diff --git a/docs/ides/web-ides.md b/docs/ides/web-ides.md
index 042ae69c2bb1e..1f2fb2a071733 100644
--- a/docs/ides/web-ides.md
+++ b/docs/ides/web-ides.md
@@ -52,11 +52,12 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
     #!/bin/sh
     # install code-server
     # add '-s -- --version x.x.x' to install a specific code-server version
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server
 
     # start code-server on a specific port
     # authn is off since the user already authn-ed into the coder deployment
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337
+    # & is used to run the process in the background
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 &
     EOF
 }
 ```
@@ -67,7 +68,9 @@ For advanced use, we recommend installing code-server in your VM snapshot or con
 FROM codercom/enterprise-base:ubuntu
 
 # install the latest version
+USER root
 RUN curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh
+USER coder
 
 # pre-install VS Code extensions
 RUN code-server --install-extension eamodio.gitlens
diff --git a/docs/templates.md b/docs/templates.md
index 35ae2e7bce283..1502cee284567 100644
--- a/docs/templates.md
+++ b/docs/templates.md
@@ -160,12 +160,15 @@ resource "coder_agent" "coder" {
   startup_script = <<EOT
 #!/bin/bash
 
-# install code-server 4.8.3
-curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-
-# The & prevents the startup_script from blocking so the
-# next commands can run.
-code-server --auth none --port &
+# Install code-server 4.8.3 under /tmp/code-server using the "standalone" installation
+# that does not require root permissions. Note that /tmp may be mounted in tmpfs which
+# can lead to increased RAM usage. To avoid this, you can pre-install code-server inside
+# the Docker image or VM image.
+curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+
+# The & prevents the startup_script from blocking so the next commands can run.
+# The stdout and stderr of code-server is redirected to /tmp/code-server.log.
+/tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
 
 # var.repo and var.dotfiles_uri is specified
 # elsewhere in the Terraform code as input
diff --git a/dogfood/main.tf b/dogfood/main.tf
index 285f26a345c07..0774e7e06fb68 100644
--- a/dogfood/main.tf
+++ b/dogfood/main.tf
@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "dev" {
   startup_script         = <<-EOT
     set -eux -o pipefail
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
     sudo service docker start
     DOTFILES_URI=${var.dotfiles_uri}
     rm -f ~/.personalize.log
diff --git a/examples/templates/aws-ecs-container/main.tf b/examples/templates/aws-ecs-container/main.tf
index 2ae6b833d42a4..8862edfa56069 100644
--- a/examples/templates/aws-ecs-container/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/aws-ecs-container/main.tf
@@ -103,8 +103,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "coder" {
     set -e
 
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
   EOT
 }
 
diff --git a/examples/templates/aws-linux/main.tf b/examples/templates/aws-linux/main.tf
index 4a70707f6c962..d662a52f37193 100644
--- a/examples/templates/aws-linux/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/aws-linux/main.tf
@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
     set -e
 
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
   EOT
 }
 
diff --git a/examples/templates/docker-image-builds/main.tf b/examples/templates/docker-image-builds/main.tf
index 6668867053017..a541e8b698cc4 100644
--- a/examples/templates/docker-image-builds/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/docker-image-builds/main.tf
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
     set -e
 
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
   EOT
 }
 
diff --git a/examples/templates/docker/main.tf b/examples/templates/docker/main.tf
index 89bf7215e22d8..a6bff978d3b4b 100644
--- a/examples/templates/docker/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/docker/main.tf
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
     set -e
 
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
   EOT
 
   # These environment variables allow you to make Git commits right away after creating a
diff --git a/examples/templates/gcp-linux/main.tf b/examples/templates/gcp-linux/main.tf
index 26ed3ab365a72..3ebd10dac3081 100644
--- a/examples/templates/gcp-linux/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/gcp-linux/main.tf
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
     set -e
 
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
   EOT
 }
 
diff --git a/examples/templates/gcp-vm-container/main.tf b/examples/templates/gcp-vm-container/main.tf
index 92b51621956b0..256d4028a5a75 100644
--- a/examples/templates/gcp-vm-container/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/gcp-vm-container/main.tf
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
     set -e
 
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version 4.8.3
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
   EOT
 }
 
diff --git a/examples/templates/kubernetes-with-podman/main.tf b/examples/templates/kubernetes-with-podman/main.tf
index c7a96969d0190..cf890632645d3 100644
--- a/examples/templates/kubernetes-with-podman/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/kubernetes-with-podman/main.tf
@@ -32,8 +32,10 @@ resource "coder_agent" "dev" {
   dir            = "/home/podman"
   startup_script = <<EOF
     #!/bin/sh
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 &
+
+    # install and start code-server
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
 
     # Run once to avoid unnecessary warning: "/" is not a shared mount
     podman ps
diff --git a/examples/templates/kubernetes/main.tf b/examples/templates/kubernetes/main.tf
index 73ae829510e3d..3166d0ed83f36 100644
--- a/examples/templates/kubernetes/main.tf
+++ b/examples/templates/kubernetes/main.tf
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
     set -e
 
     # install and start code-server
-    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s
-    code-server --auth none --port 13337 &
+    curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --method=standalone --prefix=/tmp/code-server --version 4.8.3
+    /tmp/code-server/bin/code-server --auth none --port 13337 >/tmp/code-server.log 2>&1 &
   EOT
 }