Open VSCode in a Sandbox

Connect VSCode to a running sandbox using the Remote - SSH extension so you get a full IDE experience inside the sandbox environment.

Prerequisites

A running OpenShell gateway (mise run gateway:docker for local development)
VSCode with the Remote - SSH extension installed
The openshell CLI on your PATH

Quick start

1. Create and open the sandbox in VS Code

openshell sandbox create --editor vscode --name my-sandbox

This launches VS Code directly into /sandbox, keeps the sandbox alive for the remote session, and installs an OpenShell-managed SSH include file so your main ~/.ssh/config stays clean.

2. Reconnect later

To reopen an existing sandbox in VS Code:

openshell sandbox connect my-sandbox --editor vscode

OpenShell maintains the generated Host openshell-my-sandbox entry in its own managed SSH config include file.

3. Optional manual workflow

If you want to inspect the generated SSH stanza directly:

Host openshell-my-sandbox
    User sandbox
    StrictHostKeyChecking no
    UserKnownHostsFile /dev/null
    GlobalKnownHostsFile /dev/null
    LogLevel ERROR
    ProxyCommand openshell ssh-proxy --gateway <gateway-name> --name my-sandbox

You can still print it manually with:

openshell sandbox ssh-config my-sandbox

4. Open VS Code manually

Open VSCode and run Remote-SSH: Connect to Host... from the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P). Select openshell-my-sandbox from the list. VSCode will open a remote window connected to the sandbox.

Alternatively, from the terminal:

code --remote ssh-remote+openshell-my-sandbox /sandbox

5. Clean up

When you are done, delete the sandbox:

openshell sandbox delete my-sandbox

This also removes any active port forwards.

2.0 KiB Raw Permalink Blame History