What is "install code-server" in Chrome browser?

[drmrbrewer]

I am running code-server in a Docker container and accessing it remotely in my Chrome browser.

In the window showing my code-server workspace, I see the following button to the right of the address bar at the top:

What exactly is this?

[im-coder-lg]

Oh, that's the PWA install prompt. PWAs are progressive web apps. If you install that, then code-server runs as a separate window. It still runs on Chrome, but it appears to have its own standalone app.

Another PWA example is most ChromeOS apps that are pre-installed. They open as shortcuts on the Browser, but some apps like GitHub can open in separate windows while running on Chrome, that is, when they are actually "installed"(creating a shortcut and opening a separate window for that tab)

Basically this makes it look as though you installed code-server as an app, like VS Code. But still, it runs on Chrome. You can try it, but if you don't like that, you can use it on the browser as you would.

[code-asher]

Yup, and to add to this, in our case nothing is actually installed/downloaded beyond the default browser caching; so it operates the same as usual, just in a separate window without a URL bar.

One good reason to use the PWA instead of a regular browser window is that keyboard shortcuts will work properly. https://github.com/coder/code-server/blob/main/docs/FAQ.md#how-do-i-make-my-keyboard-shortcuts-work

And, it can be useful on mobile/tablet devices since it lets you put an icon on the home screen.

[drmrbrewer]

Well I never. It does work really nicely as a PWA. Thanks @im-coder-lg and @code-asher :-)