Ben PotterandJeremy Ruppel
7b19ec3933
Makes it easier to pick the right workspace image, both in the template builder and in the docs. - Template builder: the Docker and Kubernetes bases now expose a `container_image` variable in the wizard (freeform text, defaults to `codercom/example-base:ubuntu`), and their prerequisites explain why image choice matters, with tradeoffs between `codercom/example-base:ubuntu` (minimal) and `codercom/example-universal:ubuntu` (catch-all), plus pointers to [coder/images](https://github.com/coder/images) and the image management docs. - Docs: reworked [image management](https://coder.com/docs/@ben%2Fdevrel-201-image-guidance-prereqs/admin/templates/managing-templates/image-management) into a clearer maturity ladder (minimal → golden → project-specific → developer customization), with pullable image references in every example, `codercom/oss-dogfood` as a project-specific example, and Dev Containers + [mise](https://mise.jdx.dev/) as ways to customize without new images. Companion PR for the starter templates: coder/registry#943 Part of DEVREL-201. 🤖 Generated with Coder Agents using Claude, on behalf of @bpmct (wizard variable by @jeremyruppel in #27024) --------- Co-authored-by: Jeremy Ruppel <jeremyruppel@users.noreply.github.com>
display_name, description, icon, maintainer_github, verified, tags
| display_name | description | icon | maintainer_github | verified | tags | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docker Containers | Provision Docker containers as Coder workspaces | ../../../site/static/icon/docker.png | coder | true |
|
Remote Development on Docker Containers
Provision Docker containers as Coder workspaces with this example template.
Prerequisites
Workspace image
The container image determines what tools, languages, and runtimes are available in the workspace out of the box, so it has a major impact on the developer experience.
Some options to consider:
codercom/example-base:ubuntu(default): minimal and lightweight, but may not include many tools developers expect by defaultcodercom/example-universal:ubuntu: catch-all image with many languages and tools available, but larger and slower to pull
More language-specific images (Go, Java, Node.js, and more) are available in coder/images, and the devcontainers/images collection is another good source of ready-made development images. You can also build your own image to pre-bake the exact tools your team needs. Visit Coder's image management docs for additional guidance.
Infrastructure
The VM you run Coder on must have a running Docker socket and the coder user must be added to the Docker group:
# Add coder user to Docker group
sudo adduser coder docker
# Restart Coder server
sudo systemctl restart coder
# Test Docker
sudo -u coder docker ps
Architecture
This template provisions the following resources:
- Docker image (built by Docker socket and kept locally)
- Docker container pod (ephemeral)
- Docker volume (persistent on
/home/coder)
This means, when the workspace restarts, any tools or files outside of the home directory are not persisted. To pre-bake tools into the workspace (e.g. python3), modify the container image. Alternatively, individual developers can personalize their workspaces with dotfiles.
Note
This template is designed to be a starting point! Edit the Terraform to extend the template to support your use case.
Editing the image
Edit the Dockerfile and run coder templates push to update workspaces.