deploy-container

code-server-deploy-container

An container image built for deploying code-server.

Guides

• Deploy on Railway
• Deploy on Heroku

Docker Hub: bencdr/code-server-deploy-container

To run the container locally, you can use:

docker run -p 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 \
  -v "$PWD/project:/home/coder/project" \
  -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
  -e "DOCKER_USER=$USER" \
  -e "PASSWORD=12345" \
  -it bencdr/code-server-deploy-container:latest

Modifying your code-server environment

To update your code-server version, modify the version number on line 2 in your Dockerfile. See the list of tags for the latest version.

We've included some examples on how to add additional dependencies in the root-level Dockerfile:

# Install a VS Code extension:
# Note: we use a different marketplace than VS Code. See https://github.com/cdr/code-server/blob/main/docs/FAQ.md#differences-compared-to-vs-code
RUN code-server --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode

# Install apt packages:
RUN sudo apt-get install -y ubuntu-make

# Copy files:
COPY deploy-container/myTool /home/coder/myTool

---

Environment variables

Variable Name	Description	Default Value
PASSWORD	Password for code-server
HASHED_PASSWORD	Overrrides PASSWORD. SHA-256 hash of password
USE_LINK	Use code-server --link instead of a password (coming soon)	false
GIT_REPO	A git repository to clone
DOTFILES_REPO	A dotfiles repo to save preferences. Runs install.sh, if it exists.
DOTFILES_SYMLINK	Symlinks dotfiles repo to $HOME, if exits.	true
START_DIR	The directory code-server opens (and clones repos in)	/home/coder/project

---

Other code-server environment variables (such as CODE_SERVER_CONFIG ) can also be used. See the code-server FAQ for details.

💾 Persist your filesystem with rclone

This image has built-in support for rclone so that your files don't get lost when code-server is re-deployed.

You can generate the rclone config on any machine, but it works great on the code-server environment itself, or Google Cloud Shell :)

# 1. install rclone
# see https://rclone.org/install/ for other install options
$ curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

# 2. create a new rclone remote with your favorite storage provider ☁️
$ rclone config

# 3. Encode your rclone config and copy to your clipboard
$ cat $(rclone config file | sed -n 2p) | base64 --wrap=0 # Linux
$ cat $(rclone config file | sed -n 2p) | base64 --b 0 # MacOS

Now, you can add the following the environment variables in the code-server cloud app:

Environment Variable	Description	Default Value	Required
RCLONE_DATA	the encoded rclone config you copied in step 3	n/a	✅
RCLONE_REMOTE_NAME	the name of the remote you added in step 2. check with $ rclone listremotes	code-server-remote
RCLONE_SOURCE	source directory to sync files in the code-server container	the project directory: /home/coder/project
RCLONE_DESTINATION	the path in the remote that rclone syncs to. change this if you have multiple code-server environments, or if you want to better organize your files.	code-server-files
RCLONE_VSCODE_TASKS	import push and pull shortcuts into VS Code	true
RCLONE_AUTO_PUSH	automatically push files on startup if the rclone remote is empty (environment -> rclone remote)	true
RCLONE_AUTO_PULL	automatically pull files on startup if the rclone remote is not empty (rclone -> environment remote)	true
RCLONE_FLAGS	additional flags to attach to the push and pull script. type $ rclone help flags for a list.

# --- How to use ---

# Terminal:
$ sh /home/coder/push_remote.sh # save your uncomitted files to the remote
$ sh /home/coder/pull_remote.sh # get latest files from the remote

# In VS Code:
# use items in bottom bar or ctrl + P, run task: push_remote or pull_remote or

Popular rclone flags

To avoid syncing unnecessary directories, add this to RCLONE_FLAGS :

--exclude "node_modules/**" --exclude ".git/**"

---

Todo

• Make push_remote and pull_remote commands in path
• Impliment file watcher or auto file sync in VS Code
• Attach a "push" on a git stash??
• Add support for SSH / VS Code remote access
• Make rclone logs visible in environment for debugging