code-server on your own server, in one click.
Code in VS Code from any browser with code-server, on a server you own. ServerAvatar runs it in one Docker container, keeps your home folder in a volume, generates the sign-in password and turns HTTPS on for you.
- One container
- VS Code in the browser
- One password, no username
Section 01What is code-server
What is code-server?
code-server is VS Code that runs on a server and opens in your browser. Coder builds it on the open-source core of VS Code, so you get the same editor, terminal and extensions on any device, while builds, tests and downloads run on the server instead of your laptop.
This recipe runs the official code-server image in one container. Your home folder, /home/coder, is a Docker volume, so projects, settings, installed extensions and the terminal's shell history survive restarts and image updates. There are no user accounts: you sign in with one password.
- Free and open source (MIT)
- Built on the open-source core of VS Code
- Extensions from Open VSX
Section 02Features
What you can do with code-server
VS Code in a browser tab
Work in the editor you know, with the file explorer, search across files, the Command Palette, settings and themes, from any computer or tablet with a browser.
A terminal on your server
Open a terminal in the editor to run builds, tests and scripts on the server. It is a shell inside the container, with git, curl, wget, nano, vim and zsh ready to use.
Extensions from Open VSX
Install language support, linters, formatters and themes from the Extensions view. code-server uses the Open VSX gallery, and you can also install a downloaded .vsix file.
Git built in
Clone, commit, branch and push from the Source Control view or the terminal. The image includes git, Git LFS and an SSH client.
Preview what you run
Start a dev server in the terminal and open it at your-domain/proxy/3000/ if it listens on port 3000. code-server passes it through behind the same password, so you can check a web app without opening another port.
Install it as an app
Install code-server as a progressive web app in Chrome, or add it to the Home Screen on an iPad. It opens in its own window, and more keyboard shortcuts reach the editor instead of the browser.
Section 03Requirements
What you need
A fresh Ubuntu server you can log in to as root. The installer checks all of this before it changes anything.
| Requirement | code-server on Docker |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04 LTS (x86-64) |
| CPU | 2 cores or more |
| RAM | 1 GB or more |
| Disk | 10 GB or more (25 GB recommended) |
| Containers | code-server 4.141 |
| Ports | 80 and 443 open |
CPU and RAM are code-server's own minimum recommendation: 2 CPU cores and 1 GB of RAM. Disk: about 7.5 GB is in use once the panel and code-server are installed on our test server; 25 GB is Ubuntu's recommendation.
Section 04Install
How to install code-server
Every step happens in the ServerAvatar panel. No terminal needed.
Pick code-server in 1-Click Recipes
On your server, open Applications, click Create application and search for code-server under 1-Click Recipes.
Name it and choose a domain
Give the app a name and use your own domain, or a temporary one that works right away. The panel creates a system user for it.
Create it
Click Create application. The panel starts code-server, turns HTTPS on and shows the sign-in password it generated. Copy it somewhere safe.
Sign in and start coding
Open the app's domain and enter the password from the panel; code-server has no username. VS Code opens in the browser: open a folder in /home/coder or clone a Git repository, and start working.
Section 05FAQ
Questions,answered.
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