Files
coder/docs/README.md
T
Nick Vigilante e458692cb8 refactor(docs): convert absolute coder/coder blob/tree/main links to relative (DOCS-351) (#26341)
Closes [DOCS-351](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-351).

> [!WARNING]
> **DO NOT MERGE** until
[DOCS-349](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-349)
([coder.com#877](https://github.com/coder/coder.com/pull/877)) has
shipped to production and baked for at least one Vercel cycle.
>
> Without DOCS-349, the relative links in this PR resolve to broken
docs-route URLs (`/docs/helm/coder/values.yaml` -> 404) instead of
GitHub URLs tagged with the displayed docs version. DOCS-349 fixes the
rewriter to classify these as GitHub blob/tree URLs with the page's
resolved ref.

## TL;DR

Converts 121 absolute
`https://github.com/coder/coder/(blob|tree)/main/<path>` links across 39
docs markdown files to relative paths. After this lands AND DOCS-349
deploys, every one of these links will follow the displayed docs version
(mainline tag on bare URLs, explicit tag on `/@vX.Y.Z/`, `main` on
`/@main/`) instead of always pointing to `main`.

## Why

Today a reader on `/docs/@v2.30.0/install/docker` follows a
`compose.yaml` link and arrives at `main`'s `compose.yaml`, which
doesn't necessarily match what the docs page describes. Helm values,
Terraform templates, and source-code references in particular drift
across versions. The fix is to let the coder.com rewriter substitute the
page's resolved ref into the URL; that only works on relative links.

## Example payoff (post-DOCS-349)

| URL | Today (absolute, always `main`) | After (relative + rewriter) |
|---|---|---|
| `/docs/install/docker` |
`https://github.com/coder/coder/blob/main/compose.yaml` |
`https://github.com/coder/coder/blob/v2.34.1/compose.yaml` (today's
mainline) |
| `/docs/@v2.30.0/install/docker` | same as above |
`https://github.com/coder/coder/blob/v2.30.0/compose.yaml` |
| `/docs/@main/install/docker` | same as above |
`https://github.com/coder/coder/blob/main/compose.yaml` |

## Scope

- **121 conversions** across **39 files**.
- Verb breakdown: `tree/main` (directories) and `blob/main` (files),
both flipped to relative paths.
- Line anchors (`#L23-L24`) and query strings preserved verbatim.
- Conversion is mechanical: relative path computed from the doc file's
directory to the target via `os.path.relpath`. Any path starting at the
same directory or below gets a `./` prefix; otherwise `../` chains.

## Rebased on main

The branch was rebased onto `main` after the DOCS-350 hotfix
([#26339](https://github.com/coder/coder/pull/26339)) merged. The hotfix
repointed 3 `docs-backend-contrib-guide` refs in `backend.md` to `main`,
which then needed the same `main` -> relative conversion this PR is
doing for the other 121 links. The conflict was resolved by reapplying
the mechanical conversion to `backend.md` after taking the hotfix's
content. Net result: those 3 links land here as relative, same as
everything else. New HEAD `3f501cb622`.

## Inline fix folded in: dead `nix` link

- `docs/about/contributing/CONTRIBUTING.md:7` -> `../../../nix`

The original absolute URL `https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/nix`
already returned 404 today. Repointed to `flake.nix` (modern Nix
entrypoint, what the prose "Nix environment" semantically refers to).
Closes [DOCS-357](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-357) here since
the `check-docs` Linkspector job surfaced it during rebase; cheaper to
fix inline than in a separate single-line PR.

## Out of scope (filed separately)

- [DOCS-350](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-350): 3 dead
`docs-backend-contrib-guide` branch refs in `backend.md`
([#26339](https://github.com/coder/coder/pull/26339), merged).
- [DOCS-352](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-352): 10 SHA-pinned
`(blob|tree)/<sha>` links pending intent review.
- [DOCS-355](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-355): code-server
analog (4 absolute `(blob|tree)/main` links in `coder/code-server`).
- [DOCS-356](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-356): 2 upstream
content bugs in `coder/code-server/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md` (independent of
this PR).


## Not triggering `/coder-agents-review`

Docs-only edit; per `AGENTS.md` the bot review is reserved for
product/CI changes.

## Pre-mortem

| Concern | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Merging before DOCS-349 deploys regresses ~120 currently-working links
into 404s on coder.com | Clear DO-NOT-MERGE banner; tracked as blocker
in Linear. |
| Relative path computed incorrectly (off-by-one `..`) | Verified all
114 newly-relative non-md/non-image paths resolve to existing files in
the repo (only exception is the pre-existing dead `nix` link above). |
| Line anchors stripped during conversion | Preserved by the
substitution regex; verified `#L<n>-L<m>` cases in `airgap.md` and
`speed-up-templates.md`. |
| Future code reorgs change file locations | Relative links will start
pointing to nothing. Same failure mode as absolute links pointing to
renamed files; can be caught with a future link-checker job. |

## Validation

```
$ grep -rE 'github\.com/coder/coder/(blob|tree)/main' docs --include="*.md" | wc -l
0
$ git diff --stat origin/main | tail -1
39 files changed, 118 insertions(+), 118 deletions(-)
```

114 newly-relative paths verified to resolve to existing repo files
(Python `os.path.exists` check on each computed target).

<details>
<summary>Decision log + planning context</summary>

**Why relative over `(blob|tree)/{{currentDocsVersion}}/...`
templating**: relative paths require zero markdown-system support and
zero upstream churn beyond this one PR. Templating would require a
preprocessor on `coder.com` side AND a convention upstream authors have
to remember; relative paths just work in a plain editor and
`github.com`'s own renderer too.

**Why `./` prefix on same-directory targets**: makes the conversion
grep-able later (`grep -E '\((\.\./|\./)'`).

**Why preserve `#L<n>-L<m>` anchors verbatim**: the anchor is meaningful
to the linked file's content, not to the URL form; keeping it as-is
preserves authorial intent. If the file later changes such that the line
range drifts, that's a different problem the SHA-pin audit
([DOCS-352](https://linear.app/codercom/issue/DOCS-352)) will surface.

</details>

---

*Generated by Coder Agents on @nickvigilante's behalf.*





## Drive-by external link fix folded in

`docs/about/contributing/CONTRIBUTING.md:296` cited
`https://reflectoring.io/meaningful-commit-messages/` which is returning
HTTP 503 (the host appears to be down site-wide right now). `check-docs`
Linkspector flagged it after the rebase. Replaced with
`https://cbea.ms/git-commit/` (Chris Beams' canonical "If applied, this
commit will..." article, confirmed 200), which is the original source of
the rule the prose recites anyway.
2026-06-22 11:39:12 -04:00

7.7 KiB

About

Coder is a self-hosted platform for running AI coding agents and cloud development environments on infrastructure you control. It works with any cloud, IDE, OS, Git provider, and IDP.

Coder platform showing templates and a running workspace

Coder Workspaces

Coder Workspaces are cloud development environments defined with Terraform, connected through a secure Wireguard tunnel, and automatically shut down when not in use. Agents and developers share the same workspace infrastructure.

  • Defined in Terraform: Templates describe the infrastructure for each workspace, from EC2 VMs and Kubernetes Pods to Docker containers.
  • Any architecture and OS: Support ARM and x86-64 across Windows, Linux, and macOS from a single deployment.
  • Managed by admins: Platform teams create and maintain templates that enforce approved images, resource limits, and security policies.
  • Accessed from any IDE: Connect through VS Code, JetBrains, Cursor, a web terminal, remote desktop, or SSH.
  • Automatic shutdown: Idle workspaces stop automatically to reduce cloud spend, and restart in seconds when needed.

Coder Agents

Coder Agents is a native AI coding agent built into Coder. The agent loop runs in the Coder control plane on your infrastructure, not in the workspace and not in a vendor's cloud. Developers interact with agents through the web UI or the REST API for programmatic and CI-driven workflows.

  • Self-hosted agent loop: The control plane handles planning, model calls, and tool dispatch. Workspaces have zero AI awareness.
  • No API keys in workspaces: LLM credentials stay in the control plane.
  • Any model: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, or self-hosted endpoints. Switching is a configuration change.
  • Governance and cost controls: Centralized model approval, per-user spend limits, and audit logging.
  • Open source and inspectable: The full platform is available to audit and extend.

Coder Agents chat interface with git diff sidebar

IDE support

IDE icons

You can use:

Why remote development

Provisioning consistent development environments for a large engineering team is difficult. Each developer has preferences for operating systems, editors, and toolchains, and ensuring a reliable build environment across all of them is a maintenance burden. A missed step during onboarding or an unsupported local configuration can cost hours of debugging.

Remote development solves this by moving the environment off the developer's machine and into managed infrastructure. The developer's laptop becomes a portal into the actual compute where work happens. If a device is lost or replaced, access is simply revoked; no source code or credentials are stored locally.

This approach provides:

  • Speed: Server-grade hardware accelerates builds, tests, and large workloads without requiring expensive local machines.
  • Consistency: Infrastructure tools such as Terraform, nix, Docker, and Dev Containers produce identical environments for every developer.
  • Security: Source code stays on private servers. Users and groups are managed through SSO and RBAC.
  • Compatibility: Workspaces share infrastructure configurations with staging and production, reducing configuration drift.
  • Accessibility: Browser-based IDEs and remote IDE extensions let developers work from any device, including lightweight laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets.

Read more on the Coder blog, the Slack engineering blog, or from Alex Ellis at OpenFaaS.

Why Coder

The key difference between Coder and other platforms is that the entire system, agent loop, control plane, model routing, and workspace provisioning, runs on infrastructure you control.

For agents, this means platform teams can:

  • Run the entire agent loop on their infrastructure, with no SaaS dependency for orchestration.
  • Define MCP servers, skills, and system prompts centrally so every agent session starts with the same tools, policies, and context.
  • Keep LLM credentials out of workspaces entirely.
  • Tie every agent action to an authenticated user identity.
  • Support air-gapped and restricted-network deployments with self-hosted models.

For workspaces, this means admins can:

  • Support any architecture (ARM, x86-64) and operating system (Windows, Linux, macOS).
  • Modify pod/container specs, such as adding disks, managing network policies, or setting/updating environment variables.
  • Use VM or 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.

Pricing

Coder is free and open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. All developer productivity features are included in the open source version. A Premium license is available for enhanced support and custom deployments.

How Coder works

Coder workspaces are represented with Terraform, but you do not need to know Terraform to get started. The Coder Registry provides production-ready templates for AWS EC2, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and other providers.

Providers and compute environmentsProviders and compute environments

Workspaces can include more than just compute. Terraform can add storage buckets, secrets, sidecars, and other resources.

See the templates documentation for details.

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 be configured to 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.

    • Coder supports common editors, such as VS Code, vim, and JetBrains, all over HTTPS or SSH.
  • Coder is not a collaboration platform.

    • You can use Git with your favorite Git platform and dedicated IDE extensions for pull requests, code reviews, and pair programming.
  • Coder is not a SaaS/fully-managed offering.

    • Coder is a self-hosted solution. You must host Coder in a private data center or on a cloud service, such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Learn more