Welcome to this step-by-step guide on installing Visual Studio Code (VSCode) and using it to SSH into Cleveland State University's Spirit and Grail servers. Whether you're a student or programmer looking to connect to these servers, this guide will walk you through the process with ease.
Visual Studio Code is a powerful, open-source code editor that's highly customizable and has a wide range of extensions to enhance your development experience. Specifically, it offers exceptional syntax highlighting for the C programming language, providing you with a superior coding experience compared to most other alternatives. With its user-friendly interface, you can enjoy a seamless programming experience as you connect to CSU's servers.
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and tools to efficiently connect to the Spirit and Grail servers at Cleveland State University and take full advantage of VSCode's capabilities for C programming.
Downloading VSCode:
Establishing A Remote Connection:
After downloading and installing VSCode, open the extensions tab on the left side of the window and search for and install "Remote Explorer" and "Remote SSH"
Navigate to the new "Remote Explorer" button on the left-hand sidebar and click on the '+' button next to SSH (You may need to hover to see the '+')
A prompt will appear asking you to input your SSH Connection Command. The screenshot below has an example format for what your command should look like. Be sure to replace the username in the example with your personal username. This should be the first 2 letters of your first name followed by the (up to) the first 6 letters of your last name. For example: Jacob McManning's username would be jamcmann.
VSCode will then prompt you with a list of directories to save the information in. Select whichever the top option is.
You should now see your new SSH option in the "Remote Explorer" interface on the left hand side of the screen! If it does not appear, click the refresh button next to "REMOTES(TUNNELS/SSH)". If you completed the directions correctly, you should now see the new option. If you do not see the new option, feel free to reach out to any CPT that can further assist you.
Click the arrow next to your Spirit SSH option to connect in the current window. The page will refresh and you will be prompted to enter a password. Your password will be your 7-digit student ID + First letter of your last name (uppercase). For example, if Jacob McManning's student ID was 1234567, his password will be 1234567J
Thats it! You should now be connected to the Spirit server through VSCode. pressing [ctrl + '~'] will bring up the command prompt and you can navigate your linux system from there.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns regarding this guide!