Using Visual Studio Code (VS Code) with Clipper

VS Code's Remote-SSH extensions allows researchers to use VS Code on their local machine while connecting to and working on files located on Clipper.

From Wikipedia:

Visual Studio Code (commonly referred to as VS Code) is an integrated development environment developed by Microsoft for Windows, Linux, macOS and web browsers. Features include support for debugging, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, code refactoring, and embedded version control with Git. Users can change the theme, keyboard shortcuts and preferences, as well as install extensions that add functionality, including to extend its capabilities to function as an IDE for other languages.

Connecting to Clipper with VS Code's Remote-SSH Extension

VS Code's Remote-SSH extensions allows researchers to use VS Code on their local machine while connecting to and working on files located on Clipper.

Prerequisites

• Access to Clipper via SSH. For Open OnDemand-only users, VS Code is available as an interactive application in the OnDemand portal.
• VS Code installed on your local machine. Installation packages are available for Windows, Mac and Linux systems.

Installation and Setup

Install Remote-SSH Extension

1. Open VS Code
2. Click the Extensions icon in the sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for “Remote - SSH”
4. Click Install on the extension published by Microsoft

Configure SSH Connection

1. Press F1 or Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS) to open the Command Palette
2. Type “Remote-SSH: Connect to Host…” and select it
3. Select “Configure SSH Hosts…” or “Add New SSH Host…”
4. Enter the SSH connection string ssh username@clipper.gvsu.edu or ssh username@port.clipper.gvsu.edu (replace with your actual username)
5. Select the SSH config file to update (typically ~/.ssh/config)

Connect to Clipper

1. Open the Command Palette again (F1 or Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Type “Remote-SSH: Connect to Host…” and select it
3. Select your Clipper entry from the list
4. Enter your password when prompted. If you are connecting from on campus and not through GlobalProtect, you will be prompted to select a Duo authentication mechanism. The prompt's text may be cut off by the default VS Code interface. You may want to set VS Code to show the full login terminal.
5. A new VS Code window will open, connected to Clipper

The VS Code server components will be automatically installed on Clipper in your /mnt/home directory. Once connected, you can open folders on Clipper using File > Open Folder and work with files as if they were local.

Disabling FileWatcher

VS Code's FileWatcher process can negatively impact the user experience on shared systems like Clipper's login node. FileWatcher will constantly scan Clipper's shared directories which places extra load on the server and slows down filesystem access times for all users. This behavior can make the login node feel sluggish even if there are only a few users connected to the login node.

Disable FileWatcher using VS Code Settings UI

1. While connected to Clipper via Remote-SSH, open Settings (File > Preferences > Settings, or Ctrl+, (Windows / Linux), or Cmd+, (macOS))
2. Ensure you're in the “Remote [SSH: clipper.gvsu.edu]” tab (or “Remote [SSH: port.clipper.gvsu.edu]”) to modify remote settings
3. Search for “files.watcherExclude”
4. Add the ** pattern to exclude all directories from FileWatcher.

Additional Tips

• Extensions installed in Remote-SSH mode are installed on the Clipper login node, not your local machine. Keep this in mind for resource usage.
• Use the integrated terminal (Terminal > New Terminal) to run commands directly on the login node. This is useful for interacting with Slurm.