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EDITORS Cloud Development Environments: Gitpod, Codespaces, ... 2026-02-09 · 5 min read · cloud-dev · codespaces · gitpod

Cloud Development Environments: Gitpod, Codespaces, and Devpod

Editors 2026-02-09 · 5 min read cloud-dev codespaces gitpod devpod remote-development

Cloud Development Environments: Gitpod, Codespaces, and DevPod

The pitch for cloud development environments is compelling: open a browser tab and start coding in a fully configured environment. No local setup, no "works on my machine" problems, no waiting 20 minutes for dependencies to install. The reality is more nuanced — cloud dev environments solve real problems but introduce new ones.

This guide covers the major options, when they actually help, and when you're better off with a local setup.

Why Cloud Dev Environments Exist

Local development has friction that compounds over time:

Cloud environments solve these by running your development environment on remote servers. Your local machine becomes a thin client.

GitHub Codespaces

Codespaces is GitHub's cloud development platform. It spins up a VM with your repository code, installs dependencies defined in a devcontainer.json, and gives you either a browser-based VS Code or connects your local VS Code via SSH.

Setup

Every repository can define its development container configuration:

// .devcontainer/devcontainer.json
{
  "name": "My Project",
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/typescript-node:20",
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:2": {},
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {}
  },
  "postCreateCommand": "npm install",
  "forwardPorts": [3000, 5432],
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": [
        "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
        "esbenp.prettier-vscode"
      ],
      "settings": {
        "editor.formatOnSave": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Click "Code" → "Codespaces" on any GitHub repo, and you get a running environment in about 30 seconds (longer on first creation as it builds the container).

Pricing

For most individual developers, the free tier covers casual use. Teams doing 8 hours/day of development should budget $30-60/month per developer.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Gitpod

Gitpod is the open-source alternative that works with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket. It was one of the earliest cloud dev environment products.

Setup

Gitpod uses a .gitpod.yml file instead of devcontainer.json:

# .gitpod.yml
image:
  file: .gitpod.Dockerfile

tasks:
  - name: Install & Build
    init: npm install && npm run build
    command: npm run dev

ports:
  - port: 3000
    onOpen: open-preview
  - port: 5432
    onOpen: ignore

vscode:
  extensions:
    - dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
    - esbenp.prettier-vscode

# .gitpod.Dockerfile
FROM gitpod/workspace-full

RUN brew install ripgrep fd

Pricing

Strengths

Weaknesses

DevPod

DevPod takes a different approach: it's an open-source tool that runs dev containers on any backend — your local Docker, a cloud VM, a Kubernetes cluster, or SSH to any machine. You define the environment once with devcontainer.json and run it anywhere.

Setup

# Install DevPod
brew install devpod

# Create a workspace from a Git repo using local Docker
devpod up github.com/your-org/your-repo --provider docker

# Or use a cloud provider (AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.)
devpod provider add aws
devpod up github.com/your-org/your-repo --provider aws

# Or SSH to any machine
devpod provider add ssh
devpod up github.com/your-org/your-repo --provider ssh

DevPod has a desktop GUI as well, which makes provider setup and workspace management accessible to developers who prefer visual interfaces.

Pricing

DevPod itself is free and open-source. You pay only for the underlying infrastructure — your cloud provider's VM costs, which are typically cheaper than dedicated cloud dev environment pricing.

Strengths

Weaknesses

When Cloud Dev Environments Make Sense

Good use cases:

When to stick with local:

Quick Comparison

Feature Codespaces Gitpod DevPod
Config format devcontainer.json .gitpod.yml devcontainer.json
Git providers GitHub only GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket Any (Git clone)
Self-hosted No Yes (Flex) Yes (any infra)
Free tier 120 core-hours/mo 50 hours/mo Free (pay for infra)
IDE options VS Code (browser + local) VS Code, JetBrains VS Code, JetBrains, any IDE
Prebuilds Yes Yes Manual (CI pipeline)

Practical Recommendations

For GitHub-centric teams: Start with Codespaces. The integration is seamless and the devcontainer.json spec is becoming the standard.

For multi-provider teams or GitLab users: Gitpod if you want a hosted solution, DevPod if you want control over infrastructure.

For cost-conscious teams: DevPod with cloud spot instances gives the best price-performance ratio.

For all teams: Write a devcontainer.json regardless of whether you use cloud environments today. It documents your development setup and makes the config portable if you switch tools later.