Coder: Open Source Version Control & Collaboration

What is Coder?

What it is

Coder is a self-hosted platform for cloud development environments and AI coding agents. It is written in Go, released under AGPL-3.0, and listed under Developer Tools / Version Control & Collaboration. Teams define workspaces with Terraform, connect through a secure Wireguard tunnel, and run environments on EC2 VMs, Kubernetes Pods, or Docker Containers.

The project addresses the slow, inconsistent setup of developer environments. A Terraform template can describe the infrastructure, IDEs, dependencies, and configuration needed by a workspace. Coder Agents run AI coding work in the control plane on the operator's infrastructure, so workspaces do not need LLM credentials.

Key capabilities

Terraform templates define workspace infrastructure, including EC2 VMs, Kubernetes Pods, and Docker Containers.
Workspaces connect through a secure Wireguard tunnel and can shut down automatically when not used.
Idle resources shut down automatically to save costs, and developers can onboard in seconds instead of days.
Coder Agents execute AI coding loops in the control plane on the operator's infrastructure.
The platform supports Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, or self-hosted models without putting LLM credentials in workspaces.
User identity applies to every action, with centralized model governance, cost tracking, and audit logging.
Existing editors can connect to workspaces, and topics include JetBrains, remote-development, and vscode.

Who uses it and how

Infrastructure teams provide cloud development environments through Terraform templates instead of manual local setup.
Developers connect existing editors, including JetBrains and VS Code, to remote workspaces with the required IDEs, dependencies, and configuration.
Engineering teams delegate coding work to AI agents on self-hosted infrastructure, with model access controlled by the platform.
Evaluators run the server locally, create an initial user, create a Docker template, and provision a first workspace at http://localhost:3000.
Organizations can review Premium features and dedicated support for large teams.

Getting started

On Linux and macOS, install with curl -L https://coder.com/install.sh | sh, then run coder server and open http://localhost:3000; Windows users can get the latest binary or installer from GitHub Releases. For production, run coder server --postgres-url --access-url with PostgreSQL 13 or later and an external access URL; without those flags, Coder uses a built-in database and sets up a *.try.coder.app access URL for evaluation.

When to use it — and when not to

Coder fits teams that want self-hosted cloud development environments and AI agents on their infrastructure, and that can operate the server, Terraform templates, PostgreSQL database, and access URL. It may not fit users who do not want to administer the platform, because production deployment requires PostgreSQL 13 or later and an external access URL. The project lists 996 open issues, so teams should review current issue and support status before adoption.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Self-Hosted Cloud Development Environments and AI Agents

Quickstart | Docs | Why Coder | Premium

Coder is a self-hosted platform for cloud development environments and AI coding agents. Workspaces are defined with Terraform, connected through a secure Wireguard® tunnel, and automatically shut down when not used. Coder Agents runs a native AI coding agent whose loop executes in the control plane on your infrastructure, with no API keys in workspaces.

Define cloud development environments in Terraform
- EC2 VMs, Kubernetes Pods, Docker Containers, etc.
Automatically shutdown idle resources to save on costs
Onboard developers in seconds instead of days
Delegate coding work to AI agents on your infrastructure
- Bring any model (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, self-hosted)
- No LLM credentials in workspaces, user identity on every action
- Centralized model governance, cost tracking, and audit logging

Quickstart

Check out our install guides for other methods and a complete tutorial.

Try Coder with the install script on Linux and macOS, or grab the latest binary or installer from GitHub Releases on Windows:

curl -L https://coder.com/install.sh | sh

Start the server and open http://localhost:3000 to create your initial user, create a Docker template, and provision your first workspace:

coder server

For a production deployment, add a PostgreSQL database (version 13 or later) and an external access URL, and see our validated architectures for sizing and infrastructure guidance:

coder server --postgres-url <url> --access-url <url>

Without these flags, Coder uses a built-in database and sets up a *.try.coder.app access URL for evaluation. Use coder --help for the full list of flags and environment variables.

Documentation

Browse the documentation or visit a specific section below:

Workspaces: Workspaces contain the IDEs, dependencies, and configuration information needed for software development
Templates: Templates are written in Terraform and describe the infrastructure for workspaces
Coder Agents: Delegate coding work to AI agents running on your self-hosted infrastructure
AI Gateway: Centralize authentication, auditing, and cost controls for AI tooling
Administration: Learn how to operate Coder
Premium: Learn about paid features built for large teams
IDEs: Connect your existing editor to a workspace

Support

Open an issue for bugs and feature requests.

For community support, showcasing what you built, and feedback on in-progress features, join our Discord or GitHub Discussions.

Dedicated support is included in Coder Premium. For more information, visit coder.com/pricing.

Integrations

New integrations are always in progress. Open an issue to request one. Contributions are welcome in any official or community repository.

Official

Coder Registry: Templates, modules, and integrations for common development environments
Coding Agents: Run agents like Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode isolated in Coder workspaces
coderd Terraform Provider: Declaratively manage your Coder deployment configuration as code
VS Code Extension: Open any Coder workspace in VS Code with a single click
JetBrains Toolbox Plugin: Open any Coder workspace from JetBrains Toolbox with a single click
Dev Containers: Build development environments using devcontainer.json on Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenShift
Kubernetes Log Stream: Stream Kubernetes Pod events to the Coder startup logs
Self-Hosted VS Code Extension Marketplace: A private extension marketplace that works in restricted or airgapped networks integrating with code-server.
GitHub Actions: An action to set up the Coder CLI in GitHub workflows

Community

Coder Discord: Chat with the community, get support, and hear about new product updates first
Community Templates: Community-contributed workspace templates in the Coder Registry
Community Modules: Community-contributed modules to extend Coder templates
Coder Template GitHub Action: A GitHub Action that updates Coder templates
Coder Agents Chat Action: A GitHub Action that starts a Coder Agents chat against a GitHub issue or pull request

Contributing

New contributors are always welcome. If you are new to the Coder codebase, see the contribution guide to get started.

Hiring

Apply on the careers page if you are interested in joining the team.

Frequently asked questions

Is Coder free to use?

Coder is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Coder do?

Fast, secure cloud development environments on your infrastructure

What is Coder written in?

Coder is primarily written in Go. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/coder/coder, and it has 14,764 GitHub stars.