Connecting to the ‘delta.cs.uwindsor.ca’ Server via SSH through Visual Studio Code

This article was contributed by Avinash Karhana (karhanaa@uwindsor.ca). Thank you! 

 

 Prerequisites 

 

 **Visual Studio Code (VS Code)* * installed. If you don't have it, download and install it from  https://code.visualstudio.com .   

 **Remote - SSH Extension** for VS Code installed.    

 

 You can install it from the Extensions view in VS Code or from  https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh .   

  Or can search in extensions by typing `Remote Development` in the Extensions view in VS Code.   

 

 

 **SSH Client** installed on your local machine: 

 

 Windows** : Install Git for Windows which comes with Git Bash. You can download it from  https://gitforwindows.org . 

 **MacOS** : SSH client is pre-installed. 

 **Linux** : SSH client is pre-installed. 

 

 

 

 Step-by-Step Guide 

 

 Install the Remote - SSH Extension in VS Code 

 

 Open VS Code. 

 Go to the Extensions view by clicking the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window. 

 Search for "Remote Development" and install the extensions by Microsoft (As given in previous section).  

 

 

 Add the SSH Host 

 

 

 Open the Remote Explorer tab 

 

 

 In the Remote Explorer tab, click the `+` button next to `SSH Targets`. 

 

 In the input dialog that appears, enter: ssh uwinid@delta.cs.uwindsor.ca                       Replace `uwinid` with your actual username, then hit `Enter`. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you are connecting to a different server, replace the server in the example above with the current server name, which is delta.cs.uwindsor.ca ( it can be gamma.cs.uwindsor.ca ...) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Choose whether to save the configuration in the `~/.ssh/config` file or just for this session. 

 

 

 Connect to the Server via VS Code 

 

 In the Remote Explorer tab, under `SSH Targets`, you should now see `delta.cs.uwindsor.ca`. 

 Click on `delta.cs.uwindsor.ca` to connect.  

 A new VS Code window will open. When prompted, enter your password for the `delta.cs.uwindsor.ca` server. 

 

 

 Open a Remote Workspace

 

 Once connected, you can open a folder on the remote server by clicking on `Open Folder` in the Remote Explorer sidebar.  

 Navigate to the desired directory on the server and open it. 

 If prompted for your password again, enter it to proceed. 

 

 

 

 Tips and Troubleshooting 

 

 If you face issues with the host not being live or timeout, make sure you are either on CS Network  WiFi/Ethernet or connected via Global Protect VPN. 

 If you encounter connection issues, check the SSH output log in VS Code by clicking on the `View` menu, then `Output`, and selecting `Remote - SSH` from the dropdown. 

 Ensure that your user account on the `delta.cs.uwindsor.ca` server is set up to accept SSH connections. 

 If you are having connection issues due to invalid credentials, try authenticating them by going to https://auth.cs.uwindsor.ca; this will sync your credentials across all the CS services. 

 In case you do not want to enter the password every time you connect to SSH, follow the other guide that helps you to set Key based authentication for SSH.