Self-Host Pad.ws: Your Complete Guide to Whiteboard-as-an-IDE with Docker

Pad.ws: The Complete Guide to Self-Hosting a Whiteboard-as-an-IDE with Docker and Coder Pad.ws is a browser-based development environment that merges an interactive whiteboard with a fully fledged IDE. This guide provides a step-by-step process for self-hosting the application using Docker Compose, integrating Excalidraw for visualization and Coder for cloud environments, configured with PostgreSQL, Redis, and Keycloak. Introduction: Redefining the Development Environment The modern developer’s workflow is often fragmented. You sketch an architecture diagram in one tool, switch to a terminal to run commands, and open a separate IDE to write code. This constant context switching breaks the flow of creativity …