code-server
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 19 of 33 IDEs by recommenders
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.
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.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 93%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 13 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Use VS Code from any browser
“used this for 6 months before dropping vs code and loved it if you don't mind using the browser”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “GitHub confirms breach of 3,800 repos via malicious VSCode extension” “you don't need a local vscode instance to connect to your vscode container, just a browser”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: What dev tools do you rely on that nobody talks about?” “it was actually quite powerful, when used from an iPad”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Apple Creator Studio” - Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “I Am Building a Cloud”
Extensions and dev tools work
“upgrade to https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-code-server/ and run any vscode plugins”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Work with Codex from Anywhere” “I can build my own podman image on top of it with whatever dev tools I need”
Comment from 1 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: What dev tools do you rely on that nobody talks about?” “You then get all extensions, etc.”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Zellij: A terminal workspace with batteries included” Stable, fun dev setup
“The other day I vibed a very stable codeserver (vscode in browser)”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “I Am Building a Cloud” “I cannot overstate how awesome it is for just a fun dev setup”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Apple Creator Studio”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Memory hungry, crashes small boards
“it's too memory hungry. It would crash Raspberry Pi (1GB) by eating up all the RAM.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “VSCode's SSH Agent Is Bananas (2025)”
Other IDEs people recommend
The four most recommended other IDEs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBrains IDEs | 233 | 143 | 62% | 13 | 10 yrs39 owners | — |
| IntelliJ IDEA | 206 | 105 | 66% | 13 | 10 yrs18 owners | — |
| Microsoft Visual Studio | 165 | 165 | 50% | 12 | 10 yrs10 owners | — |
| Delphi | 126 | 44 | 74% | 13 | 23 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| code-serverThis page | 13 | 1 | 93% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
14 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it's too memory hungry. It would crash Raspberry Pi (1GB) by eating up all the RAM.”
“vscode server and links2 probably wont cut it”
“used this for 6 months before dropping vs code and loved it if you don't mind using the browser”
“upgrade to https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-code-server/ and run any vscode plugins”
“these options worked well for me”
“The other day I vibed a very stable codeserver (vscode in browser)”
“you don't need a local vscode instance to connect to your vscode container, just a browser”
“I can build my own podman image on top of it with whatever dev tools I need”
“would not give up the ability to have a proper gui”
“I cannot overstate how awesome it is for just a fun dev setup”
“it was actually quite powerful, when used from an iPad”
“Have you tried vscode server?”
“code server running there automatically port forwards and giving me ssl.”
“You then get all extensions, etc.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.