VSCode one-time setup

To use VSCode you will need to be connected to the VPN. Please install the Brown VPN client before proceeding.

1. Install the Remote Development extension pack for VSCode:

2. Open VSCode settings and uncheck symlink:

Search for symlink and make sure the symlink searching is unchecked

3. Make sure you have set up passwordless SSH authentication to Oscar. If you haven't, please refer to this documentation page.

4. Edit the config file:

C:\Users\<uname>\.ssh\config

Edit the config file on your local machine, add the following lines. Replace <username> with your Oscar username.

# Jump box with public IP address
Host jump-box
    HostName poodcit4.services.brown.edu
    User <username>

# Target machine with private IP address
Host ccv-vscode-node
    HostName vscode1
    User <username>
    ProxyCommand ssh -q -W %h:%p jump-box

1. September 10, 2023: Some users have reported issues while connecting to the Oscar VSCode remote extension. This is due to a recent change introduced by VSCode. To address this issue

Ctrl (cmd on Mac) + Shift + P > Remote-SSH: Settings
Disable the Remote.SSH: Use Exec Server option

1. In VSCode, select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host… and after the list populates select ccv-vscode-node

6. Install and set up of VSCode

1. Configure VSCode

Connect to VSCode first.

You can either create a symlink via the ln command below,

cp -v /gpfs/runtime/opt/vscode-server/ccv-vscode-config/settings.json /users/$USER/.vscode-server/data/Machine/settings.json

or manually create /users/$USER/.vscode-server/data/Machine/settings.json file with following contents

{
    "files.watcherExclude": {
        "**/.git/objects/**": true,
        "**/.git/subtree-cache/**": true,
        "**/node_modules/**": true,
        "/usr/local/**": true,
        "/gpfs/home/**": true,
        "/gpfs/data/**": true,
        "/gpfs/scratch/**": true
    },
    "search.followSymlinks": false,
    "search.exclude": {
        "**/.git/objects/**": true,
        "**/.git/subtree-cache/**": true,
        "**/node_modules/**": true,
        "/usr/local/**": true,
        "/gpfs/home/**": true,
        "/gpfs/data/**": true,
        "/gpfs/scratch/**": true
    }
}

Reconnect to VSCode

1. Click the green icon "Open a Remote Window" in the bottom left corner of VSCode Window. Then click "Connect to Host" in the drop down list.

2. Select the ccv-vscode-node option to connect to Oscar.

1. If you have an existing virtual environment, proceed to step 2. Otherwise, to create a new virtual environment:

$ python3 -m venv my_env
$ source my_env/bin/activate
#Install packages manually or from requirements.txt file
$ pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Search for Python.VenvPath as shown in the picture below:

3. VSCode expects you to have multiple virtual environments for each of your different python projects, and it expects you to put them all in the same directory. Pointing to the parent directory lets it scan and find all expected virtual environments, and then you can easily toggle between them in interface.

4. Once you have the virtual environment selected, the debugging capabilities should work.

1. Install the Remote Development extension pack for VSCode

2. Open VSCode settings

• On Windows/Linux - File > Preferences > Settings

• On macOS - Code > Preferences > Settings

Search for symlink and make sure the symlink searching is unchecked

3. Under VSCode settings, search for remote ssh timeout and manually enter a timeout value i.e. 50s. It should give you enough time to complete 2-Factor Authentication.

4. Edit the ~/.ssh/config file on your local machine, add the following lines. Replace <username> with your Oscar username.

# Jump box with public IP address
Host jump-box
  HostName ssh8.ccv.brown.edu
  User <username>
# Target machine with private IP address
Host ccv-vscode-node
  HostName vscode1
  User <username>
  ProxyCommand ssh -q -W %h:%p jump-box

6. In VSCode, select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host… and after the list populates select login-node