Coder

Self-hosted cloud development environments

Coder runs code-server — Visual Studio Code served straight to the browser, backed by remote compute. No desktop or VNC: the editor is the web page, reached over a single HTTP port.

Usage

1. Deploy

dxflow workflow create --identity coder hub://coder

# Start with defaults, or tune per run with --override
dxflow workflow start coder
dxflow workflow start coder \
    --override env.app.PASSWORD=my-strong-pass \
    --override env.app.WORKING_DIR=projects/my-app

# Publish the web port on an HTTPS link
dxflow workflow start coder --link

2. Open the editor

Open your browser at http://localhost:8080 and sign in with the password you set in PASSWORD. code-server opens on the working directory. A start given --link publishes port 8080 at an HTTPS URL printed on the start line, opening code-server from anywhere.

3. Persist data

The editor opens under /volume, so your code, settings, and extensions survive restarts — mount a local directory there to keep your work.

Configuration

name: coder
tags:
    - development
steps:
    - name: app
      runtime: docker
      mode: parallel
      image: ghcr.io/dxflow-ai/coder:latest
      volumes:
          - name: volume
            host: ./volume
            container: /volume
      ports:
          - name: web
            host: "8080"
            container: "8080"
      env:
          - PASSWORD=dxflow
          - WORKING_DIR=/
      resources:
          cpu: "2"
          memory: 4G
      link: web
[volume]
app.volume = ./volume

[port]
app.web = 8080

[env]
app.PASSWORD = dxflow
app.WORKING_DIR = /

[resource]
app.cpu = 2
app.memory = 4G
{
    "arch": ["amd64", "arm64"],
    "image": "ghcr.io/dxflow-ai/coder:latest",
    "version": "4.96",
    "minimum": {
        "cpu": 2,
        "memory": "2G",
        "storage": "20G"
    }
}

Notes

  • WORKING_DIR is resolved under /volume (default / opens /volume). Set it to a subpath like projects/my-app to open straight into a project.
  • Set a strong PASSWORD; it defaults to dxflow, which every reader of this page knows. code-server asks for it on a sign-in page, so the password is the only way in.
  • The shell is zsh, and python3 and git are preinstalled for use from the integrated terminal.