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@EdwardAngert EdwardAngert commented Jul 9, 2025

closes #18806

  • scheduling limitation
  • dev containers limitation
  • edit intro

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Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Documentation
    • Clarified the introduction and administrator responsibilities for prebuilt workspaces.
    • Integrated compatibility information about DevContainers and workspace scheduling more contextually.
    • Added explicit notes on limitations with dev containers integration and workspace autostart/autostop features.
    • Improved configuration examples and clarified scheduling instructions.
    • Enhanced explanations of scheduling behavior and lifecycle steps for better understanding.

@EdwardAngert EdwardAngert self-assigned this Jul 9, 2025
@EdwardAngert EdwardAngert added the docs Area: coder.com/docs label Jul 9, 2025
@matifali matifali removed their request for review July 9, 2025 18:44
@github-actions github-actions bot added the stale This issue is like stale bread. label Jul 17, 2025
@EdwardAngert EdwardAngert removed the stale This issue is like stale bread. label Jul 17, 2025
@SasSwart SasSwart self-requested a review July 21, 2025 09:33
@@ -21,6 +14,9 @@ Prebuilt workspaces are:
- Monitored and replaced automatically to maintain your desired pool size.
- Automatically scaled based on time-based schedules to optimize resource usage.

Currently, Prebuilt workspaces are not fully compatible with the
[dev containers integration](../extending-templates/devcontainers.md) or with [workspace scheduling features](../../../user-guides/workspace-scheduling.md) like autostart and autostop.
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Currently here makes sense for devcontainers as that will change, but I don't believe we'll ever support autostart or autostop and this implies that we will.

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Yes, it was decided that autostart and autostop won’t ever be supported for prebuilds, since they would conflict with the prebuilds’ own reconciliation loop. I think we can safely remove this mention.

2. The schedule that matches the current time becomes active. Overlapping schedules are disallowed by validation rules.
3. If no schedules match the current time, the base `instances` count is used.
4. The reconciliation loop automatically creates or destroys prebuilt workspaces to match the target count.
1. The schedule that matches the current time becomes active. Overlapping schedules are disallowed by validation rules.
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Is the numbering here correct?

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Yes, I believe it's correct! In Markdown, you can use 1. for all items and the renderers will automatically number them properly.

@@ -301,6 +301,22 @@ The prebuilt workspaces feature has these current limitations:

[View issue](https://github.com/coder/internal/issues/364)

- **Dev containers**
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There seems to be some duplication between this and the sections above. Is that intended?

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Thank you for working on this 📝
Some comments regarding the workspace scheduling for prebuilds.

@@ -21,6 +14,9 @@ Prebuilt workspaces are:
- Monitored and replaced automatically to maintain your desired pool size.
- Automatically scaled based on time-based schedules to optimize resource usage.

Currently, Prebuilt workspaces are not fully compatible with the
[dev containers integration](../extending-templates/devcontainers.md) or with [workspace scheduling features](../../../user-guides/workspace-scheduling.md) like autostart and autostop.
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Yes, it was decided that autostart and autostop won’t ever be supported for prebuilds, since they would conflict with the prebuilds’ own reconciliation loop. I think we can safely remove this mention.

@@ -123,6 +119,10 @@ New prebuilt workspaces are only created to maintain the desired count if needed
Prebuilt workspaces support time-based scheduling to scale the number of instances up or down.
This allows you to reduce resource costs during off-hours while maintaining availability during peak usage times.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Use scheduling for prebuilt workspaces instead of
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I'm not sure we need this important notice 🤔
We’ve essentially split the workspace scheduling features: they now apply only to regular workspaces. Prebuilt workspaces have their own reconciliation loop that handles scheduling independently.
What might be worth highlighting instead is that only once a prebuilt workspace is claimed will it follow the regular workspace scheduling behavior.

2. The schedule that matches the current time becomes active. Overlapping schedules are disallowed by validation rules.
3. If no schedules match the current time, the base `instances` count is used.
4. The reconciliation loop automatically creates or destroys prebuilt workspaces to match the target count.
1. The schedule that matches the current time becomes active. Overlapping schedules are disallowed by validation rules.
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Yes, I believe it's correct! In Markdown, you can use 1. for all items and the renderers will automatically number them properly.


If your project relies on a dev container configuration, we recommend disabling prebuilds or carefully testing behavior before enabling them.

- **Workspace autostart/autostop**
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We should delete this. This is not a limitation, workspace scheduling for prebuilds is handled by the reconciliation loop.

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I lifted this pretty much directly from @bartekgatzcoder 's comment #18806 (comment)

we can talk about the reconciliation loop better, but it seemed like the "known issue" was a main part of the issue

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Correct, but we already addressed the workspace schedule issue with prebuilds in #18740, and the fix was released in v2.24.2.

The warning that was present earlier has also been removed in #18762, so this should no longer be an issue 🙂

@github-actions github-actions bot added the stale This issue is like stale bread. label Jul 29, 2025
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coderabbitai bot commented Jul 29, 2025

Walkthrough

The documentation for prebuilt workspaces was updated to clarify compatibility limitations, particularly with DevContainers and workspace autostart/autostop features. The changes reorganize these warnings, improve explanations of scheduling and TTL configuration, and enhance the clarity and consistency of the documentation.

Changes

Cohort / File(s) Change Summary
Prebuilt Workspaces Documentation
docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/prebuilt-workspaces.md
Revised to clarify limitations with DevContainers and workspace scheduling, improved configuration examples, reorganized warnings, and enhanced lifecycle explanations.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~6 minutes

Assessment against linked issues

Objective Addressed Explanation
Add disclaimer on known limitations: incompatibility with autostop (zombie workspaces) and dev containers (#18806)

Poem

In burrows deep, a doc was spun,
With warnings clear for everyone—
Prebuilds hop fast, but mind the gap,
DevContainers and autostop? Best to nap!
Schedules set with care anew,
The rabbit cheers, “These docs will do!” 🐇✨

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Actionable comments posted: 0

♻️ Duplicate comments (2)
docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/prebuilt-workspaces.md (2)

304-309: Duplication with earlier notice

This “Dev containers” limitation repeats the warning already given in lines 17-19. Consolidating the information in one place would keep the doc shorter and reduce maintenance overhead.


310-319: Still duplicated & previously flagged

The autostart/autostop limitation is explained in both the introduction and here. Past reviews suggested dropping the duplicate; consider removing one to avoid drift.

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)
docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/prebuilt-workspaces.md (1)

17-19: Drop “Currently” & tighten wording to avoid implying future support

Past discussion concluded that prebuilds will likely never support autostart/autostop, so “Currently” is misleading here. A leaner sentence also scans better:

-Currently, Prebuilt workspaces are not fully compatible with the
-[dev containers integration](../extending-templates/devcontainers.md) or with [workspace scheduling features](../../../user-guides/workspace-scheduling.md) like autostart and autostop.
+Prebuilt workspaces are not compatible with the
+[dev containers integration](../extending-templates/devcontainers.md) or with [workspace scheduling features](../../../user-guides/workspace-scheduling.md) such as autostart and autostop.
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  • docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/prebuilt-workspaces.md (6 hunks)
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Files:

  • docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/prebuilt-workspaces.md
🔇 Additional comments (5)
docs/admin/templates/extending-templates/prebuilt-workspaces.md (5)

3-8: No actionable feedback for this introductory wording – reads clearly.


51-51: No issues – the inline clarification of 86400 is helpful.


122-125: Good call-out to prefer prebuild-specific scheduling

The important note cleanly steers admins away from regular workspace scheduling.


161-165: Nothing to flag – option list is concise and accurate.


168-172: Scheduling flow description looks correct and the numbering trick renders fine.

@EdwardAngert EdwardAngert removed the stale This issue is like stale bread. label Jul 29, 2025
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