How to Use VS Code Server for Seamless Browser‑Based Remote Development

In 2019 Microsoft released a remote‑development extension that allowed users to develop locally with VS Code on Windows 10+ systems using the Linux subsystem, Docker containers, or SSH‑managed remote machines.

Building on that, Microsoft has now introduced a new backend service called Visual Studio Code Server together with a CLI that makes installation, updates, management, and connection to the service straightforward.

According to Microsoft, VS Code Server can be installed on any local or cloud machine, and developers can securely access it via VS Code for Web in a browser without configuring SSH or HTTPS.

For developers, this means that after the initial configuration, they can work on projects from any location and any performance‑class computer simply through a browser, greatly improving convenience.

The VS Code Server CLI establishes a secure tunnel (Tunneling) between the VS Code client (vscode.dev) and the remote machine, safely transmitting data across networks.

VS Code Server preview includes two main components:

VS Code Server: the backend server that runs on the remote machine plus a CLI for easy installation, updates, management, and connection.

Remote‑Server extension: automatically loads into the local VS Code client to facilitate connection to the remote machine.

The service is currently in private preview; interested users must fill out a registration form and, if approved, will receive a response within a few weeks.

How to use VS Code Server:

1. Install VS Code Server on the remote machine:

wget -O- https://aka.ms/install-vscode-server/setup.sh | sh

2. Start the server: code-server 3. The remote machine creates a secure tunnel with vscode.dev, allowing connection from any network. The user receives a device code and URL to verify a GitHub account.

Please enter the code 7644-1186 on https://github.com/login/device

4. On first launch, the system prompts for a connection name:

What would you like to call this machine? (elegant-pitta)

5. After verification and naming, the CLI launches the server instance and generates a vscode.dev URL, which can be opened on any device to start coding.