Install the Server

The server (code-server) is a single binary that serves the web UI and relays traffic between your browser and your agent. It runs on Linux only — any small VPS is enough.

No VPS? Use a hosted server

If you don't want to run your own server, use a public 16code server: skip this page, go straight to Install the Agent, and pick a hosted node when signing in.

Option 1 — One-line install (recommended)

On the VPS, as root:

curl -fsSL https://16co.de/install_server.sh | sudo bash

This downloads the right package for your distro (deb or rpm), installs it, and starts the code-server systemd service. You get:

• the server running on ports 80/443, as a dedicated unprivileged code user
• start at boot (systemctl enable) and auto-restart on failure
• config at /etc/code.yaml, data under /var/lib/code

When it finishes, open http://<your-server-ip>/ in a browser — you should see the sign-in page. Then set up your domain and HTTPS: HTTPS & Domain.

No root? Userland install

The same script run without sudo installs entirely under your home directory — no package manager, no privileged ports:

curl -fsSL https://16co.de/install_server.sh | bash

• binary in ~/.local/bin/code-server, config at ~/.config/code/server.yaml, data under ~/.local/share/code
• listens on port 8080 by default (set CODE_PORT=9000 before the command to change it)
• runs as a systemctl --user service; the script enables lingering so it also starts at boot

This mode is handy on a shared machine, but for a normal VPS prefer the root install — you'll want ports 80/443 for HTTPS anyway.

Option 2 — Install the package yourself

Grab the code-server package for your distro from the latest release (Assets list), then:

Debian / Ubuntu

curl -LO https://github.com/yinyue123/16code/releases/latest/download/code-server_v0.1.0_linux_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i code-server_*_linux_amd64.deb
sudo systemctl enable --now code-server

CentOS / RHEL / Fedora

curl -LO https://github.com/yinyue123/16code/releases/latest/download/code-server-0.1.0.x86_64.rpm
sudo rpm -i code-server-*.x86_64.rpm
sudo systemctl enable --now code-server

The exact file names change per version — check the release's Assets list. The package installs the binary, the web UI, the systemd unit, and a default /etc/code.yaml; a post-install step creates the code system user.

Option 3 — Docker / Podman

podman pull ghcr.io/yinyue123/16code:latest

See Run with Docker for the full container setup (volumes, ports, config).

Check it's running

sudo systemctl status code-server        # should be active (running)
curl -sI http://localhost/               # should answer HTTP 200

Next steps

1. HTTPS & Domain — point a domain at the server and turn on automatic HTTPS. Do this before using it over the internet.
2. Fine-tune settings any time with code-server-setup — an arrow-key config screen in the terminal.
3. Install the Agent on your computer.