code-server
temaki.vscode-server
A Docker Compose file for code-server alone, generated from the catalog and checked by the safety inspector. No account needed.
VS Code running as a server and reached through a browser, so editing, terminals, debugging and extensions happen on the remote machine while only the interface is local.
code-server runs the VS Code editor as a process on a remote machine and serves its interface over HTTP, which puts the workspace, terminal, language servers and installed extensions on that machine rather than on the device being typed at. This makes a heavy build environment reachable from a low-powered client and keeps source code inside the deployment boundary. Extensions install from the Open VSX registry rather than the Microsoft marketplace, which is a licensing constraint rather than a technical one and means some extensions are unavailable or lag behind. A first deployment mounts a project directory, sets a password and opens the editor in a browser.
You know it worked when
- The editor loads in a browser and requires the configured password.
- The mounted project directory appears in the file tree.
- A file edited in the browser is changed on the host volume.
- The integrated terminal runs a command inside the container.
- An installed extension is still present after a restart.
Known sharp edges
- An integrated terminal is a shell on the host container, so anyone reaching the editor has whatever access that container holds.
- Authentication is a single shared password by default, and the generated one is written to a configuration file inside the container.
- Extensions come from Open VSX rather than the Microsoft marketplace, so some widely used extensions are missing or older than their marketplace versions.
- Extensions, settings and workspace state live in directories that must be mounted persistently, or every restart returns a bare editor.