Remote Workstation

A remote workstation runs in the cloud (currently Google Cloud Platform). werkr provisions a VM, configures it according to your specifications, and manages its lifecycle.

Prerequisites

  • werkr CLI installed (installation guide)
  • A GCP project with Compute Engine API enabled
  • GCP credentials configured (gcloud auth login)

Configure Provider Credentials

Create a provider configuration:

# provider.yaml
apiVersion: werkr.dev/v1alpha1
kind: ProviderConfig
metadata:
  name: my-gcp
spec:
  provider: gcp
  gcp:
    projectId: my-gcp-project
    region: europe-west3
wer apply -f provider.yaml

Create a Remote Workstation

# remote-workstation.yaml
apiVersion: werkr.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Workstation
metadata:
  name: my-cloud-dev
  labels:
    devtype: k8s
    shell: zsh
spec:
  os:
    id: debian-13
  provider: gcp
  providerConfig:
    projectId: my-gcp-project
    machineType: e2-medium
    diskType: pd-ssd
    region: europe-west3
  resources:
    diskSize: 30
wer apply -f remote-workstation.yaml

Connect

# SSH into the workstation
wer shell my-cloud-dev

# Or use tmux for persistent sessions
wer tmux my-cloud-dev

Cost Management

Stop workstations when not in use to avoid charges. werkr preserves the disk so you can resume exactly where you left off: 

wer stop my-cloud-dev   # Stop (preserves disk)
wer start my-cloud-dev  # Resume

Next Steps

Learn how to use Workstation Configurations to automatically provision tools and apply organizational policies.