Visual Studio Code

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VS Code is a common desktop coding environment. We support the use of the VS Code Remote SSH plugin to connect to our Linux clients, but we recommend a few specific settings.

Recommended VS Code Settings for the CS Linux Clients

First, use the latest release of VS Code. Older versions may have issues that have been addressed in newer releases.

Second, open your settings and make sure the following are set:

  • Remote.SSH: Use Flock should be checked
  • Remote.SSH: Remote Server Listen On Socket should be checked

If you have problems with Remote SSH

First, make sure the two above settings are set. If "Use Flock" is not checked, VS Code may have problems including problems with only setting itself up partially. If "Remote Server Listen On Socket" is not checked, you might have problems with the Remote SSH plugin's dynamic port forwarding.

Second, make sure you can use your computer's native SSH client (not VS Code) to connect to our system. If your non–VS Code SSH client doesn't work either, you can contact support@cs.jhu.edu with the output of your SSH client for assistance.

Third (if your system's SSH client works, but VS Code's Remote SSH plugin does not), try resetting the server-side VS Code configuration:

  1. Exit all of your VS Code sessions. (Close all your VS Code windows.)
  2. Delete the .vscode-server directory in your grad or ugrad home directory. You can do that by SSHing to the Linux client you used with VS Code and running:
    rm -fr ~/.vscode-server
    If the directory doesn't exist, that's okay.
    If you get an error message similar to "device or resource is busy", run the command pkill -u $(id -u) -f vscode then run the rm command above again.
  3. Try connecting to the CS Grad or Ugrad system again.

Finally, you can contact support@cs.jhu.edu for further assistance. Please include the following information:

  • The system you're connecting from
  • The system you're trying to connect to
  • Whether you've tried using SSH without VS Code to connect to our system
  • A copy or screenshot of the SSH output in VS Code