macOS

brew install --cask coder/coder/coder-desktop

Coder Desktop requires VPN extension permissions:

1. When prompted with "Coder Desktop" would like to use a new network extension, select Open System Settings
2. In Network Extensions settings, enable the Coder Desktop extension
3. You may need to enter your password to authorize the extension

✅ Verify Installation: Coder Desktop should appear in your menu bar

Windows

winget install Coder.CoderDesktop

• .NET Windows Desktop Runtime (installed automatically if not present)
• Windows App Runtime SDK (may require manual installation)

✅ Verify Installation: Coder Desktop should appear in your system tray (you may need to click ^ to show hidden icons)

SSH Connection

ssh your-workspace.coder

Ping Test

# macOS
ping6 -c 3 your-workspace.coder

# Windows
ping -n 3 your-workspace.coder

Web Services

Open http://your-workspace.coder:PORT in your browser, replacing PORT with the specific service port you want to access (e.g. 3000 for frontend, 8080 for API)

macOS

Set the disableUpdater preference to true using the defaults command:

defaults write com.coder.Coder-Desktop disableUpdater -bool true

Organization administrators can also enforce this setting across managed devices using MDM (Mobile Device Management) software by deploying a configuration profile that sets this preference.

Windows

Set the Updater:Enable registry value to 0 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Coder Desktop\App:

New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Coder Desktop\App" -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Coder Desktop\App" -Name "Updater:Enable" -Value 0 -PropertyType DWord -Force

You can also configure a Updater:ForcedChannel string value to lock users to a specific update channel (e.g. stable).

> [!NOTE] > For security, updater settings can only be configured at the machine level (HKLM), not per-user (HKCU).

macOS

Run the following commands in a terminal. These steps leave the app and helper daemon installed. They only restart the running tunnel and flush DNS caches.

1. Stop the Coder VPN configuration:

   vpn_name=$(scutil --nc list | grep "com.coder.Coder-Desktop" | awk -F'"' '{print $2}' | tail -n1)
   if [ -n "$vpn_name" ]; then scutil --nc stop "$vpn_name"; fi
   

2. Quit the Coder Desktop app:

   osascript -e 'tell application id "com.coder.Coder-Desktop" to quit'
   

3. Restart the helper daemon in place:

   sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.coder.Coder-Desktop.Helper
   

   > [!WARNING] > Do not use launchctl bootout here. bootout removes the daemon from > launchd's system domain entirely, and relaunching the app does not > re-bootstrap it. Use kickstart -k to restart it in place.

4. Flush DNS caches:

   sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
   sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
   

5. Confirm the stale tunnel is gone (the command should print nothing):

   scutil --nc list | grep "com.coder.Coder-Desktop"
   

6. Relaunch Coder Desktop from your /Applications folder and toggle Coder Connect back on.

To verify the tunnel is healthy after relaunching, query the built-in sentinel hostname against Coder Desktop's embedded DNS server:

dig @fd60:627a:a42b::53 AAAA is.coder--connect--enabled--right--now.coder +short
dscacheutil -q host -a name is.coder--connect--enabled--right--now.coder

Both commands should return an fd60:627a:a42b::/48 address. If dig returns nothing or dscacheutil reports no entries, Coder Connect is not publishing DNS. Collect logs and file an issue.

Windows

Run the following in an elevated PowerShell session. The service restart clears the embedded DNS state. The NRPT and adapter checks confirm the system routing policy is intact.

1. Stop the app and the VPN service:

   Get-Process -Name "Coder Desktop" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force
   Stop-Service -Name "Coder Desktop" -Force
   

2. Flush DNS caches:

   ipconfig /flushdns
   Clear-DnsClientCache
   

3. Start the service again and relaunch the app:

   Start-Service -Name "Coder Desktop"
   Start-Process "C:\Program Files\Coder Desktop\CoderDesktop.exe"
   

4. After re-enabling Coder Connect in the tray, verify the NRPT rule and the Wintun adapter exist:

   Get-DnsClientNrptRule | Where-Object { $_.Namespace -like "*.coder" }
   Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.InterfaceDescription -like "*Wintun*" }
   

   If either command returns nothing while Coder Connect shows as enabled, the tunnel did not finish coming up. Disable and re-enable the toggle, or repeat the steps above.

> [!NOTE] > ipconfig /flushdns does not reset Coder Desktop's embedded DNS resolver; > restarting the service is what clears its internal cache. If you are running > a network filtering agent (for example, Zscaler), it may shadow .coder > lookups even after the tunnel comes back. Check with your IT team if DNS > still fails after a clean restart.

macOS

Coder Desktop and its network extension write to the Apple unified logging system. The file sync (Mutagen) daemon writes to a separate log file.

1. Export the unified logs for the last hour with the log command:

   log show --predicate 'subsystem BEGINSWITH "com.coder.Coder-Desktop"' \
     --info --debug --last 1h > ~/Desktop/coder-desktop.log
   

   The BEGINSWITH predicate captures the app, the helper daemon, and the network extension, which all log under subsystems prefixed with com.coder.Coder-Desktop. Adjust --last (e.g. 30m, 2h, 1d) to cover the time the issue occurred.

   You can stream the logs live while reproducing an issue:

   log stream --predicate 'subsystem BEGINSWITH "com.coder.Coder-Desktop"' --info --debug
   

   You can also view the same logs interactively in Console.app by filtering on subsystem:com.coder.Coder-Desktop with Info and Debug messages enabled.

2. If you're using file sync, also collect the Mutagen daemon log:

   ~/Library/Application\ Support/Coder\ Desktop/Mutagen/daemon.log
   

   Coder Desktop also opens this file in Console automatically when the file sync daemon fails.

Windows

Coder Desktop has three components that write logs: the app (UI), the VPN service, and the file sync (Mutagen) daemon.

1. App log (daily rolling):

   %LOCALAPPDATA%\CoderDesktop\app.log
   

2. VPN service log (default install path):

   C:\Program Files\Coder Desktop\coder-desktop-service.log
   

3. File sync (Mutagen) daemon log, if you use file sync:

   %LOCALAPPDATA%\CoderDesktop\mutagen\daemon.log
   

You can quickly open the app log directory by pasting %LOCALAPPDATA%\CoderDesktop into File Explorer.

macOS

1. Disable Coder Connect in the app menu
2. Quit Coder Desktop completely
3. Remove VPN extension from System Settings > Network Extensions
4. Delete the app from Applications folder
5. Remove configuration (optional): rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Coder\ Desktop

Windows

1. Disable Coder Connect in the app menu
2. Quit Coder Desktop from system tray
3. Uninstall via Settings > Apps or Control Panel
4. Remove configuration (optional): Delete %APPDATA%\Coder Desktop