mirror of
https://github.com/coder/coder.git
synced 2026-06-02 20:48:20 +00:00
Ben Potter
6711552f7b
Adds Coder Agents messaging to the README and about page (docs/README.md), and updates the hero screenshots. **README.md**: Adds agents to the tagline, intro paragraph, feature bullets, and documentation links. Reorders docs section (Workspaces, Templates, Agents, Administration, Premium, IDEs). Refreshes integrations: Registry first, renames Dev Container Builder to Dev Containers, Setup Coder to GitHub Actions, adds community templates/modules/Discord links. Removes "we" language and vague link text per docs style feedback. **docs/README.md**: Adds dedicated Coder Workspaces and Coder Agents sections with inline links to their respective doc pages. Rewrites "Why remote development" as prose instead of a flat bullet list. Adds agents benefits to "Why Coder" (MCP servers, skills, system prompts). Fixes heading punctuation, replaces "Up next" with "Learn more", corrects ARM/OS positioning. Removes stale Coder v1 section. **Screenshots**: Replaces hero-image.png with an updated screenshot showing templates and a running workspace with IDE apps. Adds agents-hero-image.png showing the agents chat UI with the git diff sidebar. > Generated with [Coder Agents](https://coder.com/agents)
188 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
188 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
# About
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<!-- Warning for docs contributors: The first route in manifest.json must be titled "About" for the static landing page to work correctly. -->
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Coder is a self-hosted platform for running AI coding agents and cloud
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development environments on infrastructure you control. It works with any
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cloud, IDE, OS, Git provider, and IDP.
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## Coder Workspaces
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[Coder Workspaces](./user-guides/index.md) are cloud development environments
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defined with Terraform, connected through a secure Wireguard tunnel, and
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automatically shut down when not in use. Agents and developers share the same
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workspace infrastructure.
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- **Defined in Terraform**: Templates describe the infrastructure for each
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workspace, from EC2 VMs and Kubernetes Pods to Docker containers.
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- **Any architecture and OS**: Support ARM and x86-64 across Windows, Linux,
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and macOS from a single deployment.
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- **Managed by admins**: Platform teams create and maintain templates that
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enforce approved images, resource limits, and security policies.
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- **Accessed from any IDE**: Connect through VS Code, JetBrains, Cursor,
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a web terminal, remote desktop, or SSH.
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- **Automatic shutdown**: Idle workspaces stop automatically to reduce
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cloud spend, and restart in seconds when needed.
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## Coder Agents
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[Coder Agents](./ai-coder/agents/index.md) is a native AI coding agent built
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into Coder. The agent loop runs in the Coder control plane on your
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infrastructure, not in the workspace and not in a vendor's cloud. Developers
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interact with agents through the web UI, the CLI (`coder agents`), or the REST
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API for programmatic and CI-driven workflows.
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- **Self-hosted agent loop**: The control plane handles planning, model
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calls, and tool dispatch. Workspaces have zero AI awareness.
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- **No API keys in workspaces**: LLM credentials stay in the control plane.
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- **Any model**: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, or self-hosted
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endpoints. Switching is a configuration change.
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- **Governance and cost controls**: Centralized model approval, per-user
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spend limits, and audit logging.
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- **Open source and inspectable**: The full platform is available to audit
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and extend.
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## IDE support
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You can use:
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- Any Web IDE, such as
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- [code-server](https://github.com/coder/code-server)
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- [JetBrains Projector](https://github.com/JetBrains/projector-server)
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- [Jupyter](https://jupyter.org/)
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- And others
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- Your existing remote development environment:
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- [JetBrains Gateway](https://www.jetbrains.com/remote-development/gateway/)
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- [VS Code Remote](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/ssh-tutorial)
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- [Emacs](./user-guides/workspace-access/emacs-tramp.md)
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- A file sync such as [Mutagen](https://mutagen.io/)
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## Why remote development
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Provisioning consistent development environments for a large engineering team
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is difficult. Each developer has preferences for operating systems, editors,
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and toolchains, and ensuring a reliable build environment across all of them
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is a maintenance burden. A missed step during onboarding or an unsupported
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local configuration can cost hours of debugging.
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Remote development solves this by moving the environment off the developer's
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machine and into managed infrastructure. The developer's laptop becomes a
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portal into the actual compute where work happens. If a device is lost or
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replaced, access is simply revoked; no source code or credentials are stored
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locally.
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This approach provides:
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- **Speed**: Server-grade hardware accelerates builds, tests, and large
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workloads without requiring expensive local machines.
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- **Consistency**: Infrastructure tools such as Terraform, nix, Docker, and
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Dev Containers produce identical environments for every developer.
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- **Security**: Source code stays on private servers. Users and groups are
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managed through [SSO](./admin/users/oidc-auth/index.md) and
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[RBAC](./admin/users/groups-roles.md#roles).
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- **Compatibility**: Workspaces share infrastructure configurations with
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staging and production, reducing configuration drift.
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- **Accessibility**: Browser-based IDEs and remote IDE extensions let
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developers work from any device, including lightweight laptops,
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Chromebooks, and tablets.
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Read more on the [Coder blog](https://coder.com/blog), the
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[Slack engineering blog](https://slack.engineering/development-environments-at-slack),
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or from [Alex Ellis at OpenFaaS](https://blog.alexellis.io/the-internet-is-my-computer/).
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## Why Coder
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The key difference between Coder and other platforms is that the entire system,
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agent loop, control plane, model routing, and workspace provisioning, runs on
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infrastructure you control.
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For agents, this means platform teams can:
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- Run the entire agent loop on their infrastructure, with no SaaS
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dependency for orchestration.
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- Define MCP servers, skills, and system prompts centrally so every agent
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session starts with the same tools, policies, and context.
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- Keep LLM credentials out of workspaces entirely.
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- Tie every agent action to an authenticated user identity.
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- Support air-gapped and restricted-network deployments with self-hosted models.
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For workspaces, this means admins can:
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- Support any architecture (ARM, x86-64) and operating system
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(Windows, Linux, macOS).
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- Modify pod/container specs, such as adding disks, managing network policies, or
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setting/updating environment variables.
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- Use VM or dedicated workspaces, developing with Kernel features (no container
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knowledge required).
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- Enable persistent workspaces, which are like local machines, but faster and
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hosted by a cloud service.
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## Pricing
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Coder is free and open source under the
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[GNU Affero General Public License v3.0](https://github.com/coder/coder/blob/main/LICENSE).
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All developer productivity features are included in the open source version.
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A [Premium license](https://coder.com/pricing#compare-plans) is available for
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enhanced support and custom deployments.
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## How Coder works
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Coder workspaces are represented with Terraform, but you do not need to know
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Terraform to get started. The
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[Coder Registry](https://registry.coder.com/templates) provides production-ready
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templates for AWS EC2, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and other providers.
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_Providers and compute environments_
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Workspaces can include more than just compute. Terraform can add storage
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buckets, secrets, sidecars, and
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[other resources](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/tutorials).
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See the [templates documentation](./admin/templates/index.md) for details.
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## What Coder is not
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- Coder is not an infrastructure as code (IaC) platform.
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- Terraform is the first IaC _provisioner_ in Coder, allowing Coder admins to
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define Terraform resources as Coder workspaces.
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- Coder is not a DevOps/CI platform.
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- Coder workspaces can be configured to follow best practices for
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cloud-service-based workloads, but Coder is not responsible for how you
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define or deploy the software you write.
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- Coder is not an online IDE.
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- Coder supports common editors, such as VS Code, vim, and JetBrains,
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all over HTTPS or SSH.
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- Coder is not a collaboration platform.
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- You can use Git with your favorite Git platform and dedicated IDE
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extensions for pull requests, code reviews, and pair programming.
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- Coder is not a SaaS/fully-managed offering.
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- Coder is a [self-hosted](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-hosting_(web_services)>)
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solution.
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You must host Coder in a private data center or on a cloud service, such as
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AWS, Azure, or GCP.
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## Learn more
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- [Coder Agents](./ai-coder/agents/index.md)
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- [Templates](./admin/templates/index.md)
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- [Installing Coder](./install/index.md)
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- [Quickstart tutorial](./tutorials/quickstart.md)
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