Eclipse Che

Eclipse Che
Name	Eclipse Che
Developer	Eclipse Foundation, Red Hat, Codenvy
Released	2014
Programming language	Java (programming language), JavaScript, TypeScript
Operating system	Linux, Windows NT, macOS
Platform	Kubernetes, Docker (software), OpenShift
Genre	Integrated development environment
License	Eclipse Public License

Eclipse Che Eclipse Che is an open-source, cloud-based Integrated development environment platform designed to provide containerized development environments and browser-accessible workspaces that support collaborative software engineering. It integrates with container orchestration systems, supports multi-language runtimes, and targets enterprises, cloud providers, and developer teams seeking remote, reproducible, and scalable development environments.

Overview

Che presents a web-based Integrated development environment and workspace server that provisions containerized runtime environments for source code using Docker (software), Kubernetes, and OpenShift orchestration. The platform emphasizes reproducibility through workspace definitions, remote development via a browser IDE, and team collaboration by sharing workspace configurations and snapshots. Che interoperates with ecosystem tools such as Git (software), Maven, Gradle, Node.js, Python (programming language), and Java (programming language) to provide language servers, debuggers, and build systems.

Architecture

The architecture centers on a workspace server, workspace agents, and an in-browser IDE client. Workspaces are defined by declarative stacks and machine images leveraging Docker Compose, Kubernetes API, and OCI-compatible images. The IDE client runs in browsers using TypeScript and JavaScript and connects to language servers using the Language Server Protocol. The workspace server orchestrates containers on Kubernetes, coordinates with OpenShift for enterprise deployments, and integrates with authentication providers like OAuth and LDAP. Persistent storage is managed on volumes provided by Persistent volumes in Kubernetes or host mounts for Docker (software), while networking relies on Service mesh concepts when integrated with platforms such as Istio.

Features

Che offers features including browser-based code editing, workspace configuration, remote debugging, port forwarding, snapshotting, and role-based access control. It supports collaborative editing and pair programming, integrating with Real-time Collaboration paradigms and supporting extensions via a plugin architecture similar to other IDE ecosystems like Eclipse (software), Visual Studio Code, and Theia (IDE). Language support is provided through language servers for C++, Go, Ruby, PHP, Python, and JavaScript frameworks, plus build-tool integrations for Gradle, Maven, and Make (software). Observability is enabled through integration with Prometheus, Grafana, and logging stacks like ELK Stack.

Deployment and Hosting

Che can be self-hosted on Kubernetes clusters, deployed on Red Hat OpenShift, or run as managed services on cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure. Deployments often use package managers like Helm (software) or operators following Operator pattern (software) to manage lifecycle and upgrades. For enterprise scenarios, integrations with identity providers such as Active Directory, Okta, and Keycloak are common. Storage backends employ NFS, Ceph, or cloud block storage offered by Amazon Elastic Block Store or Google Persistent Disk.

Development History

The project originated from efforts by industrial contributors including Codenvy and later joined the Eclipse Foundation community, with significant participation from organizations like Red Hat and independent contributors. Early work focused on container-based workspaces and a web IDE influenced by online editors and earlier Eclipse (software) projects. Over time the project aligned with cloud-native patterns, adopting Kubernetes orchestration and contributing to standards such as the Language Server Protocol. Major milestones include containerized workspace model introduction, integration with OpenShift for enterprise readiness, and architectural refactors to support the Theia (IDE) and plugin ecosystems.

Adoption and Use Cases

Che is used by developer teams in enterprises, educational institutions, and cloud providers to deliver pre-configured, shareable development workspaces for continuous integration pipelines, on-boarding, classroom labs, hackathons, and remote pair programming. Organizations running DevOps toolchains integrate Che with Jenkins (software), GitLab, and GitHub to provide reproducible development environments tied to CI/CD workflows. Cloud providers embed Che-based services in platform offerings to provide "IDE-as-a-Service" for customers and partner ecosystems, while research labs leverage containerized environments for reproducible computational experiments.

Licensing and Governance

The software is released under the Eclipse Public License and governed by the Eclipse Foundation community processes and project steering. Corporate contributors such as Red Hat and past companies like Codenvy participate in technical leadership while community contributors follow foundation policies for intellectual property and contribution. Governance aligns with open-source foundations' practices, including meritocratic project committers, working groups, and public issue tracking on platforms used by the community such as GitHub and Bugzilla.

Category:Integrated development environments