Browser-based VSCode for Workshops
Code Server puts VSCode in the browser, giving access to a remote server. Ansible lets me configure cloud servers. I can use them together to give workshop participants a configured and familiar development environment, without needing downloads or installs, and to make it available in moments.
I used this at EuroSTAR to give ~90 people browser-based zero-install access to a VSCode's file browser and commandline, on servers set up to serve web pages and access LLMs. It worked transparently – people engaged with the work, not the tooling.
I'll
I've got two scripts. One builds a cloud server that I can close down and save for later use (it takes a while, and is flaky, so it's better to do it once and keep it somewhere). The other uses that to build a live server, sets up VSCode and several users, installs tools and adds files that might be needed.
Here's a github with (a slice of) the current state.
workroomprds
This needs polish around VSCode config – setting up so that particpants don't need to battle a first-use page, making sure the file browser and terminal prompt are pointing to the same place, allowing (reliable) copy/paste from the browser-hosting OS to the OS on the server, pre-installing VSCode extensions, activating a Python virtual environment on the remote server.
Why not use Replit, CodeAnywhere, or GitPod? I have... and I may write about those (sometimes expensive) adventures elsewhere.
