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Tips on VS Code

Overview

VSCode is similar but not exactly like working on a laptop. For example, opening a new workspace on a remote environment is different than on a laptop. We want to share some tips to bridge the gap and make your transition frictionless.

Reconnect to the Nimbus environment

Connecting to a Nimbus environment launches a VSCode Workspace in a new window. Sometimes, you may accidentally close a VSCode Workspace Window and want to reopen that specific Workspace. There are two ways you can reconnect to the Nimbus environment:
  1. Via Nimbus Extension:
    1. Go to an existing VSCode window or open a new VSCode window
    2. Click the “Nimbus” icon and click the same environment you have closed
  1. Via VSCode Remote Explorer:
    1. Click the `Remote Explore` icon and make sure you select the `SSH Targets` option in the panel.
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      b. Expand the target hostname that you want to connect to and you will see a list of directories that you have set as a workspace root directory before
      c. Hover over the workspace directory or the hostname you want to connect and you will see an empty-window icon showing up on the right side of the panel row.
      d. Click the `empty-window` icon to connect to the Nimbus environment. You will see a new VSCode window pops up and the selected directory will be used as the root directory of the new workspace

Add a default root directory to VSCode Remote Explore

In the previous section, we showed you how to open a new VSCode window with a specific directory as the root directory in the new workspace from VSCode Remote Explorer. But how to add a new root directory option in Remote Explorer in the first place? In this section, we will show you how to do so.
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  1. Connect your VSCode to a Nimbus environment (any directory as root will be fine)
  1. Open the` Open File Or Folder` Prompt window (chose the following sections based on your OS):
    1. macOS:
      1. Go to the VSCode window where you connect to the Nimbus environment
      2. Press `cmd + o` (Or on the top menu bar, click File => Open)
    2. Windows:
      1. Go to the VSCode window where you connect to the Nimbus environment
      2. press `ctrl + k`, `ctrl + o` (Or on the top menu bar, click File => Open)
  1. You will see a prompt window opens up on the top of your VSCode window.
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  1. Input the path where you want to set your root directory and hit Enter.
  1. A new VSCode Window will pop up with the directory you input as the workspace root directory.
  1. Go to your `Remote Explorer`, refresh the panel, and you will see the new directory you just selected being saved under the related hostname.
  1. In the future, you can use that Remote Explorer option to open connections to the Nimbus environment with that directory as the workspace root.