VS Code Server

Visual Studio Code in the browser, backed by remote compute

Visual Studio Code, streamed here in a remote desktop session and backed by remote compute. It builds on the Ubuntu Desktop image — VS Code launches maximized with the window decorations and taskbar hidden, and ships with Miniconda for Python environments.

Configuration

name: vscode
tags:
    - development
steps:
    - name: app
      platform: docker
      mode: parallel
      image: ghcr.io/dxflow-ai/vscode:latest
      volumes:
          - name: volume
            host: ./volume
            container: /volume
      ports:
          - name: web
            host: "6082"
            container: "6082"
          - name: vnc
            host: "5901"
            container: "5901"
          - name: audio
            host: "6100"
            container: "6100"
      env:
          - VNC_PASSWORD=changeme
          - WALLPAPER=show
          - PANEL=hide
          - TASKBAR=hide
          - AUDIO=off
          - AUDIO_PORT=6100
          - AUDIO_CHANNELS=1
          - AUDIO_RATE=22050
      resources:
          cpu: "2"
          memory: 4G

[volume]
app.volume = ./volume

[port]
app.web = 6082
app.vnc = 5901
app.audio = 6100

[env]
app.VNC_PASSWORD = changeme
app.WALLPAPER = show
app.PANEL = hide
app.TASKBAR = hide
app.AUDIO = off
app.AUDIO_PORT = 6100
app.AUDIO_CHANNELS = 1
app.AUDIO_RATE = 22050

[resource]
app.cpu = 2
app.memory = 4G

{
    "arch": ["amd64", "arm64"],
    "image": "ghcr.io/dxflow-ai/vscode:latest",
    "version": "1.91",
    "minimum": {
        "cpu": 2,
        "memory": "2G",
        "storage": "20G"
    }
}

Usage

1. Deploy

dxflow workflow create --identity vscode vscode.yml

# Start with defaults, or tune per run with --override
dxflow workflow start vscode
dxflow workflow start vscode \
    --override env.app.VNC_PASSWORD=my-strong-pass \
    --override env.app.TASKBAR=show

2. Open the editor

Open your browser at http://localhost:6082/vnc.html and enter the password you set in VNC_PASSWORD. VS Code is already running and maximized. Port 5901 is also exposed for connecting a native VNC client.

3. Persist data

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

Notes

Set a strong VNC_PASSWORD; if unset, the desktop falls back to the password anonymous.
VS Code runs with --no-sandbox because it runs as root inside the container. Keep the session private and protected by VNC_PASSWORD.
Miniconda is installed at /opt/miniconda and on the PATH — use conda to manage Python environments from the integrated terminal.
GitHub Copilot is installed on first launch into the persisted extensions directory.
The panel and taskbar are hidden by default so the editor fills the screen. Set PANEL=show or TASKBAR=show to bring back the window decorations and taskbar.
Audio: off by default. Set AUDIO=on to stream desktop sound; tune with AUDIO_CHANNELS (1 or 2) and AUDIO_RATE (8000/16000/22050/32000/44100). The audio port is AUDIO_PORT (default 6100) — the client follows it, so to run two sessions on one host give each its own port by setting AUDIO_PORT and the matching audio port mapping together.

Development

Pre-configured cloud development environments and IDEs

Coder

Self-hosted cloud development environments