Methods and apparatus, including computer systems and program products, for sharing objects in runtime systems. A set of objects is identified, each object having a reference to runtime metadata about the object in a first runtime system. The reference to the runtime metadata in each object is replaced with a proxy, and the set of objects is transmitted to a second runtime system, where the proxy in each object is replaced with a reference to runtime metadata about the object in the second runtime system. In some implementations, the runtime metadata can be installed in the second runtime system if it is not already available. The set of objects can include a shared closure of objects, which can be shared between runtime systems (including virtual machines) located on distinct physical machines. Sharing objects between runtime systems on multiple machines can provide isolation between user sessions in a scalable manner.