VS Code in the Browser (code-server)

code-server is Coder's open-source, browser-based VS Code editor. Developers can access a remote dev environment from any device through a web browser. This tutorial deploys code-server on Alaya NeW VKS.

When this is useful

• Long-lived dev environment — runs on the server, no local toolchain needed, just a browser.
• Cross-platform / cross-device — Windows / Mac / Linux / tablet / phone.
• Team collaboration — share code and environments across teammates without duplicating local setup.

Steps

Prerequisites

Docker plus kubectl.

Image preparation

Registry credentials (username / password / host) come from the registry provisioning SMS. URL = host / project.

1. Pull code-server (4.95.3-39 in this tutorial):

   docker pull codercom/code-server:4.95.3-39

2. Tag:

   docker tag codercom/code-server:4.95.3-39 <registry>/codercom/code-server:4.95.3-39

3. Login and push:

   docker login -u [harbor_username] -p [harbor_password] <host>
   docker push <registry>/codercom/code-server:4.95.3-39

Verify the image lands in your Harbor.

Script preparation

Download the script archive and unzip. Variables to replace:

Secret

Base64-encode harbor-config.json and put the result into harbor-secret.yaml under .dockerconfigjson:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: alaya-harbor-secret
type: kubernetes.io/dockerconfigjson
data:
  .dockerconfigjson: <base64 string>

Deploy

kubectl apply -k .

Save the ServiceExporter URL from the output — that's the Web UI address.

Check pods:

kubectl get pods -n code-server

Expected:

NAME                            READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
code-server-5987dbbf9c-47276    1/1     Running   0          5h10m

Get the URL:

kubectl describe serviceexporter vscs-itf -n code-server

status.Message carries the URL.

Use it

Open the URL in a browser. First login asks for the password (the service_password you set during deploy).

Install extensions

Click the Extensions icon, search for Python and Python Debugger, install:

Edit and run

Create a Python file:

print("Hello, world!")

Click the run button:

License

Use code-server in compliance with its license: coder/code-server.