VS Code IDE

Connect your local VS Code to an Agent's cloud computer over Remote SSH and edit the workspace from your own IDE.

Sometimes you want the full IDE — your extensions, your keybindings, multi-file editing and debugging — pointed straight at the Agent's cloud computer. With Open in VSCode, Buda connects your local VS Code to the Agent's sandbox over Remote SSH, so you and the Agent work in the same files.

Editing an Agent workspace

Use this when you want to edit large projects, run extensions and a debugger, or have a human developer and the Agent collaborate in one workspace. If you only need to view a running page, Web Preview is faster.

Setup

Install the prerequisites. Install VS Code and the Remote - SSH extension, then install websocat:

# macOS
brew install websocat

# Windows / Linux
cargo install websocat

Verify it's on your PATH:

websocat --version

Add your SSH public key. Print your public key and paste the full line into Add your SSH public key in the Buda dialog:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

No key yet? Create one with ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com", then open the .pub file.

Paste the public key (the .pub file, starting with ssh-ed25519 or ssh-rsa) — never your private key.

Append the SSH config. The dialog generates a config block starting with Host buda-agent-.... Append it to your local ~/.ssh/config.

Connect. Click Open VS Code in the dialog, or in VS Code run Remote-SSH: Connect to Host and pick the host the dialog shows.

Troubleshooting

VS Code can't find websocat

Run websocat --version locally. If it's missing, reinstall it or add its directory to PATH.

Permission denied

Make sure you pasted the public key content. VS Code can use your SSH agent or default key.

Multiple SSH keys

If VS Code picks the wrong key, add these lines under the generated host block (replace with your host and key path):

Host buda-agent-xxxx
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
  IdentitiesOnly yes

VS Code keeps connecting

Check that the SSH config is saved in ~/.ssh/config, websocat --version works, the Remote - SSH extension is installed, and the Agent's sandbox is awake. Reopen the dialog to copy the latest config if needed.