code-server

VS Code running on your own server and used from any browser, so every device gets the same development environment.

79.7k stars, 6.9k forks TypeScript On GitHub since February 2019

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is code-server?

code-server runs Visual Studio Code on a machine you control and serves it to a web browser. Your code, extensions and terminals live on the server, so you can work from a laptop, tablet or any computer with the same setup, while compilations, tests and downloads use the server's processor and network. It needs a Linux machine with WebSockets enabled, at least 1 GB of RAM and two virtual CPUs. You can install it with a script that uses the system package manager, run it in Docker, deploy it with a Helm chart or add it to a devcontainer.

Good fit if

  • You want a GitHub Codespaces-style setup on your own cloud server or home machine.
  • You switch between devices and want one environment that keeps your files, extensions and terminals in place.

Look elsewhere if

  • You need to give a whole team managed workspaces with templates and access control: the same company's Coder platform is built for that.

Before you adopt it

code-server is MIT-licensed, with no paid parts in the repository. It is maintained by Coder, the company behind the Coder platform for remote development. Anyone who reaches the server can run code on it, so put it behind authentication and HTTPS before exposing it to the internet.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

code-server health: is it still maintained?

85 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    112 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 29 October 2026.
    25 / 30
  • Contributors
    17 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 40% of them.
    17 / 20
  • Releases
    15 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v4.144.0, on 29 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 83% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 19 hours.
    19 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

code-server license: is it open source?

code-server uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. February 2019First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

How to run code-server yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, Windows, macOS, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
6 languages

Install instructions: coder.com or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to code-server

  • SentryDeveloper-first error tracking and performance monitoring 85 health · Functional Source License · 45.7k stars
  • LangfuseOpen source agent evals & observability: Trace, evaluate, and improve LLM applications with one open platform. 80 health · MIT · 36.8k stars

All 3 projects in Developer tools

Questions about code-server

Is code-server open source?

Yes. code-server is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is code-server still maintained?

Its health score is 85 of 100 (actively developed). It had 112 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 29 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 29 October 2026.

How do I run code-server?

You can run it with Docker, on Kubernetes with the Helm chart in the repository, as an app for Linux, Windows, macOS, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to code-server?

Close alternatives in the Developer tools category include Sentry, Langfuse.