Technical FAQ

Distinct from the pricing FAQ — these are the operational and technical questions that come up after you have a workspace. Pricing-and-billing questions live on the /pricing page.

Can I install my own VS Code extensions?

Yes. Open the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X) and install from the Open VSX marketplace (code-server doesn't have Microsoft Marketplace access for licensing reasons — but Open VSX has 95% of the same extensions).

Can I run docker inside my workspace?

Not today. Your workspace is already a container; docker-in-docker is disabled for security. You can run lightweight Node / Python / Go binaries, install via apt (you have sudo), and use system services like postgres or redis.

Does Claude Code remember things across sessions?

Yes — through CLAUDE.md files (auto-loaded as system prompt) and the ~/.claude/ memory directory. Both live on your persistent volume, so they survive restarts. See the /memory page in the dashboard for a visual graph.

Can I use the OpenAI / Gemini API instead of Claude?

Inside the workspace, yes — any CLI tool you install, any API key you set. Claude Code itself is locked to Claude (it's an Anthropic product). For multi-provider work, install openclaw, aider or a custom MCP server.

What MCP servers come pre-wired?

• chrome-devtools-mcp — connected to AdsPower / stealth Chrome on the workspace.
• gemini-mcp — Gemini for research grounding and code review.
• openai-mcp — GPT for second-opinion code review.
• n8n-mcp — manage workflows on our shared n8n if you have access.
• xskill-ai — image + video generation (Nano Banana / Flux / Seedance / Kling).

Can I expose a port from my workspace to the public internet?

Yes, via the workspace's built-in caddy expose 3000 helper. It allocates a subdomain like x9c2-3000.ws.blacknode.tech and proxies your local port. Pro tip: never expose ports running unauthenticated services — your URL is guessable.

How does BYOK work?

On Pro and Ultra, you can paste an Anthropic API key into /connectors. It gets stored as an environment variable inside your container, never on our servers. Useful if you want predictable per-token billing instead of subscription-bounded usage.

Where do my files actually live?

See Data & privacy for the full map. TL;DR: /workspace on a Hetzner SSD in Falkenstein, daily R2 backup on Pro/Ultra.

Can I work offline?

No — your workspace is in the cloud, you connect to it from a browser. If you need offline work, install Claude Code on your laptop separately. (You'd lose the stealth Chrome / skills / R2 wiring though.)

Is there an IDE other than VS Code?

Cursor and Windsurf are on the roadmap (Q3 2026). They both fork VS Code, so the install path is straightforward — we just haven't shipped it.

What runs on the host vs the container?

• Host (Hetzner) — Docker, our orchestrator, Caddy.
• Your container — code-server (VS Code), Claude Code, OpenClaw, headless Chrome, Node, Python, your /workspace volume.
• You — root inside your container, nothing outside it.