Your app is not beholden to sandboxing unless you specifically are using sandboxing as part of your application configuration. It would also only apply to app bundles.

I can make a command line tool or a standalone Qt application right now without having sandboxing pop up at all.

Even for access that the OS protects the user from, as an app developer I rarely need to think about it. When I try and access a limited area it asks the user for me.

Source: self after working on lots of varied code bases from web dev to 3D libraries and standalone applications for over a decade.