January 2022 Summaries

Deploying Coder with Docker and HTTPS involves using a reverse proxy, such as nginx, to enable TLS encryption for network traffic. This process is different from deploying on Kubernetes but is just as important for securing the Coder instance. The reverse proxy masks incoming traffic and enables running services on various ports without exposing them to user-facing networks. To set up a reverse proxy with nginx, you need an SSL/TLS certificate, domain name, Docker Engine, and Docker Compose installed. Once the server configuration is set, define your multi-container application using a .yaml file in Docker Compose. Finally, run docker-compose up -d to start both containers simultaneously, allowing access to your Coder instance from the domain.

In 2021, the code-server project made significant improvements including increased test coverage from 46.86% to 66%, addition of end-to-end testing with Playwright, launching deploy-code-server repo for one-click cloud deployment, rewriting VS Code integration to rely more on upstream changes, and engaging more with the community through updates and discussions. The project also gained over 13,000 new GitHub stars and had around 215 merged PRs from community members.

A Meetup is being hosted at the Austin Office on September 24th, 2024. Interested attendees or speakers should express their interest. Recently, a vulnerability (CVE-2022-0185) was discovered in Linux kernel versions 5.1 and above, affecting users of Coder. The issue allows non-privileged users to gain root access by exploiting an integer underflow. Coder relies on third-party components that use non-privileged user namespaces for security and isolation. One mitigation strategy is to disable unprivileged user namespaces, but this may interfere with core system functionality. Instead, it's recommended to update the Linux kernel on all systems running Coder workspaces as soon as possible. Additionally, workspace process logging can be enabled in Coder version 1.27 to monitor exploit attempts. Ubuntu and Red Hat have released security bulletins for this issue, and users should check their distribution's security bulletins periodically for new information on potential vulnerabilities and install security patches as soon as they are available.

Coder has released version 1.27, which includes new features such as workspace process logging, rootless Podman support, code-server 4.0 upgrade, and more. The addition of Podman allows users to run it in Coder workspaces as an alternative to running CVM workspaces, providing flexibility for various use-cases and infrastructure stacks. Workspace process logging enables admins to audit commands entered into Coder workspaces by users, with the option to send logs to monitoring systems like CloudWatch. Additionally, code-server 4.0 has been bundled in this release, and a UI toggle allows disabling auto-off for workspaces that need continuous operation. Furthermore, username/password logins can now be disabled for deployments with OIDC single sign-on enabled, while still maintaining an admin bypass option.

Gitpod and Coder are cloud-based developer environment providers, with Gitpod targeting individuals or small teams through a SaaS offering, while Coder focuses on enterprises with self-hosted solutions. Both platforms offer benefits such as immediate coding access, secure source code handling, less drift in development environments, greater compute power, and remote access. However, they differ in their supported IDEs and workspace infrastructure options. Gitpod is more opinionated about its model for development environments and supports multiple IDEs beyond VS Code in the web browser. Coder, on the other hand, offers a wider range of enterprise-grade features such as built-in single-sign-on, audit log, configurable workspace resources, quotas, and usage metrics. Both platforms provide support for different types of workspace infrastructure, integration with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and VS Code IDEs. Coder also supports JetBrains IDEs, custom apps and IDEs, Docker in workspaces, GPUs in workspaces, collaboration via third-party IDE extensions, CLI access, REST API, and workspace pre-builds and snapshots. Gitpod's SaaS offering is single-tenant, while Coder offers self-hosted solutions on Docker, Kubernetes, or VMs, with multi-region support for geographically distributed teams.

NOV, a Fortune 500 independent provider of oilfield equipment and technologies, was looking for an adaptive solution to meet the diverse needs of its data science teams. The company's Data Science Operations Manager, Joshua Cluff, recognized the need for a platform that could support legacy IDEs like RStudio alongside newer ones like VS Code and PyCharm, with robust debugging features. After exploring various options, Coder was found to be a suitable solution, offering cloud provider agnosticism, multi-editor and IDE support, encrypted TLS browser sessions, and secure workspace management. This transition enabled NOV's data scientists to use their preferred tools without compromising on security or sysadmin burden.

The project, code-server, has released version 4.0 after a three-year hiatus since March 2020. The update includes improvements such as a new VS Code architecture and the adoption of the Open-VSX extension registry, which enables support for various language extensions and web extensions, allowing users to seamlessly switch between different IDEs without changing their workflow. The release marks a significant milestone for the project, with over 50,000 GitHub stars, indicating its growing popularity and community engagement.

Brikl, a B2B e-commerce software platform for micro-stores, is hosting a Meetup at its Austin Office on September 24th. The company was founded in 2016 and has offices in the United States, Bangkok, London, and Amsterdam. As it grew rapidly, Brikl faced challenges with slow performance on local machines for developers. They eventually chose Coder as their solution to move development to the cloud, which allowed them to scale easily and improve developer productivity.

The text discusses a Meetup at an Austin Office, focusing on DevOps and automated deployments. It highlights the benefits of using Coder + Shipyard for setting up ephemeral development and staging environments. These platforms automate developer workspaces following DevOps best practices, allowing teams to create consistent and accessible environments. The process involves developers creating their workspace from a template, committing code to source control, and creating a pull request for review. Automated ephemeral environments enable faster feedback cycles and more thorough feature testing, resulting in quicker, more stable releases.

Coder, an Austin-based company, has been recognized as one of the Best Remote Companies to Work For in 2022 by Built In. This is the second consecutive year that Coder has received a spot on Built In's esteemed Best Places to Work Awards. The company transitioned to a remote-first workforce in late 2020 and was also named one of the Best Companies to Work For in Austin last year. Built In determines the winners based on an algorithm that considers compensation, benefits, companywide programming, and other employee-focused criteria. Coder is currently hiring and encourages interested candidates to subscribe to their monthly newsletter for updates.