Overview
Tutor IDE is a coding-education platform built for schools. Students write HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python inside a real VS Code engine (Monaco), preview their work instantly, and publish any project in one click. Teachers get a dashboard showing every student's progress, time-on-task, and where they got stuck.
Challenge
Teaching real coding in schools is blocked by logistics: IT tickets for installing editors, shared passwords, different laptops at home and in class, and no way for the teacher to see what's going on across 20 browsers at once. Scratch-style block editors solve the install problem but the kids know they're not writing 'real' code.
Solution
Tutor IDE runs entirely in the browser — Monaco editor, Dockerised sandboxes for each project, instant preview, 1-click publish to a live URL. Teachers assign classes, see who published what, and review code against AI-analysed checkpoints. The AI tutor is explicitly guardrailed: it explains, suggests next steps, and refuses to just write the code for them.
Key features
- /01Real IDE, zero install
Monaco (the engine behind VS Code) in the browser. Works on any Chromebook, tablet, or school laptop without an IT ticket.
- /02Sandboxed previews
Every project runs in its own Docker sandbox; a rogue script can't break the classroom.
- /03One-click hosting
Students publish their project under a student-scoped URL they can share with parents — public enough to feel real, locked down enough to stay safe.
- /04Guardrailed AI tutor
Asks questions back. Explains concepts. Will not just write the answer. Logs every interaction for the teacher.
- /05Teacher dashboard
See every student's progress, stuck points, and time-on-task. Assign projects to an entire class in seconds.
- /06HTML / CSS / JS / Python
Not just a JavaScript playground — Python via a sandboxed kernel for older cohorts.
Tech & stack
Next.js 15 frontend, Django REST backend, PostgreSQL, Redis for background work (Celery + Beat), Docker-in-Docker for project sandboxes. Monaco editor bound into React with a custom multi-file model. AI tutor is a thin wrapper around Anthropic's API with role-play + tool-use restrictions enforced server-side.
