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Coder Setup

What Is Coder?

When software developers build applications, they work in a development environment — a set of tools that let them write code, run programs, manage files, and test their work. Normally, setting up one of these environments takes hours: installing the right versions of programming languages, downloading libraries, configuring settings, troubleshooting compatibility issues. It's tedious even for experienced engineers.

Coder eliminates all of that. It's a cloud-based development environment that runs entirely in your browser. Think of it as a pre-configured laptop in the cloud — one that's already been set up by someone who knew exactly what you'd need. You open a URL, and everything is ready.

You don't need to install anything on your own machine. You just need a browser.

Getting In

  1. Open coder.shipsummit.rise8.us in your browser
  2. Click Sign In with Google
  3. A Google sign-in window will appear — choose or log into the Google account you brought for the event
  4. Once you're signed in, you'll land on the Workspaces dashboard

This is your home base in Coder. From here, you'll create your workspace.

Creating Your Workspace

On the Workspaces dashboard, you'll see a big Create a workspace area in the middle of the screen. Click the Impact Lab app button to get started.

This takes you to a one-time setup page where you configure your workspace. Here's what you'll see:

  • Owner — your name should already appear here (pulled from your Google account). Nothing to change.
  • GitLab — if you see a green check mark and it says already authenticated, you're good — nothing to do. If it asks you to authenticate, click the button to connect to GitLab. When GitLab's login page appears, choose Sign in with Google and use the same Google account you just used to sign into Coder.
  • Workspace name — pre-populated with a random name. You can leave it as-is or change it to something you'll recognize.
  • Parameters — this is the part you need to fill in:
    • Team name — pick the team you've been assigned for Impact Lab from the dropdown
    • Skill level — pick the track that matches your cohort: Green Circle, Blue Square, Black Diamond, or Double Black Diamond.

Once you've selected your team and skill level, click Create workspace.

You'll see a progress bar and some logging output as your workspace is being built. This takes about a minute — just sit tight and let it run.

When it finishes, look in the upper right corner of the screen. You should see a green light that says Running. All of the status checks should indicate that things are working properly. Your workspace is ready.

Your Two Buttons

Now you'll see two buttons on your workspace page:

  1. Terminal — opens a session with your AI coding assistant already running. This is where you'll do all of your building. You talk to your assistant here in plain English, and it builds your application on your behalf.
  2. Web app (3000) — opens a live preview of the application your assistant is building. As your assistant makes changes, this view updates in real time so you can see the results.

That's it. Two buttons: one to talk to your AI assistant, one to see what it's building.

First time in the terminal

Click Terminal to open your AI coding assistant. The first time you launch it, the assistant may ask you a few configuration questions — just accept the defaults and say yes to what it asks. When it's done, you should see confirmation that you're properly logged in.

To make sure everything is working, try asking your assistant: "What do I have here?" If the workspace is set up correctly, it should respond telling you about the environment and that you're ready to create a web app.

The terminal is a text-based interface. If you've never used one before, it might look unfamiliar — just text on a dark screen. That's okay. You type in plain English, and your assistant responds.

Expect to see errors. When your AI assistant is working, you'll see text scrolling across the screen — commands running, files being created, sometimes error messages in red. This is normal. Your assistant will often try one approach, hit an error, and try a different path — all on its own. You don't need to fix these yourself. Let the assistant work through it. If it gets truly stuck, it will tell you, and you can help it course-correct by describing what you're seeing or what you expected.

The web app preview

Click Web app (3000) to see your application running inside your development environment. This is a preview — it's running on your Coder workspace, not out on the public internet. Only you and your team can see it.

This is different from a production deployment, which you'll do later in the trail guides. A production deployment takes your application and puts it on a public URL that anyone can access from any browser. For now, the web app preview is your window into what your assistant is building in real time.

No File Browser — On Purpose

You might notice there's no file explorer, no code editor, no way to browse or edit files directly. That's intentional.

We're asking you to work entirely through conversation with your AI assistant. Instead of opening a file and reading code, ask your assistant to explain what's in the project. Instead of editing a file by hand, tell your assistant what to change. Instead of navigating a folder structure, ask your assistant where things are.

If you're someone who's used to working with files directly, this might feel uncomfortable at first. That's the point. This is an experiment in a different way of working — one where your AI assistant handles the files and you focus on describing what you want. It forces everyone to practice communicating with AI rather than falling back on manual editing. Give it a genuine try. You might be surprised how far you can get without ever opening a file.

What's Pre-Configured

Your workspace comes ready to go with a software factory — everything your team needs to build, test, and deploy your application without configuring anything yourself.

Here's what that includes at a high level:

  • Your AI assistant — already running when you open the terminal, ready to build through conversation
  • Source control — a system that tracks every change, so you can undo mistakes and collaborate with teammates without overwriting each other's work
  • A deployment pipeline — the machinery that takes your code and makes it available as a live application that anyone can access in a browser

You won't need to understand how all of these pieces work under the hood. The trail guides will introduce each one at the moment you need it. For now, just know that the hard part — setting up the factory — is already done.