Docker

You can install and run Coder using the official Docker images published on GitHub Container Registry.

Requirements

• Docker. See the official installation documentation.

• A Linux machine. For macOS devices, start Coder using the standalone binary.

• 2 CPU cores and 4 GB memory free on your machine.

Install Coder via docker run

Built-in database (quick)

For proof-of-concept deployments, you can run a complete Coder instance with the following command.

export CODER_DATA=$HOME/.config/coderv2-docker
export DOCKER_GROUP=$(getent group docker | cut -d: -f3)
mkdir -p $CODER_DATA
docker run --rm -it \
  -v $CODER_DATA:/home/coder/.config \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  --group-add $DOCKER_GROUP \
  ghcr.io/coder/coder:latest

External database (recommended)

For production deployments, we recommend using an external PostgreSQL database (version 13 or higher). Set CODER_ACCESS_URL to the external URL that users and workspaces will use to connect to Coder.

export DOCKER_GROUP=$(getent group docker | cut -d: -f3)
docker run --rm -it \
  -e CODER_ACCESS_URL="https://coder.example.com" \
  -e CODER_PG_CONNECTION_URL="postgresql://username:password@database/coder" \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  --group-add $DOCKER_GROUP \
  ghcr.io/coder/coder:latest

Install Coder via docker compose

Coder's publishes a docker-compose example which includes an PostgreSQL container and volume.

1. Make sure you have Docker Compose installed.

2. Download the docker-compose.yaml file.

3. Update group_add: in docker-compose.yaml with the gid of docker group. You can get the docker group gid by running the below command:

   getent group docker | cut -d: -f3
   

4. Start Coder with docker compose up

5. Visit the web UI via the configured url.

6. Follow the on-screen instructions log in and create your first template and workspace

Coder configuration is defined via environment variables. Learn more about Coder's configuration options.

Install the preview release

We do not recommend using preview releases in production environments.

You can install and test a preview release of Coder by using the coder-preview:latest image tag. This image is automatically updated with the latest changes from the main branch.

Replace ghcr.io/coder/coder:latest in the docker run command in the steps above with ghcr.io/coder/coder-preview:latest.

Troubleshooting

Docker-based workspace is stuck in "Connecting..."

Ensure you have an externally-reachable CODER_ACCESS_URL set. See troubleshooting templates for more steps.

Permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon socket

See Docker's official documentation to Manage Docker as a non-root user

I cannot add Docker templates

Coder runs as a non-root user, we use --group-add to ensure Coder has permissions to manage Docker via docker.sock. If the host systems /var/run/docker.sock is not group writeable or does not belong to the docker group, the above may not work as-is.

I cannot add cloud-based templates

In order to use cloud-based templates (e.g. Kubernetes, AWS), you must have an external URL that users and workspaces will use to connect to Coder. For proof-of-concept deployments, you can use Coder's tunnel. For production deployments, we recommend setting an access URL

Next steps