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| 1 | +# About |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +<!-- Warning for docs contributors: The first route in manifest.json must be titled "About" for the static landing page to work correctly. --> |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +Coder is a self-hosted, open source, cloud development environment that works |
| 6 | +with any cloud, IDE, OS, Git provider, and IDP. |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +_Screenshots of Coder workspaces and connections_ |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +Coder is built on common development interfaces and infrastructure tools to |
| 11 | +make the process of provisioning and accessing remote workspaces approachable |
| 12 | +for organizations of various sizes and stages of cloud-native maturity. |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +## IDE support |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +You can use: |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +- Any Web IDE, such as |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | + - [code-server](https://github.com/coder/code-server) |
| 23 | + - [JetBrains Projector](https://github.com/JetBrains/projector-server) |
| 24 | + - [Jupyter](https://jupyter.org/) |
| 25 | + - And others |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +- Your existing remote development environment: |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | + - [JetBrains Gateway](https://www.jetbrains.com/remote-development/gateway/) |
| 30 | + - [VS Code Remote](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/ssh-tutorial) |
| 31 | + - [Emacs](./user-guides/workspace-access/emacs-tramp.md) |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +- A file sync such as [Mutagen](https://mutagen.io/) |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +## Why remote development |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +Remote development offers several benefits for users and administrators, including: |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +- **Increased speed** |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | + - Server-grade cloud hardware speeds up operations in software development, from |
| 42 | + loading the IDE to compiling and building code, and running large workloads |
| 43 | + such as those for monolith or microservice applications. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +- **Easier environment management** |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | + - Built-in infrastructure tools such as Terraform, nix, Docker, Dev Containers, and others make it easier to onboard developers with consistent environments. |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +- **Increased security** |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | + - Centralize source code and other data onto private servers or cloud services instead of local developers' machines. |
| 52 | + - Manage users and groups with [SSO](./admin/users/oidc-auth/index.md) and [Role-based access controlled (RBAC)](./admin/users/groups-roles.md#roles). |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +- **Improved compatibility** |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | + - Remote workspaces can share infrastructure configurations with other |
| 57 | + development, staging, and production environments, reducing configuration |
| 58 | + drift. |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +- **Improved accessibility** |
| 61 | + - Connect to remote workspaces via browser-based IDEs or remote IDE |
| 62 | + extensions to enable developers regardless of the device they use, whether |
| 63 | + it's their main device, a lightweight laptop, Chromebook, or iPad. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +Read more about why organizations and engineers are moving to remote |
| 66 | +development on [our blog](https://coder.com/blog), the |
| 67 | +[Slack engineering blog](https://slack.engineering/development-environments-at-slack), |
| 68 | +or from [OpenFaaS's Alex Ellis](https://blog.alexellis.io/the-internet-is-my-computer/). |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +## Why Coder |
| 71 | + |
| 72 | +The key difference between Coder and other remote IDE platforms is the added |
| 73 | +layer of infrastructure control. |
| 74 | +This additional layer allows admins to: |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +- Simultaneously support ARM, Windows, Linux, and macOS workspaces. |
| 77 | +- Modify pod/container specs, such as adding disks, managing network policies, or |
| 78 | + setting/updating environment variables. |
| 79 | +- Use VM or dedicated workspaces, developing with Kernel features (no container |
| 80 | + knowledge required). |
| 81 | +- Enable persistent workspaces, which are like local machines, but faster and |
| 82 | + hosted by a cloud service. |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +## How much does it cost? |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +Coder is free and open source under |
| 87 | +[GNU Affero General Public License v3.0](https://github.com/coder/coder/blob/main/LICENSE). |
| 88 | +All developer productivity features are included in the Open Source version of |
| 89 | +Coder. |
| 90 | +A [Premium license is available](https://coder.com/pricing#compare-plans) for enhanced |
| 91 | +support options and custom deployments. |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +## How does Coder work |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +Coder workspaces are represented with Terraform, but you don't need to know |
| 96 | +Terraform to get started. |
| 97 | +We have a [database of production-ready templates](https://registry.coder.com/templates) |
| 98 | +for use with AWS EC2, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and more. |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +_Providers and compute environments_ |
| 101 | + |
| 102 | +Coder workspaces can be used for more than just compute. |
| 103 | +You can use Terraform to add storage buckets, secrets, sidecars, |
| 104 | +[and more](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/tutorials). |
| 105 | + |
| 106 | +Visit the [templates documentation](./admin/templates/index.md) to learn more. |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +## What Coder is not |
| 109 | + |
| 110 | +- Coder is not an infrastructure as code (IaC) platform. |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | + - Terraform is the first IaC _provisioner_ in Coder, allowing Coder admins to |
| 113 | + define Terraform resources as Coder workspaces. |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +- Coder is not a DevOps/CI platform. |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | + - Coder workspaces can be configured to follow best practices for |
| 118 | + cloud-service-based workloads, but Coder is not responsible for how you |
| 119 | + define or deploy the software you write. |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +- Coder is not an online IDE. |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | + - Coder supports common editors, such as VS Code, vim, and JetBrains, |
| 124 | + all over HTTPS or SSH. |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +- Coder is not a collaboration platform. |
| 127 | + |
| 128 | + - You can use Git with your favorite Git platform and dedicated IDE |
| 129 | + extensions for pull requests, code reviews, and pair programming. |
| 130 | + |
| 131 | +- Coder is not a SaaS/fully-managed offering. |
| 132 | + - Coder is a [self-hosted](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-hosting_(web_services)>) |
| 133 | + solution. |
| 134 | + You must host Coder in a private data center or on a cloud service, such as |
| 135 | + AWS, Azure, or GCP. |
| 136 | + |
| 137 | +## Using Coder v1? |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +If you're a Coder v1 customer, view [the v1 documentation](https://coder.com/docs/v1) |
| 140 | +or [the v2 migration guide and FAQ](https://coder.com/docs/v1/guides/v2-faq). |
| 141 | + |
| 142 | +## Up next |
| 143 | + |
| 144 | +- [Template](./admin/templates/index.md) |
| 145 | +- [Installing Coder](./install/index.md) |
| 146 | +- [Quickstart](./tutorials/quickstart.md) to try Coder out for yourself. |
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