---
title: "Free VMs without an account, tracing, OpenCode on Cloud Agents"
date: 2026-09-25T16:44:00.000Z
number: 0309
url: https://railway.com/changelog/2026-09-25-free-vms-without-an-account
---

# Free VMs without an account, tracing, OpenCode on Cloud Agents

Your next project can start with an SSH command.

This week, we're opening up free VMs with no account required, introducing tracing in Priority Boarding, and bringing OpenCode to Cloud Agents.

Let's get into it! 🚄

# Free VMs without an account

[Start building on a free VM with ssh railway.new.](https://cms.railway.com/media/free-vm-launch.mp4)

Run `ssh railway.new` to get a free Linux VM with coding agents preinstalled and a preview URL. You can start building before you create an account or enter a credit card.

Each VM comes with 2 vCPU and 2 GB of RAM. Use it to prototype an app, test an idea, or give a coding agent a place to work. Preview your app as you build. Claim the VM to make its URL shareable.

You have 60 minutes to build, followed by 24 hours to claim the VM and keep your work. Open the claim link in the welcome message and sign up to move your VM, files, and URL into your account. Unclaimed VMs and their files are deleted.

Try [a free VM](https://railway.com/free-vm), read the [full details](https://docs.railway.com/pricing/free-trial#try-without-an-account), and show us what you build on [Central Station](https://station.railway.com/new?type=feedback).

# Tracing

[Follow each request and see where the time goes.](https://cms.railway.com/media/567cf6d8-fa6a-4293-9be7-281a8fd14cc1-traces.mp4)

Logs, metrics, and now… *traces*.

With tracing, you can follow a request from Railway's edge through your services and into database calls, with the timing of each step in a single waterfall. Filter by service, duration, or errors to find where a slow or failing request needs attention.

To start tracing your own requests, enable **Tracing** in [Priority Boarding](https://railway.com/account/feature-flags), then open your project's **Traces** tab. In **Tracing setup**, turn on tracing for the project or individual services.

Once enabled, Railway records edge spans without code changes. To follow requests inside your application, add an OpenTelemetry SDK or try best-effort [automatic instrumentation](https://docs.railway.com/observability/tracing/automatic-instrumentation) for supported runtimes.

To help with instrumentation, **Tracing setup** includes a prompt you can give your coding agent. Once spans arrive, inspect captured SQL queries and share a trace link with your team.

Your agent can use that same context, too. We've updated our [agent skills](https://docs.railway.com/ai/agent-skills) so it can use traces alongside logs and metrics to investigate slow or failing requests.

As you explore traces with your team or agent, tell us what you find on [Central Station](https://station.railway.com/new?type=feedback). Tracing is in preview, and the [tracing documentation](https://docs.railway.com/observability/tracing) covers setup and instrumentation.

# OpenCode on Cloud Agents

[Run OpenCode on Railway and pick up your work from anywhere.](https://cms.railway.com/media/996926f2-6533-4013-94ca-e0f477b005ce-railway-opencode.mp4)

Give OpenCode a computer of its own. Use OpenCode Desktop or your terminal to work on a persistent Railway VM. Coding tasks keep running after you disconnect.

Enable **Cloud Agents** in [Priority Boarding](https://railway.com/account/feature-flags), update the CLI with `railway upgrade`, and install an OpenCode 2 client. Run `railway ca desktop --opencode` for Desktop or `railway code --opencode` for the terminal. Clone your repository on the agent, then start a session.

Reconnect from another computer to pick up where you left off. Your files and conversation history stay on the agent. Putting it to sleep stops running processes while keeping your work on disk.

Follow the [OpenCode setup guide](https://docs.railway.com/cloud-agents/opencode), and let us know what you think on [Central Station](https://station.railway.com/new?type=feedback).

# Fixes and improvements

- We improved `railway up` to show final build errors and available failure reasons before exiting. Previously, the command could exit before the error appeared.
- We fixed CLI installation failures caused by GitHub API rate limits. The installer can now find the latest release even when your network's API quota is exhausted.