About Che
Eclipse Che is a platform that runs IDEs on Kubernetes, allowing developers to create workspaces from Git repositories or samples. It aims to simplify development by removing the need for local setup, with only a browser required to start coding.
The platform supports multiple IDEs including Visual Studio Code and JetBrains IDEs, and uses the Devfile format to define development workspaces. It is designed for enterprise teams and can be deployed on public or private Kubernetes clusters.
Key features
- Create a workspace from a Git repository or sample
- Automated git setup
- Run applications on Kubernetes
- Swap between IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains)
- Devfile format for defining workspaces
- Access Kubernetes API from the IDE
Good fit for
- Cloud-based development for enterprise teams
- Testing applications in production-like environments
Che: questions and answers
- What is Che used for?
- Che provides Kubernetes-based cloud development environments for enterprise teams. It is a good fit for cloud-based development for enterprise teams and testing applications in production-like environments.
- Is Che open source?
- Yes. Che is open source under the EPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at eclipse-che/che and is written mainly in TypeScript.
- Is Che free?
- Yes. Che is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
- Can I self-host Che?
- Yes. Che can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
- What is Che an alternative to?
- Che is an open-source alternative to Replit, AWS IoT Core, IntelliJ IDEA and CodeSandbox. Other open-source alternatives to Replit include code-server and Coder.
- Is Che actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Che was on 13 October 2026, and the latest release is 7.123.0, published on 6 October 2026. The project has 7.2k stars on GitHub.
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