diff --git a/go/sandboxaid/handler/handler.go b/go/sandboxaid/handler/handler.go
index 482b2be..1d792ff 100644
--- a/go/sandboxaid/handler/handler.go
+++ b/go/sandboxaid/handler/handler.go
@@ -31,15 +31,17 @@ var log Logger = stdlog.New(os.Stderr, "", stdlog.LstdFlags)
 
 type Handler struct {
 	http.Handler
-	client client.Client
+	client       client.Client
+	defaultImage string
 }
 
-func NewHandler(client client.Client) *Handler {
+func NewHandler(client client.Client, defaultImage string) *Handler {
 	r := chi.NewRouter()
 
 	h := &Handler{
-		Handler: r,
-		client:  client,
+		Handler:      r,
+		client:       client,
+		defaultImage: defaultImage,
 	}
 
 	// Log to stderr.
@@ -76,6 +78,9 @@ func (h *Handler) v1PostSandbox(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		sendError(w, r, err, http.StatusBadRequest)
 		return
 	}
+	if s.Spec.Image == "" {
+		s.Spec.Image = h.defaultImage
+	}
 
 	created, err := h.client.CreateSandbox(r.Context(), space, &s)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/go/sandboxaid/main.go b/go/sandboxaid/main.go
index 9c35ebc..c618efe 100644
--- a/go/sandboxaid/main.go
+++ b/go/sandboxaid/main.go
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/substratusai/sandboxai/go/sandboxaid/handler"
 )
 
+const (
+	defaultDefaultImage = "substratusai/sandboxai-box:v0.2.0"
+)
+
 func main() {
 	host, ok := os.LookupEnv("SANDBOXAID_HOST")
 	if !ok {
@@ -41,6 +45,11 @@ func main() {
 		deleteOnShutdown = strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(val)) == "true"
 	}
 
+	defaultImage, ok := os.LookupEnv("SANDBOXAID_DEFAULT_IMAGE")
+	if !ok {
+		defaultImage = defaultDefaultImage
+	}
+
 	log := log.New(os.Stderr, "", log.LstdFlags)
 	handler.SetLogger(log)
 	docker.SetLogger(log)
@@ -86,7 +95,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	server := &http.Server{
 		Addr:    fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", host, port),
-		Handler: handler.NewHandler(client),
+		Handler: handler.NewHandler(client, defaultImage),
 	}
 
 	go func() {
diff --git a/python/sandboxai/sandbox.py b/python/sandboxai/sandbox.py
index 87e8d53..1381e29 100644
--- a/python/sandboxai/sandbox.py
+++ b/python/sandboxai/sandbox.py
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@
 
 log = getLogger(__name__)
 
-DEFAULT_IMAGE = "substratusai/sandboxai-box:v0.2.0"
-
 # Prevent multiple Sandbox() instances from attempting to start the
 # embedded server at the same time.
 embedded_mutex = Lock()
@@ -35,7 +33,7 @@ def __init__(
         lazy_create: bool = False,
         space: str = "default",
         name: str = None,
-        image: str = DEFAULT_IMAGE,
+        image: str = None,
         env: dict = None,
     ):
         """
diff --git a/python/sandboxai/sandbox_test.py b/python/sandboxai/sandbox_test.py
index 92db40d..76491df 100644
--- a/python/sandboxai/sandbox_test.py
+++ b/python/sandboxai/sandbox_test.py
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import os
 import pytest
 from sandboxai import Sandbox
-from sandboxai.sandbox import DEFAULT_IMAGE
+
+import logging
+
+logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def box_image():
-    return os.environ.get("BOX_IMAGE", DEFAULT_IMAGE)
+    return os.environ.get("BOX_IMAGE")
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -53,14 +56,20 @@ def test_sandbox_lazy_create(box_image):
 
 def test_with_specified_name(box_image):
     try:
-        sb = Sandbox(embedded=True, lazy_create=True, image=box_image, name="test-name")
-        assert sb.name == "test-name"
-        sb.create()
+        sb = Sandbox(embedded=True, image=box_image, name="test-name")
         assert sb.name == "test-name"
     finally:
         sb.delete()
 
 
+def test_non_embedded(base_url):
+    try:
+        sb = Sandbox(base_url=base_url)
+        assert sb.image
+    finally:
+        sb.delete()
+
+
 # These tests pass locally but fail on github actions.
 # def test_sandbox_embedded_server():
 #     with Sandbox(embedded=True) as sb:
diff --git a/test/e2e/run.sh b/test/e2e/run.sh
index 0a41aac..40c5d22 100755
--- a/test/e2e/run.sh
+++ b/test/e2e/run.sh
@@ -50,5 +50,5 @@ go test -v .
 cd $repo_root
 
 cd $repo_root/python
-uv run pytest
+uv run pytest -o log_cli=true
 cd $repo_root