Replaces the quickstart's "Install Docker" step with a runtime-agnostic
"Install a container runtime" step, and switches the per-platform
defaults
to free, lightweight options that avoid Docker Desktop's cost and
overhead.
A callout above the OS tabs names Colima, Rancher Desktop, Podman, and
Docker Desktop as valid runtimes and tells readers to skip ahead if they
already have one running. The default install path per platform is now:
- Linux: Docker Engine (unchanged from the previous doc)
- macOS: Colima with the Docker CLI
- Windows: Podman Desktop
The "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon" troubleshooting subsections
are
updated to match the new defaults.
Closes
[DEVREL-22](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DEVREL-22/recommend-orbstackcolimarancher-desktoppodman-as-docker-desktop).
A follow-up Linear issue will track a deeper "Docker runtime
alternatives"
reference page covering OrbStack (with its commercial-license caveat),
Rancher Desktop, and CLI Podman.
<details>
<summary>Implementation proposal and pre-mortem</summary>
# DEVREL-22 proposal: Replace "Install Docker" with "Install a container
runtime"
Linear:
[DEVREL-22](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DEVREL-22/recommend-orbstackcolimarancher-desktoppodman-as-docker-desktop)
Repo: `coder/coder`
Branch:
`vigilante/devrel-22-recommend-orbstackcolimarancher-desktoppodman-as-docker`
Primary file: `docs/tutorials/quickstart.md`
## Summary
Rename Step 1 of the quickstart from "Install Docker and set up
permissions" to "Install a container runtime", add a callout that any
Docker-compatible runtime works, and switch the per-platform default to
the lightest free path on each OS. Keep Docker Desktop, OrbStack, and
Rancher Desktop as documented alternatives, but not as the primary
recommendation. The deeper "alternatives" reference page is a follow-up.
## Why
- Docker Desktop is slow on macOS/Windows and requires a paid license
for most commercial use.
- The Coder Quickstart template only needs the Docker daemon, not Docker
Desktop's GUI.
- No single tool satisfies "curl install + cross-platform + free +
minimal setup", so a per-platform recommendation is the honest answer.
## Per-platform defaults
| Platform | Default in quickstart | Why |
|----------|----------------------|-----|
| Linux | Docker Engine via `curl -sSL https://get.docker.com \| sh` |
Already in the doc, already a curl one-liner, already free. No change. |
| macOS | Colima | Two commands (`brew install colima docker`, `colima
start`), free for commercial use, exposes `/var/run/docker.sock` so the
Coder template needs zero env vars. |
| Windows | Podman Desktop | Free, handles WSL2 prereq and `podman
machine` setup through the GUI, sets up Docker socket compatibility.
Lighter than Docker Desktop, simpler than CLI Podman + `DOCKER_HOST`. |
## Pre-mortem
1. **Coder Quickstart template assumes `/var/run/docker.sock`.** Colima
symlinks it on macOS. Podman Desktop on Windows enables Docker socket
compatibility by default, so the template's Docker provider should reach
the daemon without `DOCKER_HOST` gymnastics.
2. **External links into
`quickstart#step-1-install-docker-and-set-up-permissions`.** A grep of
`docs/` and `site/` found no internal references to the old anchor. Blog
posts or external links may land at the top of the page after the
rename; acceptable for this scope.
3. **Brew assumption on macOS.** Recommending `brew install colima
docker` assumes Homebrew. The callout links to brew.sh so users without
it can install Homebrew first.
4. **WSL2 on Windows.** Podman Desktop's onboarding installs WSL2 if
missing. Corporate-managed machines that block WSL2 can fall back to
other runtimes named in the callout.
5. **Onboarding tone shift.** "Container runtime" is more abstract than
"Docker." The callout names Docker Desktop as a runtime first, so the
unfamiliar phrase is anchored immediately.
6. **OrbStack license trap.** OrbStack is intentionally not in the
quickstart's default path because it is paid for commercial use. It will
be mentioned on the future alternatives page with the license caveat
called out explicitly.
## Out of scope (follow-up issues)
- New "Docker runtime alternatives" reference page covering OrbStack,
Rancher Desktop, CLI Podman, with license and compatibility notes.
- `docs/install/docker.md` updates. That page is about installing Coder
server in a Docker container, which is a separate concern.
- Updating the `coder/skills` `setup` skill if its install steps drift
from the new quickstart.
- Updating the Coder Quickstart template's description in
`coder/registry` if it links to the renamed section.
</details>
This pull request was generated by a Coder agent on behalf of
@nickvigilante.
Add a new Quickstart starter template that lets users pick programming
languages, editors, and an optional Git repo to clone. The template uses
Docker under the hood but presents a developer-focused experience: pick
your tools, start coding.
## What's included
- **Languages parameter** (multi-select): Python, Node.js, Go, Rust,
Java, C/C++
- **IDEs parameter** (multi-select): VS Code (Browser), VS Code Desktop,
Cursor, JetBrains, Zed, Windsurf
- **Git repo parameter**: Optional URL to clone on workspace start
- **JetBrains filtering**: Maps selected languages to relevant IDE codes
(Python → PyCharm, Go → GoLand, etc.)
- **Docker precondition check**: Uses `data "external"` +
`terraform_data` precondition to surface a friendly error when Docker is
unavailable, before the Docker provider fails with a cryptic message
- **4 presets**: Web Development, Backend (Go), Data Science, Full Stack
- **Single install script**: All languages install in one `coder_script`
to avoid apt-get lock conflicts (agent scripts run in parallel via
`errgroup`)
<details><summary>Design decisions</summary>
- **Docker as invisible backend**: Docker is required on the Coder
server but never mentioned in the user-facing parameter UI. The
experience is entirely "pick languages, pick editors, start coding."
- **`coder_script` over startup_script**: Language installs use a
templated script file (`install-languages.sh.tftpl`) driven by the
languages parameter. A single script avoids dpkg lock contention since
`coder_script` resources execute concurrently.
- **`data "external"` for Docker check**: The external provider probes
Docker availability independently of the Docker provider. If Docker is
down, the `terraform_data` precondition fails with a human-readable
message before any `docker_*` resource is evaluated. This depends on the
Docker provider connecting lazily (at resource eval time, not at
provider init), which current behavior confirms.
- **JetBrains filtering by language**: Rather than showing all 9
JetBrains IDEs, the template computes relevant IDE codes from the
language selection (e.g. Python → PY, Go → GO) and passes them as
`default` to the JetBrains module.
- **Arch-aware Go install**: The install script detects `uname -m` to
download the correct Go binary for amd64 or arm64.
</details>
<details><summary>Screenshots and recordings from the UI</summary>
<p>
<img width="1851" height="1471" alt="Screenshot 2026-05-05 at 2 14
20 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d4c9cdc5-d311-43a5-9e2e-f90b0019eda7"
/>
<img width="1851" height="1471" alt="Screenshot 2026-05-05 at 2 15
06 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cf3023fe-b6db-4503-a6c4-eaa0ec0659f8"
/>
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7507fd7d-ddb5-457a-9f7d-cbf89b36eb20
</p>
</details>
> [!NOTE]
> This PR was authored by Coder Agents.
Improves the Docker daemon troubleshooting in the quickstart and Docker
install docs:
- Renames the quickstart entry from "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon
on Linux" to cover all platforms.
- Adds a plain-English explanation of what the error means (Docker is
not installed or not running).
- Adds tabbed macOS/Linux/Windows instructions to the quickstart (macOS
and Windows were missing).
- Simplifies the Linux steps to match what Step 1 of the quickstart
already teaches.
- Adds a matching entry to `docs/install/docker.md` with a cross-link to
the quickstart for platform-specific steps.
Supersedes #24907 which was closed without merging.
Fixes https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DEVREL-23
> Generated with [Coder Agents](https://coder.com/agents)
Walking through the quickstart as a new user surfaced several small
friction points and formatting issues. This PR fixes the ones I hit:
- Split the combined Linux/macOS install tab — the steps are
meaningfully different (daemon vs Docker Desktop, package vs `.app`),
and collapsing them forced readers to mentally filter instructions.
- Added a "Launch the Docker daemon" step for Linux and "Open Docker
Desktop" for macOS/Windows. Without this, a new user who installs Docker
and proceeds to `coder server` hits the "Cannot connect to the Docker
daemon" error on first workspace build.
- Added "Familiarity with running commands in the terminal" to
Prerequisites to set expectations accurately.
- Fixed "Setup" → "Set Up" (verb form) in the Step 1 heading.
- Fixed "Congratulation" → "Congratulations".
- Corrected ```hcl` code fences to ```shell` on `git clone`, `cd`, and
`coder template push` commands — none of those are HCL.
- Added trailing punctuation to numbered-list items in the Tasks section
for consistency.
- Stripped Google Analytics session parameters (`_gl`, `_ga`, `_gcl_au`)
from two `registry.coder.com` URLs. These were copy-pasted from a
browser session and leak a GA session ID into public docs.
- Scoped the "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon" troubleshooting
heading to Linux, since it's specific to the Linux install path.
- Minor copyediting for tone and clarity in the intro and overview.
<!--
If you have used AI to produce some or all of this PR, please ensure you
have read our [AI Contribution
guidelines](https://coder.com/docs/about/contributing/AI_CONTRIBUTING)
before submitting.
-->
---------
Co-authored-by: Nick <nt@vigiemail.com>
Co-authored-by: david-fraley <67079030+david-fraley@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Ben Potter <ben@coder.com>
Co-authored-by: Ben Potter <me@bpmct.net>
Adds TIP alerts to the quickstart guide and the template contribution
guide linking to the
[coder-templates](https://github.com/coder/registry/blob/main/.agents/skills/coder-templates/SKILL.md)
agent skill from the Coder Registry. This gives contributors and new
users a pointer to AI-assisted template authoring when they first
encounter template creation.
This removes the deprecated AITaskPromptParameterName constant and all
backward compatibility code that was added for v2.28.
- Remove AITaskPromptParameterName constant from codersdk/aitasks.go
- Remove backward compatibility code in coderd/aitasks.go that populated
the "AI Prompt" parameter for templates that defined it
- Remove the backward compatibility test (OK AIPromptBackCompat)
- Update dbfake to no longer set the AI Prompt parameter
- Remove AITaskPromptParameterName from frontend TypeScript types
- Remove preset prompt read-only feature from TaskPrompt component
- Update docs to reflect that pre-2.28 definition is no longer supported
Task prompts are now exclusively stored in the tasks.prompt database
column, as introduced in the migration that added the tasks table.
fix a grammar issue.
Added an extra whitespace to the end / expanded the width of the table
to maintain space as adding the one char would have pushed `helps` hard
up against the table edge.
> If you have used AI to produce some or all of this PR, please ensure
you have read our [AI Contribution
guidelines](https://coder.com/docs/about/contributing/AI_CONTRIBUTING)
before submitting.
no AI
Co-authored-by: david-fraley <67079030+david-fraley@users.noreply.github.com>
## Changes
1. Update the `0.0.0.0:3001` web UI address to `localhost:3000`. Coder
starts on port 3000 by default. It'd use 3001 only if 3000 was already
taken.
2. Update the screenshot of the `/setup` page to reflect how it will
look like after merging https://github.com/coder/coder/pull/16662. Note:
this PR should be merged only after the other one is.
3. Minor phrasing changes.
---------
Co-authored-by: EdwardAngert <17991901+EdwardAngert@users.noreply.github.com>
Nick Vigilante