Updated · 2026-06-27

Recipe: VS Code in a VM

The vscode-1.96 image boots a Remote-SSH-ready VM (minimum medium tier) with an SSH keypair generated for you and Claude Code pre-installed. create_vm returns a launch URL — open it and you're coding in the cloud.

Get a full cloud dev environment — VS Code over Remote-SSH, on a real Linux VM with as much CPU/RAM as you need.

One prompt

give me a vscode environment with node and docker

Your agent calls create_vm with image: vscode-1.96. The image:

  • Boots with sshd ready and a freshly generated SSH keypair (no manual enable_ssh needed).
  • Ships the Claude Code extension pre-baked.
  • Requires a medium tier or larger — tiny/small OOM during the first Remote-SSH connect, so the platform auto-bumps undersized requests.

create_vm returns a launchUrl that opens the VM directly in VS Code. Need it again later, call vscode_link.

Resize as you go

Hit a heavier workload? Resize live with no rebuild:

bump my vscode vm to large

Your agent calls scale_vm — see VM tiers for what each tier fits.

Make it reusable

Once you’ve installed your toolchain, snapshot it as a template so the next environment starts ready:

save this as my "node-dev" template

Your agent calls save_image. See Snapshots & templates.

Notes

  • Your work lives on the VM’s disk — covered by the automatic daily backups.
  • Don’t relay idle-stat downsizing for a dev VM — medium is the working floor; burst needs (installs, builds, language servers) outstrip idle usage.