How to Install Code-Server on NixOS Latest

Code-Server is a popular platform that enables developers to run a fully-coded Visual Studio Code environment in a web browser. NixOS Latest is an advanced operating system that focuses on providing a pure and independent environment through the Nix package manager. Together, these two open-source tools offer a powerful platform for software development.

In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through the process of installing Code-Server on NixOS Latest using the GitHub code repository.

Prerequisites

Before you start the installation process, make sure you have the following:

  • A system running NixOS Latest
  • A user account with sudo privileges
  • A terminal application

Step 1: Update NixOS Packages

To ensure that your NixOS is up to date and has all the necessary packages required to install Code-Server, run the following command in the terminal:

$ sudo nix-channel --update
$ sudo nixos-rebuild switch

This command updates the Nix package manager channels, as well as any packages and dependencies that are currently installed on your system.

Step 2: Install Node.js

Code-Server is built on Node.js, a popular cross-platform runtime environment for developing server-side applications. To install Node.js on your NixOS system, run the following command:

$ nix-env -iA nixos.nodejs-14_x

This command installs Node.js version 14 on your system, which is the latest stable release at the time of writing.

Step 3: Clone Code-Server Repository

Now that you have Node.js installed, it’s time to clone the Code-Server repository from GitHub. Open the terminal and run the following command:

$ git clone https://github.com/coder/code-server.git

This command downloads the Code-Server repository from GitHub and stores it in a local folder named code-server.

Step 4: Install Code-Server

To install Code-Server on your NixOS system, navigate to the code-server folder in the terminal by running the following command:

$ cd code-server

Once you’re in the code-server directory, run the following command to install the software:

$ sudo npm install -g code-server

This command installs Code-Server globally on your system, making it available to all users.

Step 5: Launch Code-Server

You can now launch the Code-Server application by running the following command in the terminal:

$ code-server

This command starts the Code-Server application on your system, which you can access by opening a web browser and navigating to the following URL:

http://localhost:8080

This should launch the Code-Server application in the web browser, where you can create, edit and manage your code projects.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ve shown you how to install Code-Server on NixOS Latest using the GitHub code repository. With this tool, you can develop code projects in a fully-coded Visual Studio Code environment in a web browser. We hope this tutorial has been useful in helping you set up Code-Server on your NixOS system.