Ethan
c4ef94aacf
## Problem Chats with a persisted `agent_id` binding hang indefinitely when the workspace is stopped. The stale agent row still exists in the DB, so `ensureWorkspaceAgent` succeeds, but the dial blocks forever in `AwaitReachable`. The MCP discovery goroutine used an unbounded context, so `g2.Wait()` never returned and the LLM never started. ## Fix Three targeted changes restore the pre-binding behavior where stopped workspaces degrade gracefully instead of blocking: 1. **`dialWithLazyValidation`**: "no agents in latest build" is now a terminal fast-fail — the hanging dial is canceled and `errChatHasNoWorkspaceAgent` returned immediately, instead of falling through to `waitForOriginalDial`. 2. **Pre-LLM workspace setup**: MCP discovery and instruction persistence gate on `workspaceAgentIDForConn` before attempting any dial. MCP discovery is bounded by a 5s timeout and checks the in-memory tool cache first (using the cheap cached agent from `ensureWorkspaceAgent`), so the common subsequent-turn path has zero DB queries. 3. **`persistInstructionFiles`**: tracks whether the workspace connection succeeded and skips sentinel persistence on failure, so the next turn retries if the workspace is restarted. ## Scenarios **Running workspace, subsequent turn (hot path):** MCP cache hit via in-memory cached agent. Zero DB queries, zero dials. Unchanged from #23274. **Stopped workspace, persisted binding (the bug):** MCP cache hit (stale descriptors, fine — they fail at invocation). Pre-LLM setup completes instantly. Tool invocation enters `dialWithLazyValidation`, dial fails or hangs, validation discovers no agents, returns `errChatHasNoWorkspaceAgent`. Model sees the error and can call `start_workspace`. **New chat, running workspace:** `ensureWorkspaceAgent` resolves via latest-build, persists binding. MCP discovery dials and caches tools. **New chat, stopped workspace:** `ensureWorkspaceAgent` finds no agents, returns `errChatHasNoWorkspaceAgent`. Pre-LLM setup skips. LLM starts with built-in tools only. **Rebuilt workspace (agent switched):** MCP cache hit with stale agent (harmless for one turn). Tool invocation dials stale agent, fails fast, `dialWithLazyValidation` switches to new agent, persists updated binding. **Workspace restarted after stop:** No sentinel was persisted during the stopped turn, so instruction persistence retries. Agent binding switches to the new agent via `workspaceAgentIDForConn`. **Transient DB error during validation:** Not `errChatHasNoWorkspaceAgent`, so `dialWithLazyValidation` falls through to `waitForOriginalDial` (cannot prove stale). No false positive. **Tool invocation on stopped workspace:** `getWorkspaceConn` calls `ensureWorkspaceAgent` (returns stale row), then `dialWithLazyValidation` validation discovers no agents, returns `errChatHasNoWorkspaceAgent`, cached state cleared, error returned to model.
Coder enables organizations to set up development environments in their public or private cloud infrastructure. Cloud development environments are defined with Terraform, connected through a secure high-speed Wireguard® tunnel, and automatically shut down when not used to save on costs. Coder gives engineering teams the flexibility to use the cloud for workloads most beneficial to them.
- 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
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 our
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. Use our install guides for a complete walkthrough.
Documentation
Browse our docs here or visit a specific section below:
- Templates: Templates are written in Terraform and describe the infrastructure for workspaces
- Workspaces: Workspaces contain the IDEs, dependencies, and configuration information needed for software development
- IDEs: Connect your existing editor to a workspace
- Administration: Learn how to operate Coder
- Premium: Learn about our paid features built for large teams
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
We are always working on new integrations. Please feel free to open an issue and ask for an integration. Contributions are welcome in any official or community repositories.
Official
- 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 Container Builder: Build development environments using
devcontainer.jsonon Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenShift - Coder Registry: Build and extend development environments with common use-cases
- 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.
- Setup Coder: An action to setup coder CLI in GitHub workflows.
Community
- 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
Contributing
We are always happy to see new contributors to Coder. If you are new to the Coder codebase, we have a guide on how to get started. We'd love to see your contributions!
Hiring
Apply here if you're interested in joining our team.