feat: initial docs pages (#1107)

* docs structure and edits to getting started * draft for about page * skeleton for concepts page * attempt at explaining templates * left-align tables * add best practices and variables * update structrure * update structure * templates are shared * workspaces docs * remove coming soon * fix typos * docs structure and edits to getting started * draft for about page * skeleton for concepts page * attempt at explaining templates * left-align tables * add best practices and variables * update structrure * update structure * templates are shared * workspaces docs * remove coming soon * fix typos * fix typos * Update docs/about.md Co-authored-by: Joe Previte <jjprevite@gmail.com> * remove line breaks between bullets * rename variables to parameters * reduce limits * chore: edit text * revert some changes, fix footnotes Co-authored-by: Katie Horne <katie@coder.com> Co-authored-by: Joe Previte <jjprevite@gmail.com>
2026-09-24 15:04:27 +08:00 · 2022-04-26 12:10:50 -05:00
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+# About Coder
+
+Coder is an open source platform for creating and managing developer workspaces
+on your preferred clouds and servers.
+
+By building on top of common development interfaces (SSH) and infrastructure tools (Terraform), Coder aims to make the process of **provisioning** and **accessing** remote workspaces approachable for organizations of various sizes and stages of cloud-native maturity.
+
+> ⚠️ Coder v2 is in **alpha** state and is not ready for production use. For
+> production environments, please consider [Coder v1](https://coder.com/docs) or
+> [code-server](https://github.com/cdr/code-server).
+
+## Why remote development
+
+Migrating from local developer machines to workspaces hosted by cloud services
+is an increasingly common solution for developers[^1] and organizations[^2]
+alike. There are several benefits, including:
+
+- **Increased speed:** Server-grade compute speeds up operations in software
+  development, such as IDE loading, code compilation and building, and the
+  running of large workloads (such as those for monolith or microservice
+  applications)
+
+- **Easier environment management:** Tools such as Terraform, nix, Docker,
+  devcontainers, and so on make developer onboarding and the troubleshooting of
+  development environments easier
+
+- **Increase security:** Centralize source code and other data onto private
+  servers or cloud services instead of local developer machines
+
+- **Improved compatibility:** Remote workspaces share infrastructure
+  configuration with other development, staging, and production environments,
+  reducing configuration drift
+
+- **Improved accessibility:** Devices such as lightweight notebooks,
+  Chromebooks, and iPads can connect to remote workspaces via browser-based IDEs
+  or remote IDE extensions
+
+## Why Coder
+
+The key difference between Coder v2 and other remote IDE platforms is the added
+layer of infrastructure control. This additional layer allows admins to:
+
+- Support ARM, Windows, Linux, and macOS workspaces
+- Modify pod/container specs (e.g., adding disks, managing network policies,
+  setting/updating environment variables)
+- Use VM/dedicated workspaces, developing with Kernel features (no container
+  knowledge required)
+- Enable persistent workspaces, which are like local machines, but faster and
+  hosted by a cloud service
+
+Coder includes [production-ready templates](../examples) for use with AWS EC2,
+Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and more.
+
+## What Coder is *not*
+
+- Coder is not an infrastructure as code (IaC) platform. Terraform is the first
+  IaC *provisioner* in Coder, allowing Coder admins to define Terraform
+ resources as Coder workspaces.
+
+- Coder is not a DevOps/CI platform. Coder workspaces can follow best practices
+  for cloud service-based workloads, but Coder is not responsible for how you
+  define or deploy the software you write.
+
+- Coder is not an online IDE. Instead, Coder supports common editors, such as VS
+  Code, vim, and JetBrains, over HTTPS or SSH.
+
+- Coder is not a collaboration platform. You can use git and dedicated IDE
+  extensions for pull requests, code reviews, and pair programming.
+
+- Coder is not a SaaS/fully-managed offering. You must host
+  Coder on a cloud service (AWS, Azure, GCP) or your private data center.
+
+---
+
+Next: [Templates](./templates.md)
+
+[^1]: alexellis.io: [The Internet is my computer](https://blog.alexellis.io/the-internet-is-my-computer/)
+
+[^2]: slack.engineering: [Development environments at Slack](https://slack.engineering/development-environments-at-slack)