How to Deploy code-server For VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04

code-server enables you to run VS Code on a remote server and access it through a web browser from anywhere. code-server, the open-source implementation, offers the full VS Code experience, including extensions, an integrated terminal, Git integration, and IntelliSense support through a browser interface.

This article shows how to deploy code-server on Ubuntu 24.04 with Docker Compose and secure it using HTTPS with a Traefik reverse proxy.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Have access to an Ubuntu 24.04 server with at least 1 GB RAM and 2 CPU cores.
• Configure a domain name pointing to your server's external IP address, such as code.example.com.
• Install Docker and Docker Compose on your server..

Install code-server

This section deploys code-server using a Docker Compose configuration that defines two services: a code-server container that provides the browser-based VS Code environment, and a Traefik container that acts as the reverse proxy. Traefik automatically provisions HTTPS certificates with Let’s Encrypt and routes incoming traffic to the code-server service.

1. Create project directories.

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   $ mkdir -p ~/vscode-server/{project,config,local,letsencrypt}
   

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   The project subdirectory stores your editable workspace files, config stores code-server settings and extensions, local holds user-specific data, and letsencrypt stores Traefik's ACME certificates for TLS management.

2. Navigate to the project's root directory.

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   $ cd ~/vscode-server
   

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3. Find the UID and GID of your user account.

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   $ id $USER
   

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   From the output, note the uid and gid of the user account.

4. Add your user to the Docker group to run Docker commands without sudo.

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   $ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   

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5. Create and edit a Docker Compose manifest file.

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   $ nano docker-compose.yml
   

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6. Add the Following contents to the file.

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   services:
    code-server:
      image: codercom/code-server:latest
      container_name: code-server
      user: "UID:GID" # Replace with your user's UID and GID
      environment:
        - PASSWORD=SECURE_PASSWORD  # Replace with a strong password
        - DOCKER_USER=LINUXUSER  # Replace with your username
      volumes:
        - ./project:/home/coder/project
        - ./config:/home/coder/.config
        - ./local:/home/coder/.local
      networks:
        - internal
      restart: unless-stopped
      labels:
        - "traefik.enable=true"
        - "traefik.http.routers.code-server.rule=Host(`CODE.EXAMPLE.COM`)"  # Replace with your domain name
        - "traefik.http.routers.code-server.entrypoints=websecure"
        - "traefik.http.routers.code-server.tls.certresolver=myresolver"
        - "traefik.http.services.code-server.loadbalancer.server.port=8080"
   
    traefik:
      image: traefik:latest
      container_name: traefik
      ports:
        - "80:80"
        - "443:443"
      volumes:
        - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
        - ./letsencrypt:/letsencrypt
      command:
        - "--providers.docker=true"
        - "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false"
        - "--providers.docker.network=internal"
        - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
        - "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443"
        - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.to=websecure"
        - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.scheme=https"
        - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.httpchallenge=true"
        - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web"
        - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.email=ADMIN@EXAMPLE.COM"  # Replace with your email
        - "--certificatesresolvers.myresolver.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json"
      networks:
        - internal
      restart: unless-stopped
   
   networks:
    internal:
   

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   Replace the following placeholder in the above manifest:

   • UID:GID with the UID and GID from step 3.
   • SECURE_PASSWORD with a strong password.
   • CODE.EXAMPLE.COM with your domain.
   • ADMIN@EXAMPLE.COM with your email for Let's Encrypt notifications.
   • LINUXUSER with your username.

   Save and close the file. This Docker Compose file deploys code-server behind Traefik, which provides automatic HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt. Here’s what each part does:

   • code-server service

     • Runs the codercom/code-server image.
     • Uses your host user’s UID and GID to avoid permission issues.
     • Stores your project files and configuration in local bind-mounted folders.
     • Exposes port 8080 internally only.
     • Includes Traefik labels to route traffic from your domain (CODE.EXAMPLE.COM) to the code-server container over HTTPS.

   • traefik service

     • Listens on ports 80 and 443.
     • Automatically obtains TLS certificates using Let's Encrypt via the ACME HTTP-01 challenge.
     • Reads Docker labels to discover and route traffic to the code-server container.
     • Stores certificates in the ./letsencrypt directory.
     • Forces all HTTP requests to redirect to HTTPS.

   • internal network

     • A private Docker network used by both containers so Traefik can route traffic to code-server securely without exposing the internal port.

7. Start the services.

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   $ docker compose up -d
   

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8. Verify the service's status.

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   $ docker compose ps
   

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   Note

   For more information on managing a Docker Compose stack, see the How To Use Docker Compose article.

9. Access and verify your code-server installation.

   1. Open https://CODE.EXAMPLE.COM in a browser.
   2. Enter your password.

   You should see the code-server home page.

   

Conclusion

By following this article, you successfully deployed code-server on Ubuntu 24.04 using Docker Compose and secured it with Traefik, providing a powerful cloud-based development environment accessible from any browser. For more information, refer to the code-server Documentation.