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Remote Dev Environments overview

A Remote Dev Environment (RDE) is an on-demand cloud machine — macOS or Linux — that runs on the same infrastructure, stacks, and caches as Bitrise CI. You spin up a session in seconds, connect to it from your terminal, IDE, or an AI coding agent, and archive it when you're done. The persistent disk is kept, so you can restore the session and pick up where you left off.

Remote Dev Environments is in beta

Remote Dev Environments is a beta product. The features, APIs, and clients described here can change, and breaking changes can happen without prior notice. Don't rely on RDE for production-critical workflows yet.

Why use RDEClick to copy link​

A Remote Dev Environment gives you a powerful, pre-configured machine in the cloud without provisioning your own hardware. It's a good fit when you want to:

  • Develop on a much more powerful machine than your laptop, with your toolchain already installed and cached.
  • Run AI coding agents like Claude Code in a sandbox that can build and test your app, on your own API keys.
  • Reproduce a CI failure in an environment that matches the one your builds run in.
  • Spin up parallel, disposable environments for short-lived tasks and tear them down afterwards.

Because RDE uses the same machines and stacks as Bitrise CI, the environment your code is written in matches the environment your code is tested in.

Supported platformsClick to copy link​

RDE runs on production-grade Bitrise infrastructure in US and EU data centers:

  • macOS: Apple silicon machines (M2 Pro, M4, and M4 Pro) for iOS, macOS, and cross-platform work. macOS sessions also expose a graphical desktop over VNC.
  • Linux: machines from 2 to 48 vCPUs, on dedicated and shared clusters, with full Docker support.

You choose the machine when you create a session, either directly or through a template. For the exact stacks and machine types available to you, check the in-product list when creating a session.

Ways to use RDEClick to copy link​

You can create and connect to sessions through several clients. Pick the one that fits how you work — they all share the same sessions, templates, and saved inputs.

  • Bitrise RDE CLI: manage sessions from your terminal and start an AI coding agent in a session with a single command. This is the fastest way to get started.
  • Bitrise RDE UI: create and manage sessions, templates, and saved inputs from the browser, and connect with a built-in web terminal.
  • MCP server: let any AI assistant that supports the Model Context Protocol create and drive sessions on your behalf.
  • Bitrise VS Code plugin: open a repository in a new session and edit it from VS Code. This client is coming soon.

If you're not sure where to start, follow the Quickstart.

What you needClick to copy link​

To use Remote Dev Environments, you need:

  • A Bitrise workspace with RDE access. Remote Dev Environments is in beta. If your workspace doesn't have access yet, contact Bitrise.
  • A way to connect, depending on the client you choose: the Bitrise CLI, a supported AI assistant, or a browser.