Coder Workspaces

Coder Workspaces

Manage Coder workspaces and AI coding agent tasks via the coder CLI.

Setup

1. Install the CLI from your Coder instance (ensures version match):

   • See: https://your-coder-instance.com/cli or Coder CLI docs

2. Set environment variables:

   export CODER_URL="https://your-coder-instance.com"
   export CODER_SESSION_TOKEN="your-token"  # Get from /cli-auth
   

3. Authenticate:

   coder login --token "$CODER_SESSION_TOKEN" "$CODER_URL"
   

4. Verify:

   coder whoami
   

Workspace Commands

List Workspaces

coder list
coder list --all
coder list --search "status:running"
coder list -o json

Start, Stop, Restart, Delete

coder start <workspace>
coder stop <workspace>
coder restart <workspace> -y
coder delete <workspace> -y

SSH and Run Commands

coder ssh <workspace>
coder ssh <workspace> -- ls -la
coder ssh <workspace> -- "cd /app && npm test"

View Logs

coder logs <workspace>
coder logs <workspace> -f

AI Coding Tasks

Coder Tasks runs AI agents (Claude Code, Aider, etc.) in isolated workspaces.

Task Creation Workflow

Creating a task requires a template and usually a preset.

Step 1: List Available Templates

coder templates list

Step 2: Find Presets for a Template

Check available presets in your Coder web UI when creating a task, or ask your Coder admin.

Step 3: Create the Task

coder tasks create \
  --template <template-name> \
  --preset "<preset-name>" \
  "Your prompt describing what the agent should do"

Task Commands

coder tasks list                           # List all tasks
coder tasks                                # Same as list
coder tasks logs <task-name>               # View task output
coder tasks connect <task-name>            # Interactive session

Task States

• Initializing: Workspace provisioning (timing varies by template)
• Working: Setup script running
• Active: Agent processing your prompt
• Idle: Agent waiting for input

Startup time depends on the template — simple templates may take ~10-15 seconds, complex ones with setup scripts take longer.

Troubleshooting

• CLI not installed: Install from your Coder instance or brew install coder
• Version mismatch: Reinstall CLI from your instance URL
• Auth failed: Run coder login --token "$CODER_SESSION_TOKEN" "$CODER_URL"

More Info

• Coder Docs
• Coder CLI
• Coder Tasks