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Development

Coder

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

Official documentation Source code

About Coder

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.

What gets installed

Ready when the VPS starts

Compatible OS
Choice of Linux distributions
Application
Coder
Tech stack
DockerGoTerraformPostgreSQL
Minimum RAM
2 GB minimum
Minimum CPU
2 vCPU
Default port
8114
Access
root over SSH

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?

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.

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.

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.

Guide

Deploy Coder on your VPS

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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

Questions about Coder

← Back to DevelopmentAll applications
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.

Embed the deploy button

Maintaining a project that uses Coder? This button lets your readers deploy it on a VPS in one click, without reading Docker documentation.

Deploy Coder on ServOrbit
Markdown
[![Deploy Coder on ServOrbit](https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg)](https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=coder&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=coder)
HTML
<a href="https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=coder&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=coder"><img src="https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg" alt="Deploy Coder on ServOrbit" height="40"></a>

The button points to a VPS order with the template preselected. The image is served from servorbit.com — nothing to host on your side.

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Need help?

Browse our help center and FAQ, or reach our team — callback, WhatsApp or email.

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