# code-server

13 Hacker News commenters recommended code-server and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Runs VS Code in a browser on your own server, so any device with a browser can work in it. Critics warn it is memory hungry.

## Why people recommend it

- Use VS Code from any browser (4 comments): "used this for 6 months before dropping vs code and loved it if you don't mind using the browser" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48275655)) "you don't need a local vscode instance to connect to your vscode container, just a browser" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47616866)) "it was actually quite powerful, when used from an iPad" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46601305))
- Extensions and dev tools work (3 comments): "upgrade to https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-code-server/ and run any vscode plugins" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48142588)) "I can build my own podman image on top of it with whatever dev tools I need" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47606173)) "You then get all extensions, etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46168256))
- Stable, fun dev setup (2 comments): "The other day I vibed a very stable codeserver (vscode in browser)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47880576)) "I cannot overstate how awesome it is for just a fun dev setup" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46601799))

## What people warn about

- Memory hungry, crashes small boards (1 comments): "it's too memory hungry. It would crash Raspberry Pi (1GB) by eating up all the RAM." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49825523))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [JetBrains IDEs](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jetbrains-ides.md): 233 recommend
- [IntelliJ IDEA](https://hackerapproved.com/p/intellij-idea.md): 206 recommend
- [Microsoft Visual Studio](https://hackerapproved.com/p/visual-studio.md): 165 recommend
- [Delphi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/delphi.md): 126 recommend
- [Xcode](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xcode.md): 100 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "code-server", https://hackerapproved.com/p/code-server/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).