VS Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free code editor with strong support for remote development, making it a popular way to edit files and run code directly on KLC.

This page covers connecting to KLC over Remote-SSH. If you’d rather not install anything locally, KLC OnDemand’s VS Code Server gives you the same editor directly in your browser.

Essential Extensions

Install these from the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / ⌘⇧X):

• Remote - SSH (ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh) — connect to a remote machine like KLC and work with its files and terminal as if they were local.

• Remote Explorer (ms-vscode.remote-explorer) — a graphical view of your SSH targets and remote sessions.

• Python (ms-python.python) — code intelligence, linting, and debugging for Python.

• Jupyter (ms-toolsai.jupyter) — open and run Jupyter Notebooks inside VS Code.

• GitHub Copilot (github.copilot) — AI pair programmer that suggests code completions.

• GitHub Copilot Chat (github.copilot-chat) — ask Copilot questions, get code explanations, or generate snippets via natural language.

Connecting to KLC

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / ⌘⇧P) and select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host.

2. Select Add New SSH Host and enter:

   ssh your-netid@klc0202.quest.northwestern.edu
   

3. VS Code opens a new window connected to that node. Use File → Open Folder to browse to your home directory or a Kellogg project directory.

Note

To skip typing your password on every connection, set up passwordless SSH login first.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	macOS	Windows
Activate Copilot inline chat	⌘I	Ctrl+I
Comment line	⌘/	Ctrl+/
Increase indent	⌘]	Ctrl+]
Decrease indent	⌘[	Ctrl+[
Go to file	⌘P	Ctrl+P
Switch tabs	Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, …	Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, …
Save	⌘S	Ctrl+S
Close tab	⌘W	Ctrl+W
Open terminal	Ctrl+`	Ctrl+`
Command palette	⌘⇧P	Ctrl+Shift+P
Toggle sidebar	⌘B	Ctrl+B
Find in file	⌘F	Ctrl+F
Find across files	⌘⇧F	Ctrl+Shift+F

Bonus

• tmux cheatsheet for managing sessions in the integrated terminal