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Streamlining your development environment can be a game changer in a world where every second counts. Remote development environments are rising because of their benefits while scaling a team. Removing the overhead of smoothly managing and configuring developer environments is an interesting problem.
Many products in the market offer similar solutions, and choosing the right one—whether it’s GitPod vs. Codespaces, Coder, or DevPod—can significantly impact your workflow and the productivity of different development teams.
This post aims to help you learn more about the growing trend of remote development environments and how the four remote development environment solutions - Coder, Codespaces, GitPod, and DevPod - compare with each other. By the end, you will know what solution works best for you.
Main Points
- Coder is an open-source platform that requires self-hosting and infrastructure setup using tools like Terraform and Docker.
- Codespace is a cloud-based solution that integrates with GitHub but is limited to specific code hosts and regions.
- GitPod uses Kubernetes and requires a gitpod.yml file, but its self-hosted option is no longer available.
- DevPod supports local and cloud environments, offering flexibility with multiple providers and a client-side setup.
A bit about the tools…
When it comes to remote dev environment tools, there are often varying requirements that need to be met for different users. This is why many tools are marketed with specific purposes in mind. Understanding how these tools are marketed can help users make informed decisions about which tools to use for their particular needs.
What exactly is Coder?
Coder promotes itself as a “Self-Hosted Remote Development Platform” which is open source and focuses on “shifting software development from local machines to the cloud”. You provision the underlying infrastructure with Terraform on Kubernetes, Docker or VMs, as required. This can be done locally or remotely in the cloud. Coder does not offer a hosted solution, so everything is self-hosted.
The installation process involves creating a docker instance and initializing a Postgres database to store the configuration. After signing up, you can use a template to install Terraform and set up your developer environment.
The open source project has been growing for 17 months and has reached 5.2K stars to date.
What exactly is GitHub Codespaces?
GitHub Codespaces is a Software as a Service (SaaS) remote development environment that hosts Docker containers on Azure VM. It positions itself as a "secure, configurable, and dedicated development environment that works how and where you want it to." With support from GitHub and Microsoft, it has been gaining popularity as the only GitHub's native remote development environment.
However, the product is tied to a GitHub repo with limited third-party source-code host integration. To launch an instance, navigate to your GitHub repository and click "Create codespace" on the specified branch.
To note, if you don’t have an account on GitHub or your code exists on other providers, you’re restricted from creating an instance.
Customization is limited to configuring the development environment through the Microsoft-developed devcontainer.json standard. Infrastructure options are restricted to a few machine sizes and only four regions (US West, US East, Europe West and Southeast Asia).
What exactly is GitPod?
Launched in 2019, GitPod is a SaaS product designed as a cloud-based development environment. It operates with containers on a Kubernetes cluster on Google Cloud, requiring a gitpod.yml file instead of the devcontainer.json, which is commonly used by other tools like GitHub Codespaces and Coder.
Switching from GitPod to tools like Visual Studio Codespaces, Coder, or DevPod can be challenging due to this file format difference, which might result in vendor lock-in. GitPod also lacks GPU support, making it less suitable for AI/ML workloads compared to other platforms.
To use GitPod, you first need to create an account and authenticate it with repositories like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, allowing GitPod to pull the code into the Gitpod workspace. It’s important to ensure that sensitive data remains secure when using this tool. This is especially since GitPod operates server-side, potentially raising concerns about security and unintentional data sharing.
For teams or individual developers using GitPod, this cloud-based development tool helps set up a remote environment quickly but might require careful consideration for compliance with data privacy.
The project has grown in popularity, with over 11k stars on GitHub. However, the self-hosted version of GitPod was deprecated in favor of a dedicated paid hosting version on AWS. While Gitpod support is robust, it doesn't offer the flexibility of a local development environment, unlike alternatives such as DevPod, which allows for local system use and better control over sensitive data.
What exactly is DevPod?
DevPod, an open-source alternative to GitHub Codespaces, is based on the devcontainer.json standard, making it easier to switch projects between DevPod and Codespaces without requiring modifications.
DevPod's advantage lies in its support for client-side development using the DevPod CLI, along with an easy-to-use GUI. This allows developers to integrate any git repositories, including those hosted on GitHub or GitLab, for seamless workspace management.
DevPod works through a provider concept that allows you to configure your remote environment on various backends, including your local machine, Kubernetes clusters, or any remote or virtual machine in the cloud. This flexibility is ideal for developers who need a balance between cloud-based and local development. The client-side functionality of
DevPod ensures that sensitive data stays within the system, making it a more secure choice for individual developers or teams handling confidential information. With five supported cloud providers, DevPod offers a variety of options for setting up and managing running workspaces. This ensures compatibility with different infrastructures. The project continues to grow rapidly, establishing itself as a key player in the cloud-based development space alongside GitPod, Codespaces, and Coder.
By using DevPod, you also benefit from a customizable experience with open vs code server support, making it an excellent choice for those who prefer using tools like VS Code Browser or local VS Code setups. DevPod's open-source nature and the contributions from the community have expanded its potential, including support for GitHub Actions and integration with GitHub Copilot.
The backend can be local, which is beneficial when building or updating data ETLs and reports using sensitive data, as there’s no requirement to share data outside the system with a client-side tool. Also, the currently supported list consists of 5 cloud providers:
The community providers are also popular, with 7 new providers with standard templates that anyone can create or modify according to their requirements.
To start a new dev container with DevPod, click on Create, fill in the details of the provider, select your IDE, and click Create Workspaces to initiate the process and run your instance:
The project is the fastest growing project in the ecosystem with more than 4k stars within a few months of its launch and is still expanding around the open source community.
Coder vs Codespaces vs GitPod vs DevPod: the key difference…
Let's take a closer look at how these products stack up in some of the most important categories.
Cost
GitPod and Codespaces are SaaS services that offer 50 free hours and 30 free hours, respectively, on standard 4-core machines, which is quite appealing. However, as a developer commits more hours and scales up, it can become more expensive, being approximately two times the price of Azure Compute Pricing.
Alternatively, solutions like Coder and DevPod provide the flexibility to pay for cloud and take advantage of committed usage discounts when needed or use the local system for simplicity. The tools themselves are free which allows for a more cost-effective and practical approach to managing costs as well as isolation, both in the cloud and locally.
Delivery Model
Both GitPod and Codespace have server-side components, so the way to access them is to sign up and spin up. This can be helpful in many scenarios but requires you to have internet access, which removes the use case of air-gapped environments.
The other problem is hosting the code in an ephemeral environment on the provider instead of your trusted infrastructure. This can be okay most of the time, but critical applications dealing with sensitive information can break on-site compliance.
The remaining two tools, Coder and DevPod, can be used for VMs/Docker/Cloud which brings more components under your control. For Coder, it's mostly a web UI that works with Docker Compose to create new environments, even though it's a client-side tool.
The way to initiate dashboards and all the processes is by using the CLI to initiate an Access URL and create an account even if you’re in the free plan and self hosting it.
The thing to remember is the CLI termination can risk server termination, and the tool requires a lot of configuration from starting the server (as below) to creating workspaces by fetching templates and keeping them updated.
DevPod runs as a simple app or CLI which can be used interchangeably to deploy your code containers wherever you desire with providers without any account creation making it a true client-side tool.
An accessible no-commitment solution without sharing any of your data that just works.
Ease of Usage
Coder requires everyone to understand a bit of Terraform and templates, since that’s how the infrastructure is deployed. The use of tools like Pulumi to provision infrastructure is not supported which a lot of organizations prefer and can require teams to train with Terraform. Additionally, there’s no internal API for provisioning VMs, which can be challenging to deploy on infrastructure with no Terraform providers.
GitPod and Codespaces are user-friendly platforms that require only a sign-up process for easy access. However, it is important to be mindful of data sharing and compliance when using them, as an internet connection is always required.
On the other hand, DevPod operates on native APIs, making it easy to interact with new providers and requiring no internet connection if you’re in an air-gapped environment. If you’re using a cloud provider then of course you’ll need the connection. One added benefit is that the complete client-side nature simplifies the process of propagating user-level secrets to the system and allows for easy development and testing both locally and on the cloud.
Also remember, if you're using DevPod or Codespaces, they are only compatible with Multi Devcontainers support for mono repos, which can be necessary for some software teams.
Customization
Team collaboration is crucial, and having the right tools to support development is essential and Codespaces and DevPod are at the forefront of the industry with their production devcontainer.json support.
Even though the support within Codespaces is great, there are some limitations with the dev container tool, such as missing support for using different providers, causing it to fall behind. Thankfully, DevPod, GitPod, and Coder offer a plethora of source hosts. This makes them an ideal choice for many enterprises looking for flexibility and functionality.
DevPod stands out as an excellent option, as it offers a good mix of customizations and strong devcontainer.json support by excelling in both the customization fields with the support of different providers and strong support for devcontainer.json. Also, the best example of customization comes from the open source community surrounding the project which has created and maintained seven providers, demonstrating the project's promising growth trajectory and place in the community.
If you're interested in learning more about the customization differences between these options, please refer to the table below for further details.
Feature Coder Codespaces GitPod DevPod VS Code IDE support Yes Yes Yes Yes Jupyter notebook support No Public beta and is subject to change No Yes JetBrains Fleets support No No No Yes JetBrains IDE support through Gateway Yes Public beta and is subject to change Yes Yes Desktop application No No No Yes Any SCM provider No No No Yes GitHub Integration Yes Yes Yes Yes GitLab Integration Yes No Yes Yes Bitbucket Integration Yes No Yes Yes Azure DevOps Yes No No Yes Community
Community is at the center of any successful and well-adopted project. DevPod happens to be one of the fastest-growing projects, with an average of 18.16 stars per day since it started, beating other projects by a significant margin as in the reference below:
Another statistic to consider is the number of forks and external contributions in the form of cloud provider extensions, documentation, and code. Once again, DevPod is way ahead of the competition with a lot of OSS providers that came out of the community as well.
Coder also has a way to support community-provided providers, but it has a limitation with Terraform. If there is no Terraform provider for the cloud or infrastructure, contributing can be challenging. DevPod abstracts this issue, which has led to the growth of community contributions, including seven community cloud providers.
The success of DevPod is indeed not unexpected, given the track record of the team at Loft Labs and their previous involvement in the open-source community. Their prior projects, such as vCluster and DevSpace, have been highly successful and have contributed significantly to the developer ecosystem.
DevSpace, for instance, enhances the developer experience with features like hot reloading, logging, and centralized deployment configurations. Its donation to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is a testament to its value and impact within the cloud native community.
Another example is vCluster, a popular tool used to create fully functional virtual Kubernetes clusters. This is a critical component in the Kubernetes ecosystem, as it allows developers to simulate and test complex cluster scenarios without the need for physical hardware. Its popularity highlights its importance in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
With the experience and knowledge gained from these successful projects, the team at Loft Labs is well-equipped to develop and promote DevPod as a valuable addition to the developer toolkit. DevPod likely benefits from the team's expertise in open source, Kubernetes, and cloud-native technologies, making it a promising project within the ecosystem for adoption for personal or enterprise usage.
Discover the Future of Remote Development with DevPod
Choosing the right development tools can be overwhelming, but the best way to find out what works for you is to dive in and try it yourself. Start your journey with DevPod today by exploring our documentation.
Do you have feedback or questions? We’d love to hear from you! Join our vibrant Slack community to connect with fellow developers.
Are you interested in contributing or exploring the code? Check out our open-source project on GitHub and join the DevPod revolution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Gitpod and Codespaces?
Gitpod and Codespaces are both cloud-based development environments, but Gitpod supports multiple code hosts like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, while Codespaces is limited to GitHub repositories.
Gitpod requires a gitpod.yml file for configuration, whereas Codespaces uses devcontainer.json. Gitpod offers more flexibility with provider options, while Codespaces is tightly integrated with GitHub and Microsoft services.
Does Gitpod support VS Code?
Yes, Gitpod fully supports Visual Studio Code (VS Code). It allows developers to use the familiar VS Code interface for editing, debugging, and running code within its remote development environment.
Should you use GitHub Codespaces or Coder?
You should choose GitHub Codespaces if you want a fully managed SaaS solution integrated with GitHub that requires minimal setup. Use Coder if you need an open-source, self-hosted platform with more control over your infrastructure and the flexibility to work in cloud or local environments.
Is Gitpod a good development environment?
Gitpod is a good development environment, especially for teams needing flexibility and multi-cloud support. It integrates well with various code hosts, supports VS Code, and offers a robust solution for cloud-native development with a user-friendly setup.
