Where to run CoCalc
CoCalc Star
CoCalc Star is a free, shared CoCalc site in one Docker container, on macOS, Windows, or Linux.
Your agents, on one machine you control.
CoCalc Star is free of charge. SageMath, Inc. publishes it on Docker Hub as sagemathinc/star. You run Star on your own computer or server, and you are responsible for operating it, including upgrades and backups. For a larger private deployment, or for support, talk with us.
One project model, different operating paths. The product path changes where CoCalc runs and who operates it. Files, notebooks, and terminals stay organized around a project; collaboration, history, recovery, and agent features depend on the product and deployment configuration.
Who can sign up
Star is for people you invite: signing up requires a registration link.
How it runs
One Docker container and one Docker volume on macOS, Windows, or Linux. Every project runs in its own isolated container inside it.
Easy to try, easy to undo
Free. Upgrades are a new image, and removing the container and volume removes all of its data.
Agents on Star
Codex is on by default in CoCalc Star. Each person connects their own OpenAI API key, or an administrator sets a site key.
Every project has internet access, so agents can install the packages they need.
Install CoCalc Star
1. Install Docker Desktop on macOS or Windows, or Docker Engine with cgroup v2 on Linux, and start it. Give Docker at least 4 CPUs and 16 GB of memory, with at least 50 GB of free disk space for its volume.
With Docker Desktop on Windows, and on Linux kernels older than 6.7, projects share the volume's disk space without per-project quotas.
2. Run this in a terminal (on Windows, in PowerShell):
docker run -d --name cocalc-star --restart unless-stopped --privileged --cgroupns=host -v cocalc-star:/var/lib/cocalc -p 8170:80 -e COCALC_STAR_HTTP_PORT=8170 sagemathinc/star3. Follow the first start, which takes a few minutes:
docker logs -f cocalc-starWhen it prints a link starting with http://localhost:8170, open it to create your admin account.
On a server with a domain
Try Star on your laptop, or run it on a Linux server with a DNS name so the people you invite can reach it.
Point a DNS name at a Linux server with Docker and open port 443, then run the same command with your domain. HTTPS certificates are obtained and renewed automatically.
docker run -d --name cocalc-star --restart unless-stopped --privileged --cgroupns=host -v cocalc-star:/var/lib/cocalc -p 443:443 -p 80:80 -e COCALC_STAR_DOMAIN=star.example.com sagemathinc/starLost the admin link, or someone else used it? Create a new one:
docker exec cocalc-star star admin-linkUpgrade
All accounts, projects, settings, and certificates live in the cocalc-star volume. To upgrade, replace the container:
docker pull sagemathinc/star
docker rm -f cocalc-star
# then run the same docker run command you installed withRunning projects stop during the upgrade and can be started again right away.
Remove it completely
Star writes no files outside Docker. This deletes CoCalc Star and all of its data:
docker rm -f cocalc-star
docker volume rm cocalc-star
docker rmi sagemathinc/starOn Linux hosts with AppArmor, a small kernel profile for Star's bundled container runtime stays loaded until the host restarts; the setup guide shows how to unload it sooner.
Boundary: one machine
- Star is one machine: it is not a high-availability or scale-out deployment.