diff --git a/packages/@n8n/instance-ai/scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh b/packages/@n8n/instance-ai/scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh
index 8518ae96333..ff70eebd55f 100755
--- a/packages/@n8n/instance-ai/scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh
+++ b/packages/@n8n/instance-ai/scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh
@@ -6,14 +6,15 @@
 #   ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh --instance-count 5
 #   ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh 5 --tier pr --verbose
 #   ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh --instance-count 3 --build -- --filter contact-form
+#   ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh --inherit-env --instance-count 1 --build -- --filter contact-form
 #
 # Requires:
 #   - docker
-#   - dotenvx (pnpm exec dotenvx works)
+#   - dotenvx for env-file mode (pnpm exec dotenvx works)
 #   - n8nio/n8n:local image (build with: INCLUDE_TEST_CONTROLLER=true pnpm build:docker)
-#   - .env.local at repo root with N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY (+ optional N8N_EVAL_*).
-#     All KEY=VALUE entries from that file are passed into each lane container via
-#     docker --env-file; lane-specific -e flags below override on conflict.
+#   - Either an env file with N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY (+ optional N8N_EVAL_*),
+#     or --inherit-env with ANTHROPIC_API_KEY exported. Env-file entries are passed
+#     into each lane via docker --env-file; inherited mode passes an allowlist only.
 #
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -30,9 +31,17 @@ EVAL_CONCURRENCY="" # auto = instance-count * 4
 EVAL_ITERATIONS=1
 EVAL_TIER=""
 ENV_FILE=".env.local"
+ENV_FILE_EXPLICIT=false
+INHERIT_ENV=false
 REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
 EVAL_ARGS=()
 CONTAINER_NAMES=()
+DOCKER_RUN_ARGS=()
+SANDBOX_PROJECT_NAME="n8n-eval-sandbox-$$"
+SANDBOX_NETWORK_NAME="n8n-eval-sandbox-$$"
+SANDBOX_ENV_FILE=""
+SANDBOX_ENV_BACKUP=""
+SANDBOX_TEMP_DIR=""
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Helpers
@@ -47,6 +56,7 @@ Options:
   --image NAME        Docker image (default: n8nio/n8n:local)
   --build             Build docker image before starting lanes
   --env-file PATH     Env file relative to repo root (default: .env.local)
+  --inherit-env       Use ANTHROPIC_API_KEY from the shell and a local Docker sandbox
   --concurrency N     Eval scenario concurrency (default: instance-count * 4)
   --iterations N      Eval iterations per case (default: 3)
   --tier NAME         Eval tier filter (default: none; use "pr" for PR suite)
@@ -61,6 +71,7 @@ Examples:
   ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh --instance-count 5
   ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh 5 --build --tier pr --verbose
   ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh --instance-count 3 -- --filter contact-form --keep-workflows
+  ./scripts/run-eval-lanes.sh --inherit-env --instance-count 1 --build -- --filter contact-form
 EOF
 }
 
@@ -185,10 +196,46 @@ dotenvx_run() {
 	fi
 }
 
+prepare_sandbox_env_file() {
+	SANDBOX_ENV_FILE="${REPO_ROOT}/packages/cli/bin/.env"
+	if [[ -e "$SANDBOX_ENV_FILE" ]]; then
+		SANDBOX_ENV_BACKUP="$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/n8n-eval-sandbox-env.XXXXXX")"
+		chmod 600 "$SANDBOX_ENV_BACKUP"
+		cp -p "$SANDBOX_ENV_FILE" "$SANDBOX_ENV_BACKUP"
+	fi
+}
+
+restore_sandbox_env_file() {
+	[[ -n "$SANDBOX_ENV_FILE" ]] || return 0
+	if [[ -n "$SANDBOX_ENV_BACKUP" && -f "$SANDBOX_ENV_BACKUP" ]]; then
+		mv -f "$SANDBOX_ENV_BACKUP" "$SANDBOX_ENV_FILE"
+	else
+		rm -f "$SANDBOX_ENV_FILE"
+	fi
+}
+
+cleanup_local_sandbox() {
+	local ids
+	ids="$(docker ps -aq --filter "label=com.docker.compose.project=${SANDBOX_PROJECT_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+	if [[ -n "$ids" ]]; then
+		log "removing local sandbox containers..."
+		# shellcheck disable=SC2086 # ids is a newline-separated list of container IDs
+		docker rm -f $ids >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+	fi
+	if [[ -n "$SANDBOX_TEMP_DIR" ]]; then
+		rm -rf -- "$SANDBOX_TEMP_DIR"
+	fi
+	docker network rm "$SANDBOX_NETWORK_NAME" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+}
+
 cleanup() {
 	local status=$?
+	restore_sandbox_env_file
 	if [[ "$KEEP_CONTAINERS" == true ]]; then
 		log "keeping containers: ${CONTAINER_NAMES[*]:-none}"
+		if [[ "$INHERIT_ENV" == true ]]; then
+			log "keeping local sandbox project: ${SANDBOX_PROJECT_NAME}"
+		fi
 		exit "$status"
 	fi
 
@@ -196,6 +243,9 @@ cleanup() {
 		log "removing containers..."
 		docker rm -f "${CONTAINER_NAMES[@]}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 	fi
+	if [[ "$INHERIT_ENV" == true ]]; then
+		cleanup_local_sandbox
+	fi
 	exit "$status"
 }
 
@@ -222,8 +272,13 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
 			;;
 		--env-file)
 			ENV_FILE="${2:-}"
+			ENV_FILE_EXPLICIT=true
 			shift 2
 			;;
+		--inherit-env)
+			INHERIT_ENV=true
+			shift
+			;;
 		--concurrency)
 			EVAL_CONCURRENCY="${2:-}"
 			shift 2
@@ -272,6 +327,9 @@ done
 ((INSTANCE_COUNT >= 1)) || die "--instance-count must be >= 1"
 [[ "$START_PORT" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || die "--start-port must be a number"
 ((START_PORT >= 1 && START_PORT <= 65535)) || die "invalid --start-port"
+if [[ "$INHERIT_ENV" == true && "$ENV_FILE_EXPLICIT" == true ]]; then
+	die "--inherit-env and --env-file cannot be used together"
+fi
 
 if [[ -z "$EVAL_CONCURRENCY" ]]; then
 	EVAL_CONCURRENCY=$((INSTANCE_COUNT * 4))
@@ -304,10 +362,35 @@ done
 
 BASE_URL_CSV="$(IFS=,; printf '%s' "${BASE_URLS[*]}")"
 
-[[ -f "$ENV_FILE_PATH" ]] || die "Env file not found: $ENV_FILE_PATH"
+if [[ "$INHERIT_ENV" == true ]]; then
+	[[ -n "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:-}" ]] || die "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is empty"
 
-API_KEY="$(load_env_var N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY "$ENV_FILE_PATH")"
-[[ -n "$API_KEY" ]] || die "N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY is empty"
+	export N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY="$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
+	export N8N_AI_ENABLED="${N8N_AI_ENABLED:-true}"
+	export N8N_ENABLED_MODULES="${N8N_ENABLED_MODULES:-instance-ai}"
+	export N8N_INSTANCE_AI_SANDBOX_ENABLED=true
+	export N8N_INSTANCE_AI_SANDBOX_PROVIDER=n8n-sandbox
+	export N8N_SANDBOX_SERVICE_URL=http://sandbox-api:8080
+	export N8N_SANDBOX_SERVICE_API_KEY=n8n-sandbox-ci-key
+
+	for name in \
+		ANTHROPIC_API_KEY \
+		N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY \
+		N8N_AI_ENABLED \
+		N8N_ENABLED_MODULES \
+		N8N_INSTANCE_AI_SANDBOX_ENABLED \
+		N8N_INSTANCE_AI_SANDBOX_PROVIDER \
+		N8N_SANDBOX_SERVICE_URL \
+		N8N_SANDBOX_SERVICE_API_KEY; do
+		DOCKER_RUN_ARGS+=(-e "$name")
+	done
+	DOCKER_RUN_ARGS+=(--network "$SANDBOX_NETWORK_NAME")
+else
+	[[ -f "$ENV_FILE_PATH" ]] || die "Env file not found: $ENV_FILE_PATH"
+	API_KEY="$(load_env_var N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY "$ENV_FILE_PATH")"
+	[[ -n "$API_KEY" ]] || die "N8N_INSTANCE_AI_MODEL_API_KEY is empty"
+	DOCKER_RUN_ARGS+=(--env-file "$ENV_FILE_PATH")
+fi
 
 if [[ "$BUILD_IMAGE" == true ]]; then
 	log "building docker image ${IMAGE}..."
@@ -318,11 +401,28 @@ fi
 
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Start local sandbox
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+if [[ "$INHERIT_ENV" == true ]]; then
+	prepare_sandbox_env_file
+	SANDBOX_TEMP_DIR="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/${SANDBOX_PROJECT_NAME}.XXXXXX")"
+	log "starting local Docker sandbox on network ${SANDBOX_NETWORK_NAME}"
+	TMPDIR="$SANDBOX_TEMP_DIR" pnpm --filter n8n-containers services \
+		--services sandbox \
+		--network "$SANDBOX_NETWORK_NAME" \
+		--name "$SANDBOX_PROJECT_NAME"
+fi
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Start lanes
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 log "starting ${INSTANCE_COUNT} lane(s) on ports: ${PORTS[*]}"
-log "lane env file: ${ENV_FILE_PATH}"
+if [[ "$INHERIT_ENV" == true ]]; then
+	log "lane environment: inherited allowlist"
+else
+	log "lane env file: ${ENV_FILE_PATH}"
+fi
 
 for port in "${PORTS[@]}"; do
 	name="n8n-eval-${port}"
@@ -338,7 +438,7 @@ for port in "${PORTS[@]}"; do
 	# Same bounds as CI (test-evals-instance-ai.yml): capped + restartable
 	# lanes, pruned executions.
 	docker run -d --name "$name" \
-		--env-file "$ENV_FILE_PATH" \
+		"${DOCKER_RUN_ARGS[@]}" \
 		--memory 2.5g --memory-swap 2.5g \
 		--restart on-failure \
 		--log-opt max-size=50m --log-opt max-file=2 \
@@ -405,4 +505,8 @@ if [[ ${#EVAL_ARGS[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
 	ARGS+=("${EVAL_ARGS[@]}")
 fi
 
-dotenvx_run "${ARGS[@]}"
+if [[ "$INHERIT_ENV" == true ]]; then
+	"${ARGS[@]}"
+else
+	dotenvx_run "${ARGS[@]}"
+fi