No IDs or time zone
You choose a password at deploy. The container's user, group and clock are not yours to look up.
code-server 4.138.0 DevOps
Free credit available Limited time
code-server hosting VS Code in your browser, on HTTPS with your ownย password.
code-server hosting puts VS Code in your browser, running on a dedicated server we provision, secure and run. It opens on HTTPS behind a password you choose, with a terminal that has sudo. Your settings, extensions and workspace stay put across restarts and redeploys.
No install script, no reverse proxy and no password to dig out of config.yaml.
code-serverone-click template ready
- editorcode-server 4.138.0
- sign-inyour password, 12+
- HTTPSon from the start
- terminalsudo, same password
- kept on redeploysettings, extensions, files
European 4 GB server$0.02/hr
In one line
What is code-server hosting?
What it is
code-server is Coder's open source build of VS Code that runs on a server and opens in a browser tab. This template runs it, with a terminal, on a server of its own.
Where to start. Open the console with code-server selected
Who it is for
Developers who switch between machines and those who code from a Chromebook or tablet. Also anyone who wants heavy builds off their laptop.
When to use it
When you want one editor that looks the same on every device, without setting up the server, the proxy and the certificate yourself.
Server
code-server hosting, set up for you
Hosting code-server yourself means an install script, a service to enable and a random password read out of config.yaml. Then the guides say bind it to localhost and put Nginx or Caddy in front with a certificate, because an open editor is a terminal on the internet. Here all of that is done first.
The stack, end to end
Callers
Your browser
Edge
HTTPS
Your project server
Container
code-server
sudo
Terminal
Your files
/config/workspace
To sign in
Your password
| code-server by hand | code-server hosting on Selfhost.dev |
|---|---|
| Run the install script, then enable the service | code-server running when the deploy finishes |
| Read a random password from config.yaml | A password you choose at deploy, 12 characters or more |
| Bind to 127.0.0.1, then add a proxy and a certificate | HTTPS on a generated address before the first sign-in |
| Point a domain at the server and reissue the certificate | Your own domain, added from Settings |
Nothing reaches the editor or its terminal without your password. Deploy the stack
Container
code-server Docker, already running on HTTPS
code-server Docker guides pick an image, then set a user ID, a group ID, a time zone and a password, map two folders and publish port 8443. They end by telling you to add HTTPS, because copy and paste and web views need it. This container is on HTTPS before you sign in.
No folders to map
Settings, extensions and /config/workspace already persist across restarts and redeploys.
No port 8443 to publish
The editor answers on its HTTPS address, the secure context its web views need.
What you need
code-server hosting requirements
code-server hosting here needs a 4 GB server, the smallest we offer, on x86 or ARM. On your side, a modern browser is enough, so a Chromebook or a tablet works as well as a laptop. Pick a password of 12 characters or more. A domain is optional.
What it needs
- Server
- 4 GB, the smallest server we offer; x86 or ARM
- Your device
- Any modern browser: laptop, Chromebook or tablet
- Password
- 12 characters or more, set at deploy
- Domain
- Optional; the generated HTTPS address works first
Server size: 4 GB, enough for code-server. Deploy on a 4 GB server
Quickstart
How to start code-server hosting in 3 steps
Launch, sign in, open a project.
-
Launch the template
Launch opens code-server in the console. Set a password of 12 characters or more and accept the no-mining agreement. Before your first top-up, a platform admin approves it. The template deploys in about ten minutes.
-
Sign in
Open the HTTPS address the console shows and enter your password. There is no username to remember.
-
Open a project
Start in
/config/workspaceor clone a repository from the terminal. sudo takes the same password when you install tools.
Deploy code-serverStep 1 starts in the console.
Launch code-server Billing
code-server hosting cost
code-server hosting costs one server and nothing per seat, per core or per stored gigabyte. A European 4 GB server is $0.02/hr from prepaid credits, which comes to about $15 to $16 a month. The extensions and tools you install add nothing.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| The code-server template | $0 |
| Bandwidth to the editor | $0, traffic is included in the server price |
| Optional daily backups | +20% of the server price |
| Extensions and tools you install | $0 |
| Server | RAM, cores, disk | Where | Rate | About a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
cx23 (recommended) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $15.18 |
cax11 (ARM) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $16.35 |
cpx21 | 4 GB, 3 cores, 80 GB | US | $0.12/hr | $87.75 |
cpx22 | 4 GB, 2 cores, 80 GB | Singapore | $0.10/hr | $72.56 |
Monthly figures assume 730 hours.
If your balance reaches zero
With a card on file or a past top-up, code-server keeps running for 5 days after your balance reaches zero. Then it is stopped and kept for 24 hours before it is deleted; a top-up in that time restarts it. After the delete, a copy of the server is kept for 14 days and you can restore the project from the Projects page. We email you when the balance reaches zero and again when it stops. Welcome-credit-only servers are deleted at zero, with a 3-day copy if the project went live.
Price a bigger server for heavy builds in the calculator, no signup.
Options
code-server hosting vs GitHub Codespaces
GitHub Codespaces builds a fresh cloud workspace for each repository and bills it by core-hour while it runs, plus storage per GB-month. code-server hosting here is one editor on one server, billed at a flat hourly rate. Your extensions and files are where you left them each time you open it.
| GitHub Codespaces | code-server on Selfhost.dev | |
|---|---|---|
| How it bills | Per hour while active, by core count, plus storage | One server by the hour |
| Workspaces | A new one per repository | One editor; clone any repository |
| Extensions | The Visual Studio Marketplace | Open VSX |
| Where it runs | GitHub's cloud | A server of your own |
Status
code-server: five checks behind every deploy
- Every service is health-checked every 60 seconds.
- A stalled deploy is retried automatically, not left half done.
- A deploy is never reported done until the URL answers.
- The editor never starts open. Your password guards it from the first request.
- HTTPS is on before you sign in. That is the secure context code-server's web views need.
~10 min to deploy
The console estimates about ten minutes for the code-server template after the server is ready; first-time server provisioning adds time.
Notes
code-server hosting limitations
- One password, one workspace. There is no username or per-user account. Anyone with the password shares your editor, files and terminal, so give each developer a deployment of their own.
- Extensions come from Open VSX. Microsoft keeps its marketplace for its own VS Code, so code-server uses the open Open VSX registry. A few Microsoft-only extensions are not there.
- Keep your code in Git. Your workspace persists across restarts and redeploys, but a repository you push to is the copy that does not depend on one server.
Nothing here in your way? The template deploys in about ten minutes.
Launch code-server Planning
Setting up editors for a team?
Tell us how many developers and what they build. We reply with the servers we would pick and what they cost a month.
Help
Frequently asked questions
Is code-server hosting safe on the open internet?
Here it is locked from the first request. The editor starts behind the password you set at deploy (12 characters or more) and answers only on HTTPS. There is no window where code-server runs open while you add a proxy. Choose a long password, because whoever holds it also holds your terminal.
How do I sign in to code-server?
There is no username. Open the HTTPS address the console shows and enter the password you set at deploy time. The same password unlocks sudo in the terminal, so installing a package or a language runtime needs no second credential to keep track of.
Does code-server keep my extensions and files?
Yes. Settings, extensions and the default workspace in /config/workspace persist across restarts and redeploys, so the editor reopens as you left it. You can also clone a repository from the integrated terminal. Push your work to Git as you go; it keeps a copy that does not depend on this one server.
Can I use my own domain for code-server?
Yes. The editor first answers on a generated HTTPS address. Once it is running, add one domain you own from the service's Settings screen and follow the DNS instructions shown there. After the record resolves, code-server answers on your domain as well.
Is code-server the same as Microsoft's VS Code Server?
No. Microsoft's VS Code Server is the remote backend for Microsoft's own editor, reached through its Remote Tunnels. code-server is Coder's open source project: VS Code in any browser, with password sign-in and extensions from Open VSX. This template runs code-server.
Why might a new code-server wait for approval?
On an organisation that has not topped up yet, a platform admin reviews each new code-server before it starts. Its name is reserved meanwhile and you get an email when it is approved or declined. After a top-up it starts straight away. Crypto mining is banned on every server. To withdraw a request, delete the service.
Related guides.
VS Code in your browser. Locked from the first request.
- code-server on a server of its own, opened in any browser
- HTTPS and your password before the first sign-in
- A European 4 GB server, about $15 to $16 a month
About Selfhost.dev
Selfhost.dev is a managed self hosting platform for developers and small teams. Open source apps and databases on dedicated servers you control, billed by the hour, in six locations across three continents.
Best for: A browser editor beside the apps you build, a remote Linux shell, notebooks and managed PostgreSQL, MySQL and Redis.