Code Server

Run VS Code in the browser as a devframe panel. The plugin detects a local editor binary, launches it on demand, and embeds the editor in an auto-authenticated iframe. Its launcher is a small Vue SPA built on the shared @antfu/design system, matching the rest of the devframe surfaces.

Package: @devframes/plugin-code-server · framework: Vue

What it does

• Detection — on startup it probes the resolved binary with --version. When none is found, the launcher renders install instructions instead of a launch button.
• Launch — the launcher's button starts the editor as a managed child process bound to a free port, scoped to the workspace, and probes readiness before embedding it.
• Auto-auth — the plugin generates fresh auth material per launch and hands it to the already-authorized devframe client, so the editor opens already signed in. code-server uses a session cookie; code serve-web uses a connection token on the URL.

The editor iframe points at the server's own origin, so its WebSocket traffic flows directly without a reverse proxy.

Backends

mode: 'local' (the default) embeds a server running on this machine. Pick the backend with backend, or leave it unset to auto-detect — the plugin prefers code-server on PATH, then falls back to the code CLI's serve-web.

backend	Binary	Auth handoff
'code-server'	Coder's code-server	password + session cookie
'ms-code-serve-web'	Microsoft's code serve-web	connection token (?tkn=)

Tunnel mode

mode: 'tunnel' runs Microsoft's code tunnel and embeds the hosted vscode.dev editor. The first launch surfaces a device-login prompt (a verification URL and a one-time code) in the launcher; authentication is handled by vscode.dev. Tunnel mode always uses the code CLI.

Standalone

npx @devframes/plugin-code-server

Mount into a Vite host

// vite.config.ts
import { codeServerVite } from '@devframes/plugin-code-server/vite'
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    codeServerVite(),
  ],
})

Programmatic

import { createCodeServerDevframe } from '@devframes/plugin-code-server'

export default createCodeServerDevframe({
  // backend: 'code-server',    // 'code-server' | 'ms-code-serve-web' (default: auto-detect)
  // mode: 'local',             // 'local' | 'tunnel'
  // serverPort: 8080,          // force a port (default: free port near 8080)
  // startOnBoot: true,         // launch during setup instead of on demand
  // reuseExistingServer: true, // adopt a server already answering on the port
  // tunnel: { name: 'my-box' },
})

RPC surface

All functions are namespaced devframes:plugin:code-server:*:

Function	Type	Purpose
detect	query	Re-probe for the binary; returns { installed, version, bin, backend, mode }.
status	query	Current status plus the connect descriptor when running.
start	action	Launch and wait for readiness.
stop	action	Stop the process.

Status (minus the connect descriptor) is mirrored into the …:state shared state for reactive UIs.

Source

plugins/code-server