VS Code for Remote Python Development

Straight to the Point

Goal: use Visual Studio Code (aka vscode) to develop on a remote server over SSH with a local-like experience. Notebook support is especially smooth with the VS Code notebook extensions.

For consistency, I’ll use these terms:

Visual Studio Code → vscode
Remote server (usually Linux) → remote server
Local machine (Windows/macOS/Linux) → host
Remote-SSH extension → remote extension
Jupyter Notebook → notebook
Extensions → plugins

VS Code’s success owes a lot to open source and a vibrant extension ecosystem. Remote development is powered by the Remote-SSH plugin.

Remote dev isn’t limited to SSH:

Windows host to local WSL
Local Docker containers
GitHub Codespaces

First step: download VS Code and install the remote extension. After installation, a remote icon appears in the lower-left corner.

If the extension fails to install, update VS Code or reinstall.

Configure Server Info

Click the lower-left remote icon and choose the appropriate target. For SSH, pick Connect to Host. Two ways to configure:

Method 1: ssh command

Enter a full ssh command directly. Replace username with your account, host with IP or domain, port with the SSH port. For a jump host, use -J with jump user/host/port.

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# Default port 22
ssh username@host:port
# Examples:
# ssh yuesir@127.0.0.1:22
# ssh yuesir@vccv.cc:22

# With jump host
ssh username@host:port -J username@host:port
# Example:
# Jump host A: user yuesir, host 192.168.0.1, port 22
# Target B: user yueqingyou, host 192.168.0.2, port 2222
# ssh yueqingyou@192.168.0.2:2222 -J yuesir@192.168.0.1:22

Method 2: config file

After connecting once, VS Code writes the config into your SSH config. Choose Connect to Host -> Configure SSH Hosts, usually ~/.ssh/config (e.g., /Users/yuesir/.ssh/config).

Two templates (with/without jump). Host is just a nickname; HostName is the actual host/IP.

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# No jump host
Host MyServer
  HostName <server-host>
  Port <port>
  User <username>
  
# With jump host
Host TargetServer
  HostName 192.168.0.2
  Port 2222
  User yueqingyou
  ProxyJump yuesir@192.168.0.1:22

If it hangs on “Downloading VS Code Server”

This happens when the remote can’t reach the VS Code server URL (offline or blocked). Workaround: download the server locally and upload manually. References:

Typing passwords repeatedly is painful, especially with flaky VPNs. Use key-based auth—it’s also what VS Code recommends:

We recommend using key-based authentication (otherwise you may be prompted multiple times).

Check for existing keys on the host

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# Check for .ssh directory
ls -la ~ | grep .ssh
# If present, check for key files
ls -la ~/.ssh | grep id_rsa
ls -la ~/.ssh | grep id_ed25519

If you already have keys, skip creation.

Quick crypto note: RSA vs Ed25519. Summary:
Command ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 ssh-keygen -t ed25519
Type RSA Ed25519
Performance Slower (still fine) Faster
Security High Higher
Compatibility Better with legacy systems Very old systems may not support
Default to ssh-keygen -t ed25519.

Command	ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096	ssh-keygen -t ed25519
Type	RSA	Ed25519
Performance	Slower (still fine)	Faster
Security	High	Higher
Compatibility	Better with legacy systems	Very old systems may not support

Create a key pair on the host

On Windows open cmd/PowerShell; on macOS/Linux use Terminal. Example on Windows 10:

Prefer Ed25519, fall back to RSA:

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# Ed25519
ssh-keygen -t ed25519

# RSA
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

Press Enter to accept defaults and empty passphrase. Keys are stored in ~/.ssh (e.g., C:/Users/<user>/.ssh or /home/<user>/.ssh). You’ll see id_ed25519.pub (public) and id_ed25519 (private). Keep the private key secret.

Add the public key to the remote server

Cloud providers often let you paste/upload a key when provisioning (see screenshot below).

If you just have SSH access, use the command-line or manual edit:

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# From host
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub username@host:port

Or manually append the .pub content to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server (create the file if missing), then set permissions:

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chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Restart the SSH service if needed to apply key auth.

Recommended Plugins

Beyond Remote-SSH, these make Python/Notebook life easier:

ms-python.python (Python tooling, debugger, linting)
ms-toolsai.jupyter (Notebook support)
ms-toolsai.jupyter-renderers
ms-toolsai.jupyter-keymap
ms-toolsai.jupyter-cell-tags
ms-toolsai.vscode-jupyter-powertoys
ms-toolsai.datawrangler (data wrangling)
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-vscode
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-native-notebook
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-lsp
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-insiders
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-debug
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-darwin-x64
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-darwin-arm64
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-windows-x64
ms-toolsai.data-wrangler-windows-arm64

The last few are platform-specific binaries; VS Code will fetch the right one automatically.

Final Thoughts

Once SSH and keys are set, connecting is just a click. With the Python and Jupyter extensions, you get a near-local dev experience while running code on the remote server. If you edit authorized_keys with vim, save and exit with:

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:wq
# or
ZZ

Close VS Code and reconnect—if it no longer prompts for a password, key auth is working. The rest focuses on language-specific setup and notebooks.

Python

Developing remotely still requires installing language plugins on the remote side. VS Code will prompt you; just ensure you install to the server, not the host.