Both give you Visual Studio Code in a browser tab, both run as a Docker container on your server, and both appear in Panelica's app catalog — so which one do you deploy? The short answer: code-server is VS Code delivered as a web application, lightweight and made for coding; Kasm VS Code is VS Code running on a full streamed Linux desktop, heavier but complete. They look similar in a screenshot and feel quite different in use. This post lays out the real differences so you pick the right one the first time.
They are not the same thing wearing the same logo
The distinction is architectural, and it explains every other difference:
code-server is VS Code compiled to run as a web app. The editor itself is served to your browser as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. There is no desktop behind it — just the editor, rendered natively in your browser. This is the same family of technology as the editor experience you would recognize from cloud development environments.
Kasm VS Code is the normal desktop VS Code application running on a streamed Linux desktop. Your browser receives a video-like stream of a real desktop that happens to have VS Code open on it. There is a whole Linux desktop back there; you just usually only look at the editor.
One is an editor that is a web page. The other is a desktop, streamed, with an editor on it.
The differences that matter in practice
| Dimension | code-server | Kasm VS Code |
|---|---|---|
| Resource footprint | Light — roughly a few hundred MB of RAM | Heavy — around 2 GB minimum for the desktop |
| Responsiveness | Native browser rendering; typing feels local | Screen-streamed; a touch of remote-desktop latency |
| What is behind it | Just the editor | A full Linux desktop (terminal, file manager, GUI apps) |
| GUI apps beyond the editor | No — web editor only | Yes — run browsers, GUI database tools, anything graphical |
| Extensions | Most work; a few that need native desktop integration do not | Full desktop VS Code — broadest extension compatibility |
| Best for | Pure coding, many concurrent users, modest servers | Coding plus graphical tools, or when an extension needs a real desktop |
How to choose
Answer one question: do you need anything besides the editor?
- Choose code-server if the answer is no. You are writing code, running terminal commands, using git. It is lighter, snappier, and you can fit several instances on a modest server. For most "I want VS Code in my browser" requests, this is the right pick. It is also the more economical choice when giving editors to a team, because each one costs a fraction of the RAM.
- Choose Kasm VS Code if the answer is yes. You need a GUI database client next to the editor, a graphical debugger, a browser for testing in the same environment, or an extension that only works on real desktop VS Code. You are paying ~2 GB of RAM for a complete desktop — worth it when you actually use the desktop, wasteful when you do not.
Deploying either on Panelica
Both are one-click app templates with the same essentials:
- Deploy code-server or Kasm VS Code from the Docker app catalog.
- Set the access password. A code editor with your source in it is not something to leave open — both require authentication.
- Size it right. code-server is happy with modest memory; Kasm VS Code needs the ~2 GB desktop budget plus raised shared memory if you will run a browser inside it. The template states the minimum.
- Persist your work. Both mount a home/workspace volume so your files survive restarts — but commit to git anyway; a volume is not a backup.
- Reach it over HTTPS. Link a subdomain for a clean
code.example.comURL with a certificate, WebSocket streaming handled by the reverse proxy.
A note on density and cost
If you are standing up editors for a team or for students, the resource math is decisive. A 16 GB server might host a dozen or more code-server instances comfortably, but only a handful of Kasm VS Code desktops. Default to code-server for scale, and reserve the full-desktop version for the specific people who need graphical tools. Set per-container resource limits either way so one busy editor cannot degrade the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run terminal commands in code-server?
Yes — code-server includes VS Code's integrated terminal, so git, builds, and CLI tools all work. What it lacks is a graphical desktop around the editor, not terminal access within it.
Do my VS Code extensions work in code-server?
The large majority do. The exceptions are extensions that depend on native desktop integration or a specific proprietary marketplace. If a must-have extension refuses to work, that is the signal to use the full-desktop Kasm version.
Which one feels more like local VS Code?
code-server usually feels closer for pure editing, because the interface renders natively in your browser rather than being streamed as pixels. Kasm VS Code is genuinely the desktop app, so behavior is identical, but you feel the streaming layer as slight input latency.
Can I switch later?
Yes. They are independent containers. Push your work to git, deploy the other one, clone the repo, done. Nothing locks you to the first choice.
The takeaway
code-server is the editor as a web app: light, fast, ideal for coding and for putting many editors on one server. Kasm VS Code is the desktop app on a streamed Linux desktop: heavier, but complete when you need graphical tools or full extension support beside the editor. Decide by whether you need more than the editor, size the container accordingly, and — with both being one-click templates on Panelica — trying the other one later costs you a git push and a minute.