Building Coder on Windows - Guide and Automation Script (with randomized workspace names)

coder_windows_build_guide_updated.md

Building Coder on Windows - Complete Guide

This guide documents the process of setting up a Windows workspace using Coder and building the Coder repository on it.

Prerequisites

• Access to a Coder deployment (e.g., dev.coder.com)
• coder CLI installed and authenticated

Step 1: Create a Windows Workspace

# Generate a random suffix for workspace name to avoid conflicts
RANDOM_SUFFIX=$(cat /dev/urandom | tr -dc 'a-z0-9' | fold -w 8 | head -n 1)
WORKSPACE_NAME="win-coder-${RANDOM_SUFFIX}"

# Create the workspace using the windows-with-good-rdp template
coder create --parameter display_enabled=false \
             --parameter gpu_enabled=false \
             --parameter zone="us-central1-a" \
             --template windows-with-good-rdp \
             --org=coder \
             ${WORKSPACE_NAME}

When prompted, confirm the creation by typing yes.

Step 2: Set Up SSH Configuration

# Ensure SSH directory exists
mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh

# Configure SSH for Coder
coder config-ssh -y

Step 3: Connect to the Windows Workspace

# Test connection to the workspace
ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} echo "Connection successful"

Step 4: Windows Environment Setup and Building Coder

Here are the PowerShell commands to run on the Windows workspace:

# Create a working directory
New-Item -Path "C:\build-test" -ItemType Directory -Force
Set-Location -Path "C:\build-test"

# Install Git
Write-Host "Installing Git..."
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.42.0.windows.2/Git-2.42.0.2-64-bit.exe" -OutFile "git-installer.exe"
Start-Process -FilePath "git-installer.exe" -ArgumentList "/VERYSILENT /NORESTART" -Wait

# Clone the Coder repository
$gitPath = "C:\Program Files\Git\bin\git.exe"
Write-Host "Using Git from: $gitPath"
& $gitPath clone https://github.com/coder/coder.git
Set-Location -Path "coder"

# Install Go (portable version)
Write-Host "Installing Go (portable version)..."
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://go.dev/dl/go1.21.0.windows-amd64.zip" -OutFile "C:\build-test\go.zip"

# Create directory for extraction
New-Item -Path "C:\build-test\go3" -ItemType Directory -Force

# Extract Go using .NET
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem
[System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::ExtractToDirectory("C:\build-test\go.zip", "C:\build-test\go3")

# Set environment variables
$env:Path += ";C:\build-test\go3\go\bin"
$env:GOPATH = "C:\build-test\gopath"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path, "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GOPATH", $env:GOPATH, "User")

# Verify Go installation
Write-Host "Verifying Go installation..."
& "C:\build-test\go3\go\bin\go.exe" version

# Build the Coder project
Write-Host "Building Coder project..."
Set-Location -Path "C:\build-test\coder"
& "C:\build-test\go3\go\bin\go.exe" build -o coder.exe ./cmd/coder

# Verify the build
if (Test-Path "coder.exe") {
    Write-Host "Build successful\! Coder binary created at: $(Get-Location)\coder.exe"
    & .\coder.exe version
} else {
    Write-Host "Build failed. The binary was not created."
}

Step 5: Verify the Build

# Check what's in the build directory
ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} powershell -Command "Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\build-test\coder' -File | Where-Object { \$_.Extension -eq '.exe' } | Select-Object Name, Length, LastWriteTime"

# Verify the executable works
ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} powershell -Command "& 'C:\build-test\coder\coder.exe' version"

Notes and Troubleshooting

1. Windows RDP Access: The Windows workspace created with the template includes RDP access with these credentials:

   • Username: Administrator
   • Password: coderRDP\!

2. Build Time: The Coder build process can take between 5-15 minutes depending on the workspace resources and network connectivity.

3. SSH Connection Issues: If SSH connection stalls, try adding a timeout or forcing a new connection:

   timeout 30 ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} echo "Connection test"

4. Alternative Method for Script Execution: If sending a script via standard input doesn't work, you can create a Base64-encoded version:

   SCRIPT_B64=$(base64 -w 0 setup_coder_build.ps1)
   ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} powershell -Command "[System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString([System.Convert]::FromBase64String('$SCRIPT_B64')) | powershell -Command -"

5. Environment Persistence: Once set up, the environment will persist in the workspace as long as the workspace exists. The Go installation, Git, and the cloned repository will remain intact.

coder_windows_build_script_updated.sh

#\!/bin/bash
# Complete script to create a Windows workspace in Coder and build the Coder repo
set -e

# Generate random workspace name with a prefix
RANDOM_SUFFIX=$(cat /dev/urandom | tr -dc 'a-z0-9' | fold -w 8 | head -n 1)
WORKSPACE_NAME="win-coder-${RANDOM_SUFFIX}"

echo "==== Starting Windows workspace creation and Coder build process ===="
echo "Using workspace name: ${WORKSPACE_NAME}"

# Step 1: Create the workspace
echo "Creating Windows workspace..."
coder create --parameter display_enabled=false \
             --parameter gpu_enabled=false \
             --parameter zone="us-central1-a" \
             --template windows-with-good-rdp \
             --org=coder \
             ${WORKSPACE_NAME} <<< "yes"

# Step 2: Set up SSH
echo "Setting up SSH configuration..."
mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh
coder config-ssh -y

# Step 3: Wait for the workspace to be ready
echo "Waiting for workspace to be ready..."
sleep 60  # Give the workspace time to initialize

# Try connecting to verify the workspace is available
echo "Testing connection to workspace..."
ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} echo "Connection successful" || { 
    echo "Connection failed. Waiting another 60 seconds..."; 
    sleep 60; 
    ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} echo "Retry connection" || { 
        echo "Connection still failed. Please check workspace status manually."; 
        exit 1; 
    }
}

# Step 4: Create PowerShell script for Windows setup
echo "Creating Windows setup script..."
cat > setup_coder_build.ps1 << 'EOPS'
# Create a working directory
Write-Host "Creating working directory..."
New-Item -Path "C:\build-test" -ItemType Directory -Force
Set-Location -Path "C:\build-test"

# Install Git
Write-Host "Installing Git..."
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.42.0.windows.2/Git-2.42.0.2-64-bit.exe" -OutFile "git-installer.exe"
Start-Process -FilePath "git-installer.exe" -ArgumentList "/VERYSILENT /NORESTART" -Wait
$env:Path = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "Machine") + ";" + [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")

# Verify Git installation
try {
    $gitPath = "C:\Program Files\Git\bin\git.exe"
    if (Test-Path $gitPath) {
        Write-Host "Git installed successfully at: $gitPath"
        & $gitPath --version
    } else {
        Write-Host "Git installation path not found. Searching for git..."
        $gitCmd = Get-Command "git" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        if ($gitCmd) {
            Write-Host "Git found at: $($gitCmd.Source)"
            git --version
        } else {
            Write-Host "Git not found in PATH. Using absolute path for next steps."
        }
    }
} catch {
    Write-Host "Error checking Git: $_"
}

# Clone the Coder repository
Write-Host "Cloning the Coder repository..."
& $gitPath clone https://github.com/coder/coder.git
if (Test-Path "coder") {
    Write-Host "Repository cloned successfully."
    Set-Location -Path "coder"
} else {
    Write-Host "Failed to clone repository."
    exit 1
}

# Install Go (portable version)
Write-Host "Installing Go (portable version)..."
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://go.dev/dl/go1.21.0.windows-amd64.zip" -OutFile "C:\build-test\go.zip"

# Create directory for extraction
Write-Host "Extracting Go archive..."
New-Item -Path "C:\build-test\go3" -ItemType Directory -Force

# Extract Go using .NET
try {
    Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem
    [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::ExtractToDirectory("C:\build-test\go.zip", "C:\build-test\go3")
    Write-Host "Go archive extracted successfully."
} catch {
    Write-Host "Error extracting Go archive: $_"
    exit 1
}

# Set environment variables
$env:Path += ";C:\build-test\go3\go\bin"
$env:GOPATH = "C:\build-test\gopath"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path, "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GOPATH", $env:GOPATH, "User")

# Verify Go installation
$goExe = "C:\build-test\go3\go\bin\go.exe"
if (Test-Path $goExe) {
    Write-Host "Go installation successful. Version:"
    & $goExe version
} else {
    Write-Host "Go executable not found at expected location."
    exit 1
}

# Build the Coder project
Write-Host "Building Coder project (this may take several minutes)..."
Set-Location -Path "C:\build-test\coder"
Write-Host "Current directory: $(Get-Location)"

# Download dependencies first
Write-Host "Downloading Go dependencies..."
& $goExe mod download

# Build the binary
Write-Host "Building Coder binary..."
& $goExe build -o coder.exe ./cmd/coder

# Verify the build
if (Test-Path "coder.exe") {
    $fileInfo = Get-Item "coder.exe"
    Write-Host "Build successful\! Coder binary created:"
    Write-Host "  - Path: $($fileInfo.FullName)"
    Write-Host "  - Size: $($fileInfo.Length) bytes"
    Write-Host "  - Created: $($fileInfo.LastWriteTime)"
    
    # Run version command
    Write-Host "Checking version information:"
    & .\coder.exe version
} else {
    Write-Host "Build failed. The binary was not created."
    exit 1
}

Write-Host "Setup and build complete\!"
EOPS

# Step 5: Send script to Windows workspace and execute it
echo "Transferring and executing build script on workspace..."
cat setup_coder_build.ps1 | ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} powershell -Command "-"

# Step 6: Verify the build result
echo "Verifying build result..."
ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME} 'dir "C:\build-test\coder\coder.exe" 2>NUL && echo "BUILD SUCCESSFUL\!" || echo "Build not complete yet or failed."'

echo "==== Process completed ===="
echo "Workspace name: ${WORKSPACE_NAME}"
echo "To connect via SSH: ssh coder.${WORKSPACE_NAME}"
echo "To view in browser: coder open ${WORKSPACE_NAME}"