXECUTOR.shutdown, wait=False, cancel_futures=True)
 
 
 def _lock_file_exclusive(lock_file) -> None:
@@ -66,6 +71,40 @@ def _unlock_file(lock_file) -> None:
     msvcrt.locking(lock_file.fileno(), msvcrt.LK_UNLCK, 1)
 
 
+def _open_lock_file(lock_path):
+    return open(lock_path, "a", encoding="utf-8")
+
+
+async def _acquire_thread_lock_async(lock: threading.Lock) -> None:
+    """Acquire a threading.Lock without polling or using the default executor."""
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+    acquire_future = loop.run_in_executor(_THREAD_LOCK_EXECUTOR, lock.acquire, True)
+
+    try:
+        acquired = await asyncio.shield(acquire_future)
+    except asyncio.CancelledError:
+        acquire_future.add_done_callback(lambda task: _release_cancelled_lock_acquire(lock, task))
+        raise
+
+    if not acquired:
+        raise RuntimeError("Failed to acquire sandbox thread lock")
+
+
+def _release_cancelled_lock_acquire(lock: threading.Lock, task: asyncio.Future[bool]) -> None:
+    """Release a lock acquired after its awaiting coroutine was cancelled."""
+    if task.cancelled():
+        return
+
+    try:
+        acquired = task.result()
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning(f"Cancelled sandbox lock acquisition finished with error: {e}")
+        return
+
+    if acquired:
+        lock.release()
+
+
 class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
     """Sandbox provider that manages containers running the AIO sandbox.
 
@@ -416,6 +455,96 @@ class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
                 self._thread_locks[thread_id] = threading.Lock()
             return self._thread_locks[thread_id]
 
+    def _sandbox_id_for_thread(self, thread_id: str | None) -> str:
+        """Return deterministic IDs for thread sandboxes and random IDs otherwise."""
+        return self._deterministic_sandbox_id(thread_id) if thread_id else str(uuid.uuid4())[:8]
+
+    def _reuse_in_process_sandbox(self, thread_id: str | None, *, post_lock: bool = False) -> str | None:
+        """Reuse an active in-process sandbox for a thread if one is still tracked."""
+        if thread_id is None:
+            return None
+
+        with self._lock:
+            if thread_id not in self._thread_sandboxes:
+                return None
+
+            existing_id = self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id]
+            if existing_id in self._sandboxes:
+                suffix = " (post-lock check)" if post_lock else ""
+                logger.info(f"Reusing in-process sandbox {existing_id} for thread {thread_id}{suffix}")
+                self._last_activity[existing_id] = time.time()
+                return existing_id
+
+            del self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id]
+            return None
+
+    def _reclaim_warm_pool_sandbox(self, thread_id: str | None, sandbox_id: str, *, post_lock: bool = False) -> str | None:
+        """Promote a warm-pool sandbox back to active tracking if available."""
+        if thread_id is None:
+            return None
+
+        with self._lock:
+            if sandbox_id not in self._warm_pool:
+                return None
+
+            info, _ = self._warm_pool.pop(sandbox_id)
+            sandbox = AioSandbox(id=sandbox_id, base_url=info.sandbox_url)
+            self._sandboxes[sandbox_id] = sandbox
+            self._sandbox_infos[sandbox_id] = info
+            self._last_activity[sandbox_id] = time.time()
+            self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id] = sandbox_id
+
+        suffix = " (post-lock check)" if post_lock else f" at {info.sandbox_url}"
+        logger.info(f"Reclaimed warm-pool sandbox {sandbox_id} for thread {thread_id}{suffix}")
+        return sandbox_id
+
+    def _recheck_cached_sandbox(self, thread_id: str, sandbox_id: str) -> str | None:
+        """Re-check in-memory caches after acquiring the cross-process file lock."""
+        return self._reuse_in_process_sandbox(thread_id, post_lock=True) or self._reclaim_warm_pool_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id, post_lock=True)
+
+    def _register_discovered_sandbox(self, thread_id: str, info: SandboxInfo) -> str:
+        """Track a sandbox discovered through the backend."""
+        sandbox = AioSandbox(id=info.sandbox_id, base_url=info.sandbox_url)
+        with self._lock:
+            self._sandboxes[info.sandbox_id] = sandbox
+            self._sandbox_infos[info.sandbox_id] = info
+            self._last_activity[info.sandbox_id] = time.time()
+            self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id] = info.sandbox_id
+
+        logger.info(f"Discovered existing sandbox {info.sandbox_id} for thread {thread_id} at {info.sandbox_url}")
+        return info.sandbox_id
+
+    def _register_created_sandbox(self, thread_id: str | None, sandbox_id: str, info: SandboxInfo) -> str:
+        """Track a newly-created sandbox in the active maps."""
+        sandbox = AioSandbox(id=sandbox_id, base_url=info.sandbox_url)
+        with self._lock:
+            self._sandboxes[sandbox_id] = sandbox
+            self._sandbox_infos[sandbox_id] = info
+            self._last_activity[sandbox_id] = time.time()
+            if thread_id:
+                self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id] = sandbox_id
+
+        logger.info(f"Created sandbox {sandbox_id} for thread {thread_id} at {info.sandbox_url}")
+        return sandbox_id
+
+    def _replica_count(self) -> tuple[int, int]:
+        """Return configured replicas and currently tracked sandbox count."""
+        replicas = self._config.get("replicas", DEFAULT_REPLICAS)
+        with self._lock:
+            total = len(self._sandboxes) + len(self._warm_pool)
+        return replicas, total
+
+    def _log_replicas_soft_cap(self, replicas: int, sandbox_id: str, evicted: str | None) -> None:
+        """Log the result of enforcing the warm-pool replica budget."""
+        if evicted:
+            logger.info(f"Evicted warm-pool sandbox {evicted} to stay within replicas={replicas}")
+            return
+
+        # All slots are occupied by active sandboxes — proceed anyway and log.
+        # The replicas limit is a soft cap; we never forcibly stop a container
+        # that is actively serving a thread.
+        logger.warning(f"All {replicas} replica slots are in active use; creating sandbox {sandbox_id} beyond the soft limit")
+
     # ── Core: acquire / get / release / shutdown ─────────────────────────
 
     def acquire(self, thread_id: str | None = None) -> str:
@@ -440,6 +569,23 @@ class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
         else:
             return self._acquire_internal(thread_id)
 
+    async def acquire_async(self, thread_id: str | None = None) -> str:
+        """Acquire a sandbox environment without blocking the event loop.
+
+        Mirrors ``acquire()`` while keeping blocking backend operations off the
+        event loop and using async-native readiness polling for newly created
+        sandboxes.
+        """
+        if thread_id:
+            thread_lock = self._get_thread_lock(thread_id)
+            await _acquire_thread_lock_async(thread_lock)
+            try:
+                return await self._acquire_internal_async(thread_id)
+            finally:
+                thread_lock.release()
+
+        return await self._acquire_internal_async(thread_id)
+
     def _acquire_internal(self, thread_id: str | None) -> str:
         """Internal sandbox acquisition with two-layer consistency.
 
@@ -448,33 +594,17 @@ class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
                  sandbox_id is deterministic from thread_id so no shared state file
                  is needed — any process can derive the same container name)
         """
-        # ── Layer 1: In-process cache (fast path) ──
-        if thread_id:
-            with self._lock:
-                if thread_id in self._thread_sandboxes:
-                    existing_id = self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id]
-                    if existing_id in self._sandboxes:
-                        logger.info(f"Reusing in-process sandbox {existing_id} for thread {thread_id}")
-                        self._last_activity[existing_id] = time.time()
-                        return existing_id
-                    else:
-                        del self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id]
+        cached_id = self._reuse_in_process_sandbox(thread_id)
+        if cached_id is not None:
+            return cached_id
 
         # Deterministic ID for thread-specific, random for anonymous
-        sandbox_id = self._deterministic_sandbox_id(thread_id) if thread_id else str(uuid.uuid4())[:8]
+        sandbox_id = self._sandbox_id_for_thread(thread_id)
 
         # ── Layer 1.5: Warm pool (container still running, no cold-start) ──
-        if thread_id:
-            with self._lock:
-                if sandbox_id in self._warm_pool:
-                    info, _ = self._warm_pool.pop(sandbox_id)
-                    sandbox = AioSandbox(id=sandbox_id, base_url=info.sandbox_url)
-                    self._sandboxes[sandbox_id] = sandbox
-                    self._sandbox_infos[sandbox_id] = info
-                    self._last_activity[sandbox_id] = time.time()
-                    self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id] = sandbox_id
-                    logger.info(f"Reclaimed warm-pool sandbox {sandbox_id} for thread {thread_id} at {info.sandbox_url}")
-                    return sandbox_id
+        reclaimed_id = self._reclaim_warm_pool_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id)
+        if reclaimed_id is not None:
+            return reclaimed_id
 
         # ── Layer 2: Backend discovery + create (protected by cross-process lock) ──
         # Use a file lock so that two processes racing to create the same sandbox
@@ -485,6 +615,26 @@ class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
 
         return self._create_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id)
 
+    async def _acquire_internal_async(self, thread_id: str | None) -> str:
+        """Async counterpart to ``_acquire_internal``."""
+        cached_id = self._reuse_in_process_sandbox(thread_id)
+        if cached_id is not None:
+            return cached_id
+
+        # Deterministic ID for thread-specific, random for anonymous
+        sandbox_id = self._sandbox_id_for_thread(thread_id)
+
+        # ── Layer 1.5: Warm pool (container still running, no cold-start) ──
+        reclaimed_id = self._reclaim_warm_pool_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id)
+        if reclaimed_id is not None:
+            return reclaimed_id
+
+        # ── Layer 2: Backend discovery + create (protected by cross-process lock) ──
+        if thread_id:
+            return await self._discover_or_create_with_lock_async(thread_id, sandbox_id)
+
+        return await self._create_sandbox_async(thread_id, sandbox_id)
+
     def _discover_or_create_with_lock(self, thread_id: str, sandbox_id: str) -> str:
         """Discover an existing sandbox or create a new one under a cross-process file lock.
 
@@ -503,40 +653,50 @@ class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
                 locked = True
                 # Re-check in-process caches under the file lock in case another
                 # thread in this process won the race while we were waiting.
-                with self._lock:
-                    if thread_id in self._thread_sandboxes:
-                        existing_id = self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id]
-                        if existing_id in self._sandboxes:
-                            logger.info(f"Reusing in-process sandbox {existing_id} for thread {thread_id} (post-lock check)")
-                            self._last_activity[existing_id] = time.time()
-                            return existing_id
-                    if sandbox_id in self._warm_pool:
-                        info, _ = self._warm_pool.pop(sandbox_id)
-                        sandbox = AioSandbox(id=sandbox_id, base_url=info.sandbox_url)
-                        self._sandboxes[sandbox_id] = sandbox
-                        self._sandbox_infos[sandbox_id] = info
-                        self._last_activity[sandbox_id] = time.time()
-                        self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id] = sandbox_id
-                        logger.info(f"Reclaimed warm-pool sandbox {sandbox_id} for thread {thread_id} (post-lock check)")
-                        return sandbox_id
+                cached_id = self._recheck_cached_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id)
+                if cached_id is not None:
+                    return cached_id
 
                 # Backend discovery: another process may have created the container.
                 discovered = self._backend.discover(sandbox_id)
                 if discovered is not None:
-                    sandbox = AioSandbox(id=discovered.sandbox_id, base_url=discovered.sandbox_url)
-                    with self._lock:
-                        self._sandboxes[discovered.sandbox_id] = sandbox
-                        self._sandbox_infos[discovered.sandbox_id] = discovered
-                        self._last_activity[discovered.sandbox_id] = time.time()
-                        self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id] = discovered.sandbox_id
-                    logger.info(f"Discovered existing sandbox {discovered.sandbox_id} for thread {thread_id} at {discovered.sandbox_url}")
-                    return discovered.sandbox_id
+                    return self._register_discovered_sandbox(thread_id, discovered)
 
                 return self._create_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id)
             finally:
                 if locked:
                     _unlock_file(lock_file)
 
+    async def _discover_or_create_with_lock_async(self, thread_id: str, sandbox_id: str) -> str:
+        """Async counterpart to ``_discover_or_create_with_lock``."""
+        paths = get_paths()
+        user_id = get_effective_user_id()
+        await asyncio.to_thread(paths.ensure_thread_dirs, thread_id, user_id=user_id)
+        lock_path = paths.thread_dir(thread_id, user_id=user_id) / f"{sandbox_id}.lock"
+
+        lock_file = await asyncio.to_thread(_open_lock_file, lock_path)
+        locked = False
+        try:
+            await asyncio.to_thread(_lock_file_exclusive, lock_file)
+            locked = True
+            # Re-check in-process caches under the file lock in case another
+            # thread in this process won the race while we were waiting.
+            cached_id = self._recheck_cached_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id)
+            if cached_id is not None:
+                return cached_id
+
+            # Backend discovery is sync because local discovery may inspect
+            # Docker and perform a health check; keep it off the event loop.
+            discovered = await asyncio.to_thread(self._backend.discover, sandbox_id)
+            if discovered is not None:
+                return self._register_discovered_sandbox(thread_id, discovered)
+
+            return await self._create_sandbox_async(thread_id, sandbox_id)
+        finally:
+            if locked:
+                await asyncio.to_thread(_unlock_file, lock_file)
+            await asyncio.to_thread(lock_file.close)
+
     def _evict_oldest_warm(self) -> str | None:
         """Destroy the oldest container in the warm pool to free capacity.
 
@@ -574,18 +734,10 @@ class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
 
         # Enforce replicas: only warm-pool containers count toward eviction budget.
         # Active sandboxes are in use by live threads and must not be forcibly stopped.
-        replicas = self._config.get("replicas", DEFAULT_REPLICAS)
-        with self._lock:
-            total = len(self._sandboxes) + len(self._warm_pool)
+        replicas, total = self._replica_count()
         if total >= replicas:
             evicted = self._evict_oldest_warm()
-            if evicted:
-                logger.info(f"Evicted warm-pool sandbox {evicted} to stay within replicas={replicas}")
-            else:
-                # All slots are occupied by active sandboxes — proceed anyway and log.
-                # The replicas limit is a soft cap; we never forcibly stop a container
-                # that is actively serving a thread.
-                logger.warning(f"All {replicas} replica slots are in active use; creating sandbox {sandbox_id} beyond the soft limit")
+            self._log_replicas_soft_cap(replicas, sandbox_id, evicted)
 
         info = self._backend.create(thread_id, sandbox_id, extra_mounts=extra_mounts or None)
 
@@ -594,16 +746,27 @@ class AioSandboxProvider(SandboxProvider):
             self._backend.destroy(info)
             raise RuntimeError(f"Sandbox {sandbox_id} failed to become ready within timeout at {info.sandbox_url}")
 
-        sandbox = AioSandbox(id=sandbox_id, base_url=info.sandbox_url)
-        with self._lock:
-            self._sandboxes[sandbox_id] = sandbox
-            self._sandbox_infos[sandbox_id] = info
-            self._last_activity[sandbox_id] = time.time()
-            if thread_id:
-                self._thread_sandboxes[thread_id] = sandbox_id
+        return self._register_created_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id, info)
 
-        logger.info(f"Created sandbox {sandbox_id} for thread {thread_id} at {info.sandbox_url}")
-        return sandbox_id
+    async def _create_sandbox_async(self, thread_id: str | None, sandbox_id: str) -> str:
+        """Async counterpart to ``_create_sandbox``."""
+        extra_mounts = await asyncio.to_thread(self._get_extra_mounts, thread_id)
+
+        # Enforce replicas: only warm-pool containers count toward eviction budget.
+        # Active sandboxes are in use by live threads and must not be forcibly stopped.
+        replicas, total = self._replica_count()
+        if total >= replicas:
+            evicted = await asyncio.to_thread(self._evict_oldest_warm)
+            self._log_replicas_soft_cap(replicas, sandbox_id, evicted)
+
+        info = await asyncio.to_thread(self._backend.create, thread_id, sandbox_id, extra_mounts=extra_mounts or None)
+
+        # Wait for sandbox to be ready without blocking the event loop.
+        if not await wait_for_sandbox_ready_async(info.sandbox_url, timeout=60):
+            await asyncio.to_thread(self._backend.destroy, info)
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Sandbox {sandbox_id} failed to become ready within timeout at {info.sandbox_url}")
+
+        return self._register_created_sandbox(thread_id, sandbox_id, info)
 
     def get(self, sandbox_id: str) -> Sandbox | None:
         """Get a sandbox by ID. Updates last activity timestamp.
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/backend.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/backend.py
index 0200ba783..a1db1bf31 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/backend.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/backend.py
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import asyncio
 import logging
 import time
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 
+import httpx
 import requests
 
 from .sandbox_info import SandboxInfo
@@ -35,6 +37,34 @@ def wait_for_sandbox_ready(sandbox_url: str, timeout: int = 30) -> bool:
     return False
 
 
+async def wait_for_sandbox_ready_async(sandbox_url: str, timeout: int = 30, poll_interval: float = 1.0) -> bool:
+    """Async variant of sandbox readiness polling.
+
+    Use this from async runtime paths so sandbox startup waits do not block the
+    event loop. The synchronous ``wait_for_sandbox_ready`` function remains for
+    existing synchronous backend/provider call sites.
+    """
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+    deadline = loop.time() + timeout
+
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=5) as client:
+        while True:
+            remaining = deadline - loop.time()
+            if remaining <= 0:
+                break
+            try:
+                response = await client.get(f"{sandbox_url}/v1/sandbox", timeout=min(5.0, remaining))
+                if response.status_code == 200:
+                    return True
+            except httpx.RequestError:
+                pass
+            remaining = deadline - loop.time()
+            if remaining <= 0:
+                break
+            await asyncio.sleep(min(poll_interval, remaining))
+    return False
+
+
 class SandboxBackend(ABC):
     """Abstract base for sandbox provisioning backends.
 
@@ -44,7 +74,7 @@ class SandboxBackend(ABC):
     """
 
     @abstractmethod
-    def create(self, thread_id: str, sandbox_id: str, extra_mounts: list[tuple[str, str, bool]] | None = None) -> SandboxInfo:
+    def create(self, thread_id: str | None, sandbox_id: str, extra_mounts: list[tuple[str, str, bool]] | None = None) -> SandboxInfo:
         """Create/provision a new sandbox.
 
         Args:
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/local_backend.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/local_backend.py
index 92d933d89..69d838208 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/local_backend.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/local_backend.py
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ class LocalContainerBackend(SandboxBackend):
 
     # ── SandboxBackend interface ──────────────────────────────────────────
 
-    def create(self, thread_id: str, sandbox_id: str, extra_mounts: list[tuple[str, str, bool]] | None = None) -> SandboxInfo:
+    def create(self, thread_id: str | None, sandbox_id: str, extra_mounts: list[tuple[str, str, bool]] | None = None) -> SandboxInfo:
         """Start a new container and return its connection info.
 
         Args:
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/remote_backend.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/remote_backend.py
index 9b23e05dc..83925df13 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/remote_backend.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/community/aio_sandbox/remote_backend.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class RemoteSandboxBackend(SandboxBackend):
 
     def create(
         self,
-        thread_id: str,
+        thread_id: str | None,
         sandbox_id: str,
         extra_mounts: list[tuple[str, str, bool]] | None = None,
     ) -> SandboxInfo:
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ class RemoteSandboxBackend(SandboxBackend):
             logger.warning("Provisioner list_running failed: %s", exc)
             return []
 
-    def _provisioner_create(self, thread_id: str, sandbox_id: str, extra_mounts: list[tuple[str, str, bool]] | None = None) -> SandboxInfo:
+    def _provisioner_create(self, thread_id: str | None, sandbox_id: str, extra_mounts: list[tuple[str, str, bool]] | None = None) -> SandboxInfo:
         """POST /api/sandboxes → create Pod + Service."""
         try:
             resp = requests.post(
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/middleware.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/middleware.py
index deefc2397..f40781333 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/middleware.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/middleware.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import asyncio
 import logging
 from typing import NotRequired, override
 
@@ -48,6 +49,15 @@ class SandboxMiddleware(AgentMiddleware[SandboxMiddlewareState]):
         logger.info(f"Acquiring sandbox {sandbox_id}")
         return sandbox_id
 
+    async def _acquire_sandbox_async(self, thread_id: str) -> str:
+        provider = get_sandbox_provider()
+        sandbox_id = await provider.acquire_async(thread_id)
+        logger.info(f"Acquiring sandbox {sandbox_id}")
+        return sandbox_id
+
+    async def _release_sandbox_async(self, sandbox_id: str) -> None:
+        await asyncio.to_thread(get_sandbox_provider().release, sandbox_id)
+
     @override
     def before_agent(self, state: SandboxMiddlewareState, runtime: Runtime) -> dict | None:
         # Skip acquisition if lazy_init is enabled
@@ -64,6 +74,23 @@ class SandboxMiddleware(AgentMiddleware[SandboxMiddlewareState]):
             return {"sandbox": {"sandbox_id": sandbox_id}}
         return super().before_agent(state, runtime)
 
+    @override
+    async def abefore_agent(self, state: SandboxMiddlewareState, runtime: Runtime) -> dict | None:
+        # Skip acquisition if lazy_init is enabled
+        if self._lazy_init:
+            return await super().abefore_agent(state, runtime)
+
+        # Eager initialization (original behavior), but use the async provider
+        # hook so blocking sandbox startup/polling runs outside the event loop.
+        if "sandbox" not in state or state["sandbox"] is None:
+            thread_id = (runtime.context or {}).get("thread_id")
+            if thread_id is None:
+                return await super().abefore_agent(state, runtime)
+            sandbox_id = await self._acquire_sandbox_async(thread_id)
+            logger.info(f"Assigned sandbox {sandbox_id} to thread {thread_id}")
+            return {"sandbox": {"sandbox_id": sandbox_id}}
+        return await super().abefore_agent(state, runtime)
+
     @override
     def after_agent(self, state: SandboxMiddlewareState, runtime: Runtime) -> dict | None:
         sandbox = state.get("sandbox")
@@ -81,3 +108,21 @@ class SandboxMiddleware(AgentMiddleware[SandboxMiddlewareState]):
 
         # No sandbox to release
         return super().after_agent(state, runtime)
+
+    @override
+    async def aafter_agent(self, state: SandboxMiddlewareState, runtime: Runtime) -> dict | None:
+        sandbox = state.get("sandbox")
+        if sandbox is not None:
+            sandbox_id = sandbox["sandbox_id"]
+            logger.info(f"Releasing sandbox {sandbox_id}")
+            await self._release_sandbox_async(sandbox_id)
+            return None
+
+        if (runtime.context or {}).get("sandbox_id") is not None:
+            sandbox_id = runtime.context.get("sandbox_id")
+            logger.info(f"Releasing sandbox {sandbox_id} from context")
+            await self._release_sandbox_async(sandbox_id)
+            return None
+
+        # No sandbox to release
+        return await super().aafter_agent(state, runtime)
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/sandbox_provider.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/sandbox_provider.py
index 0aa4d619a..b989f7830 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/sandbox_provider.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/sandbox_provider.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import asyncio
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 
 from deerflow.config import get_app_config
@@ -19,6 +20,16 @@ class SandboxProvider(ABC):
         """
         pass
 
+    async def acquire_async(self, thread_id: str | None = None) -> str:
+        """Acquire a sandbox without blocking the event loop.
+
+        Most sandbox providers expose a synchronous lifecycle API because local
+        Docker/provisioner operations are blocking. Async runtimes should call
+        this method so those blocking operations run in a worker thread instead
+        of stalling the event loop.
+        """
+        return await asyncio.to_thread(self.acquire, thread_id)
+
     @abstractmethod
     def get(self, sandbox_id: str) -> Sandbox | None:
         """Get a sandbox environment by ID.
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/tools.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/tools.py
index 2694e9406..c8c0b06fb 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/tools.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/sandbox/tools.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
+import asyncio
 import posixpath
 import re
 import shlex
+from collections.abc import Callable
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from langchain.tools import tool
@@ -1111,6 +1113,68 @@ def ensure_sandbox_initialized(runtime: Runtime | None = None) -> Sandbox:
     return sandbox
 
 
+async def ensure_sandbox_initialized_async(runtime: Runtime | None = None) -> Sandbox:
+    """Async counterpart to ``ensure_sandbox_initialized`` for tool runtimes.
+
+    This keeps lazy sandbox acquisition on the async provider hook, so AIO
+    sandbox startup and readiness polling do not fall back to synchronous
+    ``provider.acquire()`` during async tool execution.
+    """
+    if runtime is None:
+        raise SandboxRuntimeError("Tool runtime not available")
+
+    if runtime.state is None:
+        raise SandboxRuntimeError("Tool runtime state not available")
+
+    sandbox_state = runtime.state.get("sandbox")
+    if sandbox_state is not None:
+        sandbox_id = sandbox_state.get("sandbox_id")
+        if sandbox_id is not None:
+            sandbox = get_sandbox_provider().get(sandbox_id)
+            if sandbox is not None:
+                if runtime.context is not None:
+                    runtime.context["sandbox_id"] = sandbox_id
+                return sandbox
+
+    thread_id = runtime.context.get("thread_id") if runtime.context else None
+    if thread_id is None:
+        thread_id = runtime.config.get("configurable", {}).get("thread_id") if runtime.config else None
+    if thread_id is None:
+        raise SandboxRuntimeError("Thread ID not available in runtime context")
+
+    provider = get_sandbox_provider()
+    sandbox_id = await provider.acquire_async(thread_id)
+
+    runtime.state["sandbox"] = {"sandbox_id": sandbox_id}
+
+    sandbox = provider.get(sandbox_id)
+    if sandbox is None:
+        raise SandboxNotFoundError("Sandbox not found after acquisition", sandbox_id=sandbox_id)
+
+    if runtime.context is not None:
+        runtime.context["sandbox_id"] = sandbox_id
+    return sandbox
+
+
+async def _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(
+    func: Callable[..., str] | None,
+    runtime: Runtime,
+    *args: object,
+) -> str:
+    """Initialize lazily via async provider, then run sync tool body off-thread."""
+    try:
+        await ensure_sandbox_initialized_async(runtime)
+    except SandboxError as e:
+        return f"Error: {e}"
+    except Exception as e:
+        return f"Error: Unexpected error initializing sandbox: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
+
+    if func is None:
+        return "Error: Tool implementation not available"
+
+    return await asyncio.to_thread(func, runtime, *args)
+
+
 def ensure_thread_directories_exist(runtime: Runtime | None) -> None:
     """Ensure thread data directories (workspace, uploads, outputs) exist.
 
@@ -1273,6 +1337,13 @@ def bash_tool(runtime: Runtime, description: str, command: str) -> str:
         return f"Error: Unexpected error executing command: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
 
 
+async def _bash_tool_async(runtime: Runtime, description: str, command: str) -> str:
+    return await _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(bash_tool.func, runtime, description, command)
+
+
+bash_tool.coroutine = _bash_tool_async
+
+
 @tool("ls", parse_docstring=True)
 def ls_tool(runtime: Runtime, description: str, path: str) -> str:
     """List the contents of a directory up to 2 levels deep in tree format.
@@ -1320,6 +1391,13 @@ def ls_tool(runtime: Runtime, description: str, path: str) -> str:
         return f"Error: Unexpected error listing directory: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
 
 
+async def _ls_tool_async(runtime: Runtime, description: str, path: str) -> str:
+    return await _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(ls_tool.func, runtime, description, path)
+
+
+ls_tool.coroutine = _ls_tool_async
+
+
 @tool("glob", parse_docstring=True)
 def glob_tool(
     runtime: Runtime,
@@ -1370,6 +1448,28 @@ def glob_tool(
         return f"Error: Unexpected error searching paths: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
 
 
+async def _glob_tool_async(
+    runtime: Runtime,
+    description: str,
+    pattern: str,
+    path: str,
+    include_dirs: bool = False,
+    max_results: int = _DEFAULT_GLOB_MAX_RESULTS,
+) -> str:
+    return await _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(
+        glob_tool.func,
+        runtime,
+        description,
+        pattern,
+        path,
+        include_dirs,
+        max_results,
+    )
+
+
+glob_tool.coroutine = _glob_tool_async
+
+
 @tool("grep", parse_docstring=True)
 def grep_tool(
     runtime: Runtime,
@@ -1440,6 +1540,32 @@ def grep_tool(
         return f"Error: Unexpected error searching file contents: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
 
 
+async def _grep_tool_async(
+    runtime: Runtime,
+    description: str,
+    pattern: str,
+    path: str,
+    glob: str | None = None,
+    literal: bool = False,
+    case_sensitive: bool = False,
+    max_results: int = _DEFAULT_GREP_MAX_RESULTS,
+) -> str:
+    return await _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(
+        grep_tool.func,
+        runtime,
+        description,
+        pattern,
+        path,
+        glob,
+        literal,
+        case_sensitive,
+        max_results,
+    )
+
+
+grep_tool.coroutine = _grep_tool_async
+
+
 @tool("read_file", parse_docstring=True)
 def read_file_tool(
     runtime: Runtime,
@@ -1495,6 +1621,19 @@ def read_file_tool(
         return f"Error: Unexpected error reading file: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
 
 
+async def _read_file_tool_async(
+    runtime: Runtime,
+    description: str,
+    path: str,
+    start_line: int | None = None,
+    end_line: int | None = None,
+) -> str:
+    return await _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(read_file_tool.func, runtime, description, path, start_line, end_line)
+
+
+read_file_tool.coroutine = _read_file_tool_async
+
+
 @tool("write_file", parse_docstring=True)
 def write_file_tool(
     runtime: Runtime,
@@ -1536,6 +1675,19 @@ def write_file_tool(
         return f"Error: Unexpected error writing file: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
 
 
+async def _write_file_tool_async(
+    runtime: Runtime,
+    description: str,
+    path: str,
+    content: str,
+    append: bool = False,
+) -> str:
+    return await _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(write_file_tool.func, runtime, description, path, content, append)
+
+
+write_file_tool.coroutine = _write_file_tool_async
+
+
 @tool("str_replace", parse_docstring=True)
 def str_replace_tool(
     runtime: Runtime,
@@ -1585,3 +1737,25 @@ def str_replace_tool(
         return f"Error: Permission denied accessing file: {requested_path}"
     except Exception as e:
         return f"Error: Unexpected error replacing string: {_sanitize_error(e, runtime)}"
+
+
+async def _str_replace_tool_async(
+    runtime: Runtime,
+    description: str,
+    path: str,
+    old_str: str,
+    new_str: str,
+    replace_all: bool = False,
+) -> str:
+    return await _run_sync_tool_after_async_sandbox_init(
+        str_replace_tool.func,
+        runtime,
+        description,
+        path,
+        old_str,
+        new_str,
+        replace_all,
+    )
+
+
+str_replace_tool.coroutine = _str_replace_tool_async
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_provider.py b/backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_provider.py
index 732d52170..4b3d215b3 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_provider.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_provider.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Tests for AioSandboxProvider mount helpers."""
 
+import asyncio
 import importlib
 from types import SimpleNamespace
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
@@ -140,6 +141,182 @@ def test_discover_or_create_only_unlocks_when_lock_succeeds(tmp_path, monkeypatc
     assert unlock_calls == []
 
 
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_acquire_async_uses_async_readiness_polling(monkeypatch):
+    """AioSandboxProvider async creation must not use sync readiness polling."""
+    aio_mod = importlib.import_module("deerflow.community.aio_sandbox.aio_sandbox_provider")
+    provider = _make_provider(None)
+    provider._config = {"replicas": 3}
+    provider._thread_locks = {}
+    provider._warm_pool = {}
+    provider._sandbox_infos = {}
+    provider._thread_sandboxes = {}
+    provider._last_activity = {}
+    provider._lock = aio_mod.threading.Lock()
+    provider._backend = SimpleNamespace(
+        create=MagicMock(return_value=aio_mod.SandboxInfo(sandbox_id="sandbox-async", sandbox_url="http://sandbox")),
+        destroy=MagicMock(),
+        discover=MagicMock(return_value=None),
+    )
+
+    async_readiness_calls: list[tuple[str, int]] = []
+
+    async def fake_wait_for_sandbox_ready_async(sandbox_url: str, timeout: int = 30, poll_interval: float = 1.0) -> bool:
+        async_readiness_calls.append((sandbox_url, timeout))
+        return True
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(aio_mod, "wait_for_sandbox_ready_async", fake_wait_for_sandbox_ready_async)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        aio_mod,
+        "wait_for_sandbox_ready",
+        lambda *_args, **_kwargs: (_ for _ in ()).throw(AssertionError("sync readiness should not be used")),
+    )
+
+    sandbox_id = await provider._create_sandbox_async("thread-async", "sandbox-async")
+
+    assert sandbox_id == "sandbox-async"
+    assert async_readiness_calls == [("http://sandbox", 60)]
+    assert provider._backend.destroy.call_count == 0
+    assert provider._thread_sandboxes["thread-async"] == "sandbox-async"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_discover_or_create_with_lock_async_offloads_lock_file_open_and_close(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Async lock path must not open or close lock files on the event loop."""
+    aio_mod = importlib.import_module("deerflow.community.aio_sandbox.aio_sandbox_provider")
+    provider = _make_provider(tmp_path)
+    provider._discover_or_create_with_lock_async = aio_mod.AioSandboxProvider._discover_or_create_with_lock_async.__get__(
+        provider,
+        aio_mod.AioSandboxProvider,
+    )
+    provider._thread_locks = {}
+    provider._warm_pool = {}
+    provider._sandbox_infos = {}
+    provider._thread_sandboxes = {"thread-async-lock": "sandbox-async-lock"}
+    provider._sandboxes = {"sandbox-async-lock": aio_mod.AioSandbox(id="sandbox-async-lock", base_url="http://sandbox")}
+    provider._last_activity = {}
+    provider._lock = aio_mod.threading.Lock()
+    provider._backend = SimpleNamespace(discover=MagicMock(return_value=None))
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(aio_mod, "get_paths", lambda: Paths(base_dir=tmp_path))
+
+    to_thread_calls: list[object] = []
+
+    async def fake_to_thread(func, /, *args, **kwargs):
+        to_thread_calls.append(func)
+        return func(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(aio_mod.asyncio, "to_thread", fake_to_thread)
+
+    sandbox_id = await provider._discover_or_create_with_lock_async("thread-async-lock", "sandbox-async-lock")
+
+    assert sandbox_id == "sandbox-async-lock"
+    assert aio_mod._open_lock_file in to_thread_calls
+    assert any(getattr(func, "__name__", "") == "close" for func in to_thread_calls)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_acquire_thread_lock_async_uses_dedicated_executor(monkeypatch):
+    """Per-thread lock waits should not consume the default asyncio.to_thread pool."""
+    aio_mod = importlib.import_module("deerflow.community.aio_sandbox.aio_sandbox_provider")
+    lock = aio_mod.threading.Lock()
+
+    async def fail_to_thread(*_args, **_kwargs):
+        raise AssertionError("thread-lock acquisition must not use asyncio.to_thread")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(aio_mod.asyncio, "to_thread", fail_to_thread)
+
+    await aio_mod._acquire_thread_lock_async(lock)
+    try:
+        assert not lock.acquire(blocking=False)
+    finally:
+        lock.release()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_acquire_async_cancellation_does_not_leak_thread_lock(tmp_path):
+    """Cancelled async lock waiters must not leave the per-thread lock held."""
+    aio_mod = importlib.import_module("deerflow.community.aio_sandbox.aio_sandbox_provider")
+    provider = _make_provider(tmp_path)
+    provider._thread_locks = {}
+    provider._warm_pool = {}
+    provider._sandbox_infos = {}
+    provider._thread_sandboxes = {}
+    provider._last_activity = {}
+    provider._lock = aio_mod.threading.Lock()
+
+    thread_id = "thread-cancel-lock"
+    thread_lock = provider._get_thread_lock(thread_id)
+    thread_lock.acquire()
+
+    task = asyncio.create_task(provider.acquire_async(thread_id))
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
+    task.cancel()
+
+    try:
+        await task
+    except asyncio.CancelledError:
+        pass
+
+    thread_lock.release()
+    deadline = asyncio.get_running_loop().time() + 1
+    while asyncio.get_running_loop().time() < deadline:
+        acquired = thread_lock.acquire(blocking=False)
+        if acquired:
+            thread_lock.release()
+            return
+        await asyncio.sleep(0.01)
+
+    pytest.fail("provider thread lock was leaked after cancelling acquire_async")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_acquire_async_cancelled_waiter_does_not_block_successor(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """A cancelled waiter must not prevent the next live waiter from acquiring."""
+    aio_mod = importlib.import_module("deerflow.community.aio_sandbox.aio_sandbox_provider")
+    provider = _make_provider(tmp_path)
+    provider._thread_locks = {}
+    provider._warm_pool = {}
+    provider._sandbox_infos = {}
+    provider._thread_sandboxes = {}
+    provider._last_activity = {}
+    provider._lock = aio_mod.threading.Lock()
+
+    async def fake_acquire_internal_async(thread_id: str | None) -> str:
+        assert thread_id == "thread-successor-lock"
+        await asyncio.sleep(0)
+        return "sandbox-successor"
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(provider, "_acquire_internal_async", fake_acquire_internal_async)
+
+    thread_id = "thread-successor-lock"
+    thread_lock = provider._get_thread_lock(thread_id)
+    thread_lock.acquire()
+
+    cancelled_waiter = asyncio.create_task(provider.acquire_async(thread_id))
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
+    cancelled_waiter.cancel()
+    try:
+        await cancelled_waiter
+    except asyncio.CancelledError:
+        pass
+
+    live_waiter = asyncio.create_task(provider.acquire_async(thread_id))
+    thread_lock.release()
+
+    assert await asyncio.wait_for(live_waiter, timeout=1) == "sandbox-successor"
+
+    deadline = asyncio.get_running_loop().time() + 1
+    while asyncio.get_running_loop().time() < deadline:
+        acquired = thread_lock.acquire(blocking=False)
+        if acquired:
+            thread_lock.release()
+            return
+        await asyncio.sleep(0.01)
+
+    pytest.fail("provider thread lock was not released after successor acquire_async")
+
+
 def test_remote_backend_create_forwards_effective_user_id(monkeypatch):
     """Provisioner mode must receive user_id so PVC subPath matches user isolation."""
     remote_mod = importlib.import_module("deerflow.community.aio_sandbox.remote_backend")
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_readiness.py b/backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_readiness.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1560bbab3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_aio_sandbox_readiness.py
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+
+import pytest
+
+from deerflow.community.aio_sandbox import backend as readiness
+
+
+class _FakeAsyncClient:
+    def __init__(self, *, responses: list[object], calls: list[str], timeout: float, request_timeouts: list[float] | None = None) -> None:
+        self._responses = responses
+        self._calls = calls
+        self._timeout = timeout
+        self._request_timeouts = request_timeouts
+
+    async def __aenter__(self) -> _FakeAsyncClient:
+        return self
+
+    async def __aexit__(self, exc_type, exc, tb) -> None:
+        return None
+
+    async def get(self, url: str, *, timeout: float):
+        self._calls.append(url)
+        if self._request_timeouts is not None:
+            self._request_timeouts.append(timeout)
+        response = self._responses.pop(0)
+        if isinstance(response, BaseException):
+            raise response
+        return response
+
+
+class _FakeLoop:
+    def __init__(self, times: list[float]) -> None:
+        self._times = times
+        self._index = 0
+
+    def time(self) -> float:
+        value = self._times[self._index]
+        self._index += 1
+        return value
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_wait_for_sandbox_ready_async_uses_nonblocking_polling(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    calls: list[str] = []
+    sleeps: list[float] = []
+
+    def fake_client(*, timeout: float):
+        return _FakeAsyncClient(
+            responses=[SimpleNamespace(status_code=503), SimpleNamespace(status_code=200)],
+            calls=calls,
+            timeout=timeout,
+        )
+
+    async def fake_sleep(delay: float) -> None:
+        sleeps.append(delay)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.httpx, "AsyncClient", fake_client)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.asyncio, "sleep", fake_sleep)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.requests, "get", lambda *args, **kwargs: (_ for _ in ()).throw(AssertionError("requests.get should not be used")))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.time, "sleep", lambda *_args, **_kwargs: (_ for _ in ()).throw(AssertionError("time.sleep should not be used")))
+
+    assert await readiness.wait_for_sandbox_ready_async("http://sandbox", timeout=5, poll_interval=0.05) is True
+
+    assert calls == ["http://sandbox/v1/sandbox", "http://sandbox/v1/sandbox"]
+    assert sleeps == [0.05]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_wait_for_sandbox_ready_async_retries_request_errors(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    calls: list[str] = []
+    sleeps: list[float] = []
+
+    def fake_client(*, timeout: float):
+        return _FakeAsyncClient(
+            responses=[readiness.httpx.ConnectError("not ready"), SimpleNamespace(status_code=200)],
+            calls=calls,
+            timeout=timeout,
+        )
+
+    async def fake_sleep(delay: float) -> None:
+        sleeps.append(delay)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.httpx, "AsyncClient", fake_client)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.asyncio, "sleep", fake_sleep)
+
+    assert await readiness.wait_for_sandbox_ready_async("http://sandbox", timeout=5, poll_interval=0.01) is True
+
+    assert len(calls) == 2
+    assert sleeps == [0.01]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_wait_for_sandbox_ready_async_clamps_request_and_sleep_to_deadline(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    calls: list[str] = []
+    request_timeouts: list[float] = []
+    sleeps: list[float] = []
+
+    def fake_client(*, timeout: float):
+        return _FakeAsyncClient(
+            responses=[SimpleNamespace(status_code=503)],
+            calls=calls,
+            timeout=timeout,
+            request_timeouts=request_timeouts,
+        )
+
+    async def fake_sleep(delay: float) -> None:
+        sleeps.append(delay)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.httpx, "AsyncClient", fake_client)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.asyncio, "sleep", fake_sleep)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(readiness.asyncio, "get_running_loop", lambda: _FakeLoop([100.0, 100.5, 101.75, 102.0]))
+
+    assert await readiness.wait_for_sandbox_ready_async("http://sandbox", timeout=2, poll_interval=1.0) is False
+
+    assert calls == ["http://sandbox/v1/sandbox"]
+    assert request_timeouts == [1.5]
+    assert sleeps == [0.25]
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_remote_sandbox_backend.py b/backend/tests/test_remote_sandbox_backend.py
index ed4dd7991..beb7564c5 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_remote_sandbox_backend.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_remote_sandbox_backend.py
@@ -159,6 +159,26 @@ def test_provisioner_create_returns_sandbox_info(monkeypatch):
     assert info.sandbox_url == "http://k3s:31001"
 
 
+def test_provisioner_create_accepts_anonymous_thread_id(monkeypatch):
+    backend = RemoteSandboxBackend("http://provisioner:8002")
+
+    def mock_post(url: str, json: dict, timeout: int):
+        assert url == "http://provisioner:8002/api/sandboxes"
+        assert json == {
+            "sandbox_id": "anon123",
+            "thread_id": None,
+            "user_id": "test-user-autouse",
+        }
+        assert timeout == 30
+        return _StubResponse(payload={"sandbox_id": "anon123", "sandbox_url": "http://k3s:31002"})
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(requests, "post", mock_post)
+
+    info = backend.create(None, "anon123")
+    assert info.sandbox_id == "anon123"
+    assert info.sandbox_url == "http://k3s:31002"
+
+
 def test_provisioner_create_raises_runtime_error_on_request_exception(monkeypatch):
     backend = RemoteSandboxBackend("http://provisioner:8002")
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_sandbox_middleware.py b/backend/tests/test_sandbox_middleware.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e3daa3088
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_sandbox_middleware.py
@@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+
+import pytest
+from langchain.agents.middleware import AgentMiddleware
+from langchain.tools import ToolRuntime
+from langgraph.runtime import Runtime
+
+from deerflow.sandbox.middleware import SandboxMiddleware
+from deerflow.sandbox.sandbox import Sandbox
+from deerflow.sandbox.sandbox_provider import SandboxProvider, reset_sandbox_provider, set_sandbox_provider
+from deerflow.sandbox.search import GrepMatch
+from deerflow.sandbox.tools import ls_tool
+
+
+class _SyncProvider(SandboxProvider):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self.thread_ids: list[str | None] = []
+
+    def acquire(self, thread_id: str | None = None) -> str:
+        self.thread_ids.append(thread_id)
+        return "sync-sandbox"
+
+    def get(self, sandbox_id: str) -> Sandbox | None:
+        return None
+
+    def release(self, sandbox_id: str) -> None:
+        return None
+
+
+class _SandboxStub(Sandbox):
+    def execute_command(self, command: str) -> str:
+        return "OK"
+
+    def read_file(self, path: str) -> str:
+        return "content"
+
+    def download_file(self, path: str) -> bytes:
+        return b"content"
+
+    def list_dir(self, path: str, max_depth: int = 2) -> list[str]:
+        return ["/mnt/user-data/workspace/file.txt"]
+
+    def write_file(self, path: str, content: str, append: bool = False) -> None:
+        return None
+
+    def glob(self, path: str, pattern: str, *, include_dirs: bool = False, max_results: int = 200) -> tuple[list[str], bool]:
+        return [], False
+
+    def grep(
+        self,
+        path: str,
+        pattern: str,
+        *,
+        glob: str | None = None,
+        literal: bool = False,
+        case_sensitive: bool = False,
+        max_results: int = 100,
+    ) -> tuple[list[GrepMatch], bool]:
+        return [], False
+
+    def update_file(self, path: str, content: bytes) -> None:
+        return None
+
+
+class _AsyncOnlyProvider(SandboxProvider):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self.thread_ids: list[str | None] = []
+        self.released_ids: list[str] = []
+        self.sandbox = _SandboxStub("async-sandbox")
+
+    def acquire(self, thread_id: str | None = None) -> str:
+        raise AssertionError("async middleware should not call sync acquire")
+
+    async def acquire_async(self, thread_id: str | None = None) -> str:
+        self.thread_ids.append(thread_id)
+        return "async-sandbox"
+
+    def get(self, sandbox_id: str) -> Sandbox | None:
+        if sandbox_id == "async-sandbox":
+            return self.sandbox
+        return None
+
+    def release(self, sandbox_id: str) -> None:
+        self.released_ids.append(sandbox_id)
+        return None
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_provider_default_acquire_async_offloads_sync_acquire(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    provider = _SyncProvider()
+    calls: list[tuple[object, tuple[object, ...]]] = []
+
+    async def fake_to_thread(func, /, *args):
+        calls.append((func, args))
+        return func(*args)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(asyncio, "to_thread", fake_to_thread)
+
+    sandbox_id = await provider.acquire_async("thread-1")
+
+    assert sandbox_id == "sync-sandbox"
+    assert provider.thread_ids == ["thread-1"]
+    assert calls == [(provider.acquire, ("thread-1",))]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_abefore_agent_uses_async_provider_acquire() -> None:
+    provider = _AsyncOnlyProvider()
+    set_sandbox_provider(provider)
+    try:
+        middleware = SandboxMiddleware(lazy_init=False)
+
+        result = await middleware.abefore_agent({}, Runtime(context={"thread_id": "thread-2"}))
+    finally:
+        reset_sandbox_provider()
+
+    assert result == {"sandbox": {"sandbox_id": "async-sandbox"}}
+    assert provider.thread_ids == ["thread-2"]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("middleware", "state", "runtime"),
+    [
+        (SandboxMiddleware(lazy_init=True), {}, Runtime(context={"thread_id": "thread-lazy"})),
+        (SandboxMiddleware(lazy_init=False), {}, Runtime(context={})),
+        (SandboxMiddleware(lazy_init=False), {"sandbox": {"sandbox_id": "existing"}}, Runtime(context={"thread_id": "thread-existing"})),
+    ],
+)
+async def test_abefore_agent_delegates_to_super_when_not_acquiring(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    middleware: SandboxMiddleware,
+    state: dict,
+    runtime: Runtime,
+) -> None:
+    calls: list[tuple[dict, Runtime]] = []
+
+    async def fake_super_abefore_agent(self, state_arg, runtime_arg):
+        calls.append((state_arg, runtime_arg))
+        return {"delegated": True}
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(AgentMiddleware, "abefore_agent", fake_super_abefore_agent)
+
+    result = await middleware.abefore_agent(state, runtime)
+
+    assert result == {"delegated": True}
+    assert calls == [(state, runtime)]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_default_lazy_tool_acquisition_uses_async_provider() -> None:
+    provider = _AsyncOnlyProvider()
+    set_sandbox_provider(provider)
+    try:
+        runtime = ToolRuntime(
+            state={},
+            context={"thread_id": "thread-lazy"},
+            config={"configurable": {}},
+            stream_writer=lambda _: None,
+            tools=[],
+            tool_call_id="call-1",
+            store=None,
+        )
+
+        result = await ls_tool.ainvoke({"runtime": runtime, "description": "list workspace", "path": "/mnt/user-data/workspace"})
+    finally:
+        reset_sandbox_provider()
+
+    assert result == "/mnt/user-data/workspace/file.txt"
+    assert provider.thread_ids == ["thread-lazy"]
+    assert runtime.state["sandbox"] == {"sandbox_id": "async-sandbox"}
+    assert runtime.context["sandbox_id"] == "async-sandbox"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("state", "runtime", "expected_sandbox_id"),
+    [
+        ({"sandbox": {"sandbox_id": "state-sandbox"}}, Runtime(context={}), "state-sandbox"),
+        ({}, Runtime(context={"sandbox_id": "context-sandbox"}), "context-sandbox"),
+    ],
+)
+async def test_aafter_agent_releases_sandbox_off_thread(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    state: dict,
+    runtime: Runtime,
+    expected_sandbox_id: str,
+) -> None:
+    provider = _AsyncOnlyProvider()
+    to_thread_calls: list[tuple[object, tuple[object, ...]]] = []
+
+    async def fake_to_thread(func, /, *args):
+        to_thread_calls.append((func, args))
+        return func(*args)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(asyncio, "to_thread", fake_to_thread)
+    set_sandbox_provider(provider)
+    try:
+        result = await SandboxMiddleware().aafter_agent(state, runtime)
+    finally:
+        reset_sandbox_provider()
+
+    assert result is None
+    assert provider.released_ids == [expected_sandbox_id]
+    assert to_thread_calls == [(provider.release, (expected_sandbox_id,))]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_aafter_agent_delegates_to_super_when_no_sandbox(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    calls: list[tuple[dict, Runtime]] = []
+
+    async def fake_super_aafter_agent(self, state_arg, runtime_arg):
+        calls.append((state_arg, runtime_arg))
+        return {"delegated": True}
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(AgentMiddleware, "aafter_agent", fake_super_aafter_agent)
+
+    state = {}
+    runtime = Runtime(context={})
+    result = await SandboxMiddleware().aafter_agent(state, runtime)
+
+    assert result == {"delegated": True}
+    assert calls == [(state, runtime)]