[code server] Bring over serve-local option from code-server preview to new code tunnel command

[srudolph-credera]

The preview of VS Code Server (https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2022/07/07/vscode-server#_a-preview-of-a-larger-journey) had a subcommand that enabled running locally:

serve-local: Start a VS Code Server that can be accessed locally

I would love to see this option brought into the new code tunnel command introduced this week (https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2022/12/07/remote-even-better). This feature supports a variety of useful edge cases like connecting to a web version of VS Code running on the local private network or inside a secure cloud environment where authentication is either not required or already independently addressed.

[vscodenpa]

This feature request is now a candidate for our backlog. The community has 60 days to upvote the issue. If it receives 20 upvotes we will move it to our backlog. If not, we will close it. To learn more about how we handle feature requests, please see our documentation.

Happy Coding!

[vscodenpa]

🙂 This feature request received a sufficient number of community upvotes and we moved it to our backlog. To learn more about how we handle feature requests, please see our documentation.

Happy Coding!

[OneCyrus]

For a better developer experience the tunnel extension should also be able to connect to this instance and use direct port forwarding like with the SSH extensions.

there's currently a separate issue for this which could use some upvotes.
microsoft/vscode-remote-release#7527

[sroener]

Hi,

From my understanding the requested feature already existed in the preview of VScode Server:

The preview of VS Code Server (https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2022/07/07/vscode-server#_a-preview-of-a-larger-journey) had a subcommand that enabled running locally:

serve-local: Start a VS Code Server that can be accessed locally

I would love to see this option brought into the new code tunnel command introduced this week (https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2022/12/07/remote-even-better). This feature supports a variety of useful edge cases like connecting to a web version of VS Code running on the local private network or inside a secure cloud environment where authentication is either not required or already independently addressed.

I want to emphasize again that this feature would be very helpful for situations, when the normal tunnels approach would be difficult due to data protection laws.

Are there any news on this issue/is there a timeline for this feature?

I'm looking forward to this feature.

[thekeith]

+1 to this request and some more context:

• I work on my iPad Pro M2 full time and only use a desktop for essentials at this point, including for all my software development
• I use code tunnels on an ubuntu server box in my local network, or on a Pi when I’m remote
• Overall, code tunnels have been reliable 90% of the time, making it straightforward to develop and use my iPad as a daily driver
• However, there are instability issues where it can disconnect in safari or require reloading, or the lag from my LAN -> WAN -> LAN is great enough that I end up having to reload multiple times before it stabilizes
• The older code-server was far more reliable on local networks and had virtually zero stability problems in daily use

As @sroener noted, a local version would be very helpful for situations where data protection laws can restrict the utility of tunnels. In addition, simply being able to form a local connection will make it much easier for developers like myself in our daily use as it brings a much more reliable connection with less stability issues.

Note: I have used Blink Shell on iPad as well, but UX issues have kept it from being usable

[JtMotoX]

I have been using code-server serve-local for the past year I think the new version of VSC broke the Settings Sync functionality when using code-server. This means that I can't use code-server anymore. Would be great if we could get this same serve-local functionality with code tunnel.

[Ali-Flt]

Okay so... Are we getting this or what? It's been 8 months. Any updates? It's so weird that an already working and reliable essential feature is removed with no good reason. One might speculate that Microsoft likes us to transfer our precious data through their servers instead of transferring it privately where they can't see it. 🤔
I would've loved to use community forks of this "Open-Source" software such as code-server if it was not for the proprietary extensions that only work on the official VScode forcing me to use it... Don't you love how corps handle open-source?

[thekeith]

Many thanks to the team for implementing.

FYI, issues found in testing:

1. github sign-in link defaults to 127.0.0.1 instead of the host passed in the command. Example:

Command: code-insiders serve-web --host 0.0.0.0
Sign-in link uses 127.0.0.1:54389 instead

2. --host does not accept localhost or an MDNS name

I’ll raise these as separate issues

Edit:

3. github sign-in link cycles ports, breaking any port-forwarding via SSH as each new sign-in requires forwarding a new port

[Ali-Flt]

@thekeith This is the corresponding issue for that: #191067
which version of code-insiders are you using? It is probably not the latest cause I tested it after the issue was closed and it was resloved.

[thekeith]

@Ali-Flt thanks for the response. I’m on 1.82.0 at the moment and overall the experience is very responsive and stable.

To clarify the issues I found:

1. Using --host does work for serving VSCode, but the github sign-in link still has 127.0.0.1 as the host instead of the host I pass. For example, if I use the command code-insiders serve-web --host 0.0.0.0 I am able to access VSCode fine on my local network, however the github sign-in link still uses http://127.0.0.1:54xxx as a host. It should reflect the current hostname of the web session (such as the local network IP address being used to access VSCode).

2. The github link cycles ports, making it difficult to handle in an SSH session with ports forwarded as you need to disconnect and reconnect to add each port to ~/.ssh/config every time. This seems to only occur during setup but does pose issues for anyone using SSH or a firewall to access VSCode.

[thekeith]

@Ali-Flt both appear to be resolved as of latest insiders build