mirror of
https://github.com/coder/coder.git
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Kyle Carberry
1742003785
## Problem
Workspace context surfaced in chat (Coder Agents) is incomplete and racy
on a fresh boot:
- The context panel is missing personal skills (only repo-level skills
under `.claude/skills` show up).
- The MCP section lists `.mcp.json` files but no MCP servers are
registered.
- The Issues panel reports instruction files as unreadable, e.g.
`CLAUDE.md (file: unreadable)` and `.cursorrules (file: unreadable)`
with `symlink resolve: lstat .../AGENTS.md: no such file or directory`.
## Root cause
`agentcontext.Manager` collected and pushed context too eagerly:
- `NewManager` ran an eager resolve at agent `init()`.
- `RunPush` starts as a normal connection routine (`startAgentAPI210`)
with no lifecycle gating, so the first snapshot was pushed
(`Initial=true`) as soon as the agent API connected.
Both happened **before startup scripts finish** and before the lifecycle
reaches `ready`. At that point:
- `CLAUDE.md` / `.cursorrules` symlinks to `AGENTS.md` don't resolve
yet, so `EvalSymlinks` fails and the resolver emits `StatusUnreadable`
"symlink resolve" issues.
- Personal skills haven't synced yet, so they're missing.
- MCP servers connect via `mcpManager.Reload(...)` only **after**
`ready`, so only `.mcp.json` configs appear, with no servers.
That partial, error-laden snapshot is persisted by coderd and can
hydrate a chat.
## Fix
Gate `agentcontext.Manager` until the agent is ready, unconditionally:
- The Manager always starts gated. `NewManager` leaves the zero-value
(version 0) snapshot in place and never walks the filesystem; `RunPush`
withholds version-0 snapshots, so nothing reaches coderd.
- The agent calls `Manager.SetReady()` from the lifecycle transition in
`handleManifest`, right after startup scripts finish (`ready`, or
terminal `start_error` / `start_timeout` so a failed startup still
surfaces whatever context exists).
- On `SetReady`, the Manager performs the first real resolve (version 1)
and broadcasts it; `RunPush` ships it with `Initial=true`. Later changes
(MCP connect, skill edits) re-resolve and push as before.
Eager resolution before `ready` was the bug, not a mode worth
preserving, so the gate is always on rather than an opt-in option. This
aligns the agent-side push with chatd, which already waits for agent
readiness before loading context. No proto/coderd/DB changes: coderd
simply never receives a pre-ready snapshot.
<details>
<summary>Design notes & decisions</summary>
- **Unconditional, not opt-in.** An earlier iteration added the gate as
an opt-in `ManagerOptions.GateUntilReady`. Since the eager
resolve-on-construct was the defect, the option, the eager first
resolve, and the now-dead `resolveLocked` helper were all removed; the
Manager is always gated until `SetReady`.
- **Version 0 is the pre-ready sentinel.** The gated placeholder is just
the zero-value snapshot (version 0); the first real resolve is version
1, so the push loop withholds anything at version 0. An earlier revision
carried a dedicated `Snapshot.Initializing` bool plus an HTTP `/resync`
field, but the push loop was the only consumer and nothing read the HTTP
field, so both were dropped.
- **Defer, don't retry symlinks.** Transient "unreadable" symlinks are
an artifact of collecting before checkout. Deferring until `ready` fixes
all three symptom classes at once and avoids masking genuine post-ready
errors (a broken symlink at `ready` is still reported).
- **Release on terminal startup states too** (`start_error`,
`start_timeout`), so a failed startup still surfaces whatever context
exists instead of gating forever. On reconnect the Manager instance is
reused and stays ready.
</details>
## Tests
- `agentcontext.TestManager_WithholdsCollectionUntilReady` simulates
collection running before startup finishes (broken `CLAUDE.md` /
`.cursorrules` -> `AGENTS.md` symlinks): asserts the gated snapshot is
the empty version-0 placeholder with no resources and no `unreadable`
issues, and that after `SetReady` (target now present) the inventory
resolves cleanly to a single instruction file with no spurious issues.
- `agentcontext.TestRunPush_WaitsForReady` asserts the push loop ships
nothing while gated even when content exists, then ships the full
inventory with `Initial=true` after `SetReady`.
- `agentcontext.TestManager_SetReadyIsIdempotent` covers the version-0
placeholder before ready, the single resolve to version 1 on `SetReady`,
and idempotency across repeated calls.
- Updated `agent.TestAgent_ContextStatePushed`: the first push now
already contains `AGENTS.md` with `Initial=true` and no `UNREADABLE`
resources (no pre-startup empty/partial push).
Validated on the changed packages: `go test -race
./agent/agentcontext/...`, `go test ./agent/ -run
TestAgent_ContextStatePushed`, `golangci-lint run`, `go vet`, `gofmt`
(all clean).
---
🤖 Generated by Coder Agents on behalf of @kylecarbs.
Coder is a self-hosted platform for cloud development environments and AI coding agents. Workspaces are defined with Terraform, connected through a secure Wireguard® tunnel, and automatically shut down when not used. Coder Agents runs a native AI coding agent whose loop executes in the control plane on your infrastructure, with no API keys in workspaces.
- Define cloud development environments in Terraform
- EC2 VMs, Kubernetes Pods, Docker Containers, etc.
- Automatically shutdown idle resources to save on costs
- Onboard developers in seconds instead of days
- Delegate coding work to AI agents on your infrastructure
- Bring any model (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, self-hosted)
- No LLM credentials in workspaces, user identity on every action
- Centralized model governance, cost tracking, and audit logging
Quickstart
The most convenient way to try Coder is to install it on your local machine and experiment with provisioning cloud development environments using Docker (works on Linux, macOS, and Windows).
# First, install Coder
curl -L https://coder.com/install.sh | sh
# Start the Coder server (caches data in ~/.cache/coder)
coder server
# Navigate to http://localhost:3000 to create your initial user,
# create a Docker template and provision a workspace
Install
The easiest way to install Coder is to use the
install script for Linux
and macOS. For Windows, use the latest ..._installer.exe file from GitHub
Releases.
curl -L https://coder.com/install.sh | sh
You can run the install script with --dry-run to see the commands that will be used to install without executing them. Run the install script with --help for additional flags.
See install for additional methods.
Once installed, you can start a production deployment with a single command:
# Automatically sets up an external access URL on *.try.coder.app
coder server
# Requires a PostgreSQL instance (version 13 or higher) and external access URL
coder server --postgres-url <url> --access-url <url>
Use coder --help to get a list of flags and environment variables. See the install guides for a complete tutorial.
Documentation
Browse the documentation or visit a specific section below:
- Workspaces: Workspaces contain the IDEs, dependencies, and configuration information needed for software development
- Templates: Templates are written in Terraform and describe the infrastructure for workspaces
- Coder Agents: Delegate coding work to AI agents running on your self-hosted infrastructure
- Administration: Learn how to operate Coder
- Premium: Learn about paid features built for large teams
- IDEs: Connect your existing editor to a workspace
Support
Feel free to open an issue if you have questions, run into bugs, or have a feature request.
Join our Discord to provide feedback on in-progress features and chat with the community using Coder!
Integrations
New integrations are always in progress. Open an issue to request one. Contributions are welcome in any official or community repository.
Official
- Coder Registry: Templates, modules, and integrations for common development environments
- VS Code Extension: Open any Coder workspace in VS Code with a single click
- JetBrains Toolbox Plugin: Open any Coder workspace from JetBrains Toolbox with a single click
- JetBrains Gateway Plugin: Open any Coder workspace in JetBrains Gateway with a single click
- Dev Containers: Build development environments using
devcontainer.jsonon Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenShift - Kubernetes Log Stream: Stream Kubernetes Pod events to the Coder startup logs
- Self-Hosted VS Code Extension Marketplace: A private extension marketplace that works in restricted or airgapped networks integrating with code-server.
- GitHub Actions: An action to set up the Coder CLI in GitHub workflows
Community
- Community Templates: Community-contributed workspace templates in the Coder Registry
- Community Modules: Community-contributed modules to extend Coder templates
- Provision Coder with Terraform: Provision Coder on Google GKE, Azure AKS, AWS EKS, DigitalOcean DOKS, IBMCloud K8s, OVHCloud K8s, and Scaleway K8s Kapsule with Terraform
- Coder Template GitHub Action: A GitHub Action that updates Coder templates
- Discord: Chat with the community and provide feedback on in-progress features
Contributing
New contributors are always welcome. If you are new to the Coder codebase, see the contribution guide to get started.
Hiring
Apply on the careers page if you are interested in joining the team.