Run a browser-based dev workspace locally on a Mac
kube-coder runs a development on . It includes VS Code in the browser, persistent terminals, a browser running inside the pod, AI helpers such as Claude Code and OpenCode, and a dashboard. On a Mac, minikube can create a single-node cluster on the local machine and run one kube-coder pod inside it.
The setup does not need a cloud account, image registry, DNS, or TLS, and the dashboard is reached at `http://kube-coder.local:8080/` with the default login `admin / admin`. The local commands are wrapped as `make local-*` targets and only talk to the minikube context, which lowers the chance of accidentally changing a real cluster. The image is large, about 2 to 3 GB, because it bundles , Claude Code, OpenCode, Ante, LibreFang, ttyd, and a full toolchain.
The first build can take a while, while later runs use cached work. minikube starts with 4 CPUs and 6 GB of memory, so needs at least that much assigned. Macs are supported natively on arm64.
Key points
- kube-coder provides a development on .
- minikube can run the whole setup locally on a Mac.
- The setup avoids cloud accounts, DNS, TLS, and an image registry for local use.
- The image is about 2 to 3 GB, so the first build may take time.
- should have at least 4 CPUs and 6 GB of memory available.