Do I need a domain name for Coder?

Yes. Workspaces and your browser connect to the server on its HTTPS address, which must be a stable name with a certificate. No need to buy one: every ServOrbit VPS comes with a free subdomain (coder.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com) with HTTPS. You can also use a subdomain of one of your domains.

How do I log in for the first time?

Open https://your-domain and enter the address admin@servorbit.local with the password shown in your client area. The owner account is created at install time: the first-administrator sign-up screen is never exposed to the Internet. Then change the password in the account settings.

Does Coder have access to my whole VPS?

Yes, through the Docker socket: that is what lets it create one container per workspace. Anyone who can edit a template can therefore act on the server. Keep the owner role and template administration for trusted people, and give other developers a member account.

How many workspaces can a VPS run?

The Coder server and its database use about 550 MB of RAM. An idle workspace based on the Docker template image uses about 200 MB, much more during a build. Plan 2 GB of RAM for one or two developers, 4 to 8 GB for a small team, and enable automatic stop for idle workspaces.

Kick off a software project quickly.

Coder

Coder — your development environments on your own VPS: Docker workspaces, VS Code in the browser, SSH access and Terraform templates.

2 GB minimum RAM 2 vCPU Port 8114 In validation

In validation

Automatic installation for this solution is ready and currently going through our tests on a real server. Ordering will open as soon as validation is complete.

Source code

Tech stack

DockerGoTerraformPostgreSQL

Minimum RAM2 GB minimum

Minimum CPU2 vCPU

Default port8114

Compatible OSChoice of Linux distributions

Coder is an open-source platform (AGPL-3.0 licence) that creates on-demand development environments on your own infrastructure. Instead of installing the same tools on every laptop, you describe a project's environment once in a Terraform template — image, languages, extensions, resources — and every developer gets their workspace in one click, identical to their teammates'.

On a ServOrbit VPS, each workspace is a Docker container on the server. You connect from the browser with VS Code (code-server), from VS Code or a JetBrains IDE installed on your machine, or over SSH with the `coder ssh` command. Code and dependencies stay on the VPS: a modest computer is enough to work, and onboarding a new developer no longer takes a day of setup. It is a self-hosted alternative to GitHub Codespaces or Gitpod.

Key features

On-demand workspaces — each developer creates, stops and deletes their environments from the web interface or the command line.

Terraform templates — a project's environment is described once, versioned and shared by the whole team; the "Docker Containers" template is included.

Access from any editor — VS Code in the browser, VS Code Desktop, JetBrains IDEs or an SSH terminal with coder ssh.

Port forwarding — open the application you are building from your machine with coder port-forward, without exposing the container.

Automatic stop — idle workspaces stop according to the template schedule and free the VPS memory.

Accounts and single sign-on — local accounts, GitHub login or OpenID Connect for the whole team.

When to use this solution?

1

Onboard a new developer in minutes

The intern or freelancer gets an account, picks the project template and starts coding within a minute, with the right versions of PHP, Node.js or Python already installed.

2

Code from a light laptop or on the move

A modest laptop, a tablet or a shared computer is enough: builds, tests and containers run on the VPS, not on the local machine.

3

Keep your clients' code on your server

For an agency or a team with confidentiality requirements, source code and secrets stay on a VPS you control instead of being copied to every computer.

Deploy Coder on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Create the VPS and choose the address

Order an Ubuntu 24.04 VPS with at least 2 GB of RAM; plan 4 GB or more for several active workspaces. Coder requires a domain: workspaces call the server back on its HTTPS address. It opens on a subdomain of one of your domains, or on the VPS's free subdomain (coder.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com), HTTPS included. No need to buy a domain name.

02

Install Coder from the Marketplace

In your client area, select Coder, choose the address and click Install. The script deploys the Coder server and its PostgreSQL database, generates the administrator password, creates the owner account and configures the nginx reverse proxy over HTTPS, WebSocket included.

03

Log in for the first time

Open https://your-domain and sign in with the address [email protected] and the password shown in your client area. This account owns the installation: change its password in the account settings, under Security, then create your team's accounts.

04

Create the Docker template and a first workspace

In Templates, click Create Template, choose the "Docker Containers" starter template and confirm. Then create a workspace from this template: Coder starts a container on the VPS, installs its agent in it and shows the Running state in under a minute.

05

Work from VS Code or the terminal

From the workspace page, open code-server in the browser, or install the CLI on your machine: coder login https://your-domain, then coder ssh <workspace> or coder config-ssh to use VS Code Remote-SSH and JetBrains IDEs.

Frequently asked questions

code-server is VS Code in the browser, for one person and one environment. Coder manages workspaces for a whole team: accounts, versioned environment templates, on-demand creation and stop, access from the browser, a local IDE or SSH. It actually uses code-server inside its workspaces.

Complementary solutions

Development

Coder isn't orderable yet.