# Add an Envbuilder template A Coder administrator adds an Envbuilder-compatible template to Coder. This allows the template to prompt the developer for their dev container repository's URL as a [parameter](https://coder.com/docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/parameters.md) when they create their workspace. Envbuilder clones the repo and builds a container from the `devcontainer.json` specified in the repo. You can create template files through the Coder dashboard, CLI, or you can choose a template from the [Coder registry](https://registry.coder.com/templates):
## Dashboard 1. In the Coder dashboard, select **Templates** then **Create Template**. 1. Use a [starter template](https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/examples/templates) or create a new template: - Starter template: 1. Select **Choose a starter template**. 1. Choose a template from the list or select **Devcontainer** from the sidebar to display only dev container-compatible templates. 1. Select **Use template**, enter the details, then select **Create template**. - To create a new template, select **From scratch** and enter the templates details, then select **Create template**. 1. Edit the template files to fit your deployment. ## CLI 1. Use the `template init` command to initialize your choice of image: ```shell coder template init --id kubernetes-devcontainer ``` A list of available templates is shown in the [templates_init](https://coder.com/docs/reference/cli/templates.md) reference. 1. `cd` into the directory and push the template to your Coder deployment: ```shell cd kubernetes-devcontainer && coder templates push ``` You can also edit the files or make changes to the files before you push them to Coder. ## Registry 1. Go to the [Coder registry](https://registry.coder.com/templates) and select a dev container-compatible template. 1. Copy the files to your local device, then edit them to fit your needs. 1. Upload them to Coder through the CLI or dashboard: - CLI: ```shell coder templates push -d ``` - Dashboard: 1. Create a `.zip` of the template files: - On Mac or Windows, highlight the files and then right click. A "compress" option is available through the right-click context menu. - To zip the files through the command line: ```shell zip templates.zip Dockerfile main.tf ``` 1. Select **Templates**. 1. Select **Create Template**, then **Upload template**: ![Upload template](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coder/coder/main/docs/images/templates/upload-create-your-first-template.png) 1. Drag the `.zip` file into the **Upload template** section and fill out the details, then select **Create template**. ![Upload the template files](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coder/coder/main/docs/images/templates/upload-create-template-form.png)
To set variables such as the namespace, go to the template in your Coder dashboard and select **Settings** from the **⋮** (vertical ellipsis) menu: Choose Settings from the template's menu ## Envbuilder Terraform provider When using the [Envbuilder Terraform provider](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/coder/envbuilder/latest/docs), a previously built and cached image can be reused directly, allowing dev containers to start instantaneously. Developers can edit the `devcontainer.json` in their workspace to customize their development environments: ```json # … { "features": { "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/common-utils:2": {} } } # … ``` ## Example templates | Template | Description | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | [Docker dev containers](https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/examples/templates/docker-devcontainer) | Docker provisions a development container. | | [Kubernetes dev containers](https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/examples/templates/kubernetes-devcontainer) | Provisions a development container on the Kubernetes cluster. | | [Google Compute Engine dev container](https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/examples/templates/gcp-devcontainer) | Runs a development container inside a single GCP instance. It also mounts the Docker socket from the VM inside the container to enable Docker inside the workspace. | | [AWS EC2 dev container](https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/examples/templates/aws-devcontainer) | Runs a development container inside a single EC2 instance. It also mounts the Docker socket from the VM inside the container to enable Docker inside the workspace. | Your template can prompt the user for a repo URL with [parameters](https://coder.com/docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/parameters.md): ![Dev container parameter screen](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coder/coder/main/docs/images/templates/devcontainers.png) ## Dev container lifecycle scripts The `onCreateCommand`, `updateContentCommand`, `postCreateCommand`, and `postStartCommand` lifecycle scripts are run each time the container is started. This could be used, for example, to fetch or update project dependencies before a user begins using the workspace. Lifecycle scripts are managed by project developers. ## Next steps - [Envbuilder security and caching](https://coder.com/docs/admin/integrations/devcontainers/envbuilder/envbuilder-security-caching.md)