code-server: Self-Hosted VS Code in the Browser

code-server runs VS Code on a remote server and makes it accessible through any web browser. With over 76,000 GitHub stars, it is the most popular way to self-host a cloud IDE. You get the full VS Code experience — extensions, terminal, Git integration, IntelliSense — accessible from any device with a browser, including tablets and thin clients.

Self-hosting code-server turns your VPS into a personal cloud development environment with consistent performance regardless of your local hardware.

Key Features

• Full VS Code experience running in any modern web browser
• Extension marketplace access for installing VS Code extensions
• Integrated terminal with full shell access to the server
• Multi-file editing with the complete VS Code file explorer and search
• Git integration with built-in source control panel
• IntelliSense and language server protocol support for code completion
• Customizable themes, keybindings, and settings synced on the server
• Password or token-based authentication for securing access

Why Self-Host code-server?

Code from anywhere on any device. Access your full development environment from a laptop, tablet, or even a phone browser. Your projects, extensions, terminal sessions, and editor state persist on the server. Switch devices mid-session without losing context.

Consistent, powerful hardware. Run builds, tests, and resource-intensive tasks on your VPS instead of your local machine. A laptop with 4 GB RAM can drive a development environment backed by a VPS with 16 GB RAM and fast SSDs. Your local device just needs a browser.

Instant environment setup. No more “works on my machine” problems. Your development environment lives on the server with all dependencies pre-installed. Onboard new team members by giving them a URL. Clone your environment by spinning up another instance.

Secure remote access. Instead of exposing SSH ports or setting up VPN tunnels, code-server provides a web-based interface protected by authentication. Combine it with HTTPS and you have secure development access from anywhere — including restrictive networks that only allow web traffic.

System Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 vCPUs	4 vCPUs
RAM	2 GB	4 GB
Storage	10 GB SSD	50 GB SSD
OS	Ubuntu 22.04+	Ubuntu 24.04

Resource needs scale with your project size and the number of extensions running. Language servers (TypeScript, Python, Go) can be memory-intensive. For compiling or running containers alongside the IDE, allocate more RAM.

Getting Started

Deploy code-server on your VPS using Docker Compose through Dokploy. Our guide covers installation, persistent workspace storage, authentication setup, and SSL configuration.

Deploy code-server with Dokploy →

Alternatives

• Gitpod — Cloud development environment with automated workspace provisioning
• Eclipse Theia — Extensible cloud and desktop IDE framework built on VS Code technologies
• JupyterHub — Multi-user Jupyter notebook server for data science and research
• OpenVSCode Server — Gitpod’s open-source VS Code server with a similar browser-based experience

FAQ

Is code-server the same as VS Code? code-server runs the same VS Code codebase but serves it through a web browser instead of a desktop application. Most extensions and features work identically. Some extensions that require native desktop APIs (like certain debugger GUIs) may have limited functionality.

Can multiple users share a code-server instance? code-server is designed for single-user access. For multi-user setups, deploy separate instances per user or use a platform like JupyterHub or Coder that manages multiple workspaces. Each user should have their own isolated environment.

How does code-server handle latency? code-server is responsive over typical internet connections. Keystroke-to-screen latency is imperceptible on connections under 100ms round-trip time. For the best experience, choose a VPS in a region close to your location.

Can I use my existing VS Code settings and extensions? Yes. code-server supports the VS Code settings.json format and most marketplace extensions. You can copy your local settings to the server or sync them via a dotfiles repository.

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App data sourced from selfh.st open-source directory.