---
title: "Modal Python SDK 1.6.0 removes the legacy Sandbox filesystem APIs: 2026-09-28 | Harbyn"
description: "Modal Python SDK 1.6.0 removes the legacy Sandbox filesystem APIs, announced Sep 28, 2026; replacement: Sandbox.filesystem."
canonical: "https://harbyn.com/changes/modal/2026-09-28-legacy-sandbox-filesystem-apis-removed"
last-updated: 2026-10-08
---

# Modal Python SDK 1.6.0 removes the legacy Sandbox filesystem APIs

Markdown version of <https://harbyn.com/changes/modal/2026-09-28-legacy-sandbox-filesystem-apis-removed>.

Breaking change - Modal. medium severity. In effect.

modal 1.6.0 removes Sandbox.open(), Sandbox.ls(), Sandbox.mkdir(), Sandbox.rm(), Sandbox.watch(), the modal.file\_io.FileIO type and the modal.exception.FilesystemExecutionError exception. Use the Sandbox.filesystem APIs instead.

## Facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Vendor | [Modal](https://harbyn.com/vendors/modal.md) |
| Kind | Breaking change |
| Severity | medium |
| Status | In effect |
| Announced | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Added to Harbyn | Oct 8, 2026 |
| Lead time | No dated deadline |
| Packages | `pypi: modal <1.6.0` |
| Symbols | `Sandbox.open`, `Sandbox.ls`, `Sandbox.mkdir`, `Sandbox.rm`, `Sandbox.watch`, `modal.file_io.FileIO`, `modal.exception.FilesystemExecutionError` |
| Replacement | `Sandbox.filesystem` |
| Review | Reviewed by a person, extracted by a model |

## Find it in your code

```sh
npx harbyn scan
```

The scanner reads your repository on your machine and reports every file and line that uses the identifiers above, with the replacement. Nothing leaves your machine.

## Sources

Where this event comes from: the page we read, when we read it, and the hash of that snapshot.

- <https://modal.com/docs/sdk/py/releases> (changelog, fetched 2026-10-08 23:25 UTC, sha256 `157ab91d1b58857dd1192a319642fb0050c12bceec92031ee033fcbb1dc973a3`)

## Related changes

### More from Modal

- [Python SDK 1.6.0 changes the JSON output of modal volume ls and modal queue list](https://harbyn.com/changes/modal/2026-09-28-cli-json-output-formats-changed.md) (Breaking change, announced Sep 28, 2026)
- [Python SDK 1.6.0 no longer allows a custom \_\_init\_\_ on @app.cls() classes](https://harbyn.com/changes/modal/2026-09-28-custom-constructors-no-longer-allowed-on-decorated-classes.md) (Breaking change, announced Sep 28, 2026)
- [Python SDK 1.6.0 removes the experimental modal bootstrap CLI](https://harbyn.com/changes/modal/2026-09-28-experimental-bootstrap-cli-removed.md) (Breaking change, announced Sep 28, 2026)
- [Sandbox.create() now blocks until the Sandbox is scheduled in Python SDK 1.6.0](https://harbyn.com/changes/modal/2026-09-28-sandbox-creation-waits-for-scheduling.md) (Behavior change, announced Sep 28, 2026)

### Changes at other vendors

- [Amazon Selling Partner API: October listing attribute usage and enumeration value updates](https://harbyn.com/changes/amazon-sp-api/2026-10-14-sp-api-updates-new-listings-items-api-ivp-values-in-eu5-jp-and-ca-stores-oct-2.md) (effective Oct 26, 2026)
- [Supabase: four CBC-mode TLS 1.2 cipher suites will be removed from project HTTP APIs](https://harbyn.com/changes/supabase/2026-10-12-an-outdated-subset-of-tls-1-2-ciphers-will-be-disabled-on-project-http-apis.md) (effective Nov 10, 2026)
- [Google Workspace APIs: OAuth clients must be marked as agentic to call Google Workspace MCP servers](https://harbyn.com/changes/google-workspace/2026-10-12-oauth-clients-must-be-marked-as-agentic-to-call-google-workspace-mcp-servers.md) (effective Nov 11, 2026)
- [Bitbucket Cloud API: Git Credential Manager upgrade required for OAuth 2.0 Git authentication](https://harbyn.com/changes/bitbucket/2026-10-13-git-credential-manager-upgrade-required-for-oauth-2-0-git-authentication.md) (effective Nov 30, 2026)

[All upcoming deadlines](https://harbyn.com/deadlines.md)