---
stage: Create
group: IDE
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
---

# Remote development (Beta) **(FREE)**

> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/95169) in GitLab 15.4 [with a flag](../../../administration/feature_flags.md) named `vscode_web_ide`. Disabled by default.
> - [Enabled on GitLab.com](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/371084) in GitLab 15.7.
> - [Enabled on self-managed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/115741) in GitLab 15.11.

FLAG:
On self-managed GitLab, by default this feature is available. To hide the feature, ask an administrator to [disable the feature flag](../../../administration/feature_flags.md) named `vscode_web_ide`. On GitLab.com, this feature is available. The feature is not ready for production use.

WARNING:
This feature is in [Beta](../../../policy/alpha-beta-support.md#beta) and subject to change without notice.

You can use remote development to write and compile code hosted on GitLab. With remote development, you can:

- Create a secure development environment in the cloud.
- Connect to that environment from your local machine through a web browser or client-based solution.

## Web IDE as a frontend

You can use the [Web IDE](../web_ide/index.md) to make, commit, and push changes to a project directly from your web browser.
This way, you can update any project without having to install any dependencies or clone any repositories locally.

The Web IDE, however, lacks a native runtime environment where you could compile code, run tests, or generate real-time feedback.
With remote development, you can use:

- The Web IDE as a frontend
- A separate machine as a backend runtime environment

For a complete IDE experience, connect the Web IDE to a development environment configured to run as a remote host. You can create this environment [inside](../../workspace/index.md) or [outside](connect_machine.md) of GitLab.

## Workspace

A [workspace](../../workspace/index.md) is a virtual sandbox environment for your code in GitLab that includes:

- A runtime environment
- Dependencies
- Configuration files

You can create a workspace from scratch or from a template that you can also customize.

When you configure and connect a workspace to the [Web IDE](../web_ide/index.md), you can:

- Edit files directly from the Web IDE and commit and push changes to GitLab.
- Use the Web IDE to run tests, debug code, and view real-time feedback.

## Manage a development environment

### Create a development environment

To create a development environment, run this command:

```shell
export CERTS_DIR="/home/ubuntu/.certbot/config/live/${DOMAIN}"
export PROJECTS_DIR="/home/ubuntu"

docker run -d \
  --name my-environment \
  -p 3443:3443 \
  -v "${CERTS_DIR}/fullchain.pem:/gitlab-rd-web-ide/certs/fullchain.pem" \
  -v "${CERTS_DIR}/privkey.pem:/gitlab-rd-web-ide/certs/privkey.pem" \
  -v "${PROJECTS_DIR}:/projects" \
  registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/remote-development/gitlab-rd-web-ide-docker:0.2-alpha \
  --log-level warn --domain "${DOMAIN}" --ignore-version-mismatch
```

The new development environment starts automatically.

### Stop a development environment

To stop a running development environment, run this command:

```shell
docker container stop my-environment
```

### Start a development environment

To start a stopped development environment, run this command:

```shell
docker container start my-environment
```

The token changes every time you start the development environment.

### Remove a development environment

To remove a development environment:

1. [Stop the development environment](#stop-a-development-environment).
1. Run this command:

   ```shell
   docker container rm my-environment
   ```