Skip to content

Lightrun for code-server

Lightrun now provides a free, easy-to-install plugin for code-server - an open-source version of VS Code suitable for self-hosting and embedding in 3rd party applications.

Lightrun's code-server plugin is compatible with the Lightrun desktop plugin version, with a few minor limitations listed below.

Installing Lightrun for code-server

  • First download, install and run code-server using the following command :
curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh
  • Run code-server:
code-server
  1. The password can be found in ~/.config/code-server/config.yaml. Run the following command to get the password, then copy it into the browser window:
cat ~/.config/code-server/config.yaml | grep 'password:' | cut -d" " -f2
  • When VS Code opens, select Extensions in the left sidebar:

    Open The Extension Sidebar
    Open The Extension Sidebar

    Tip

    Alternatively, to open the EXTENSIONS sidebar, use the keyboard shortcut:

    • Ctrl+Shift+X (MS Windows and Linux)
    • Cmd+Shift+X (MacOS)
  • Search for "Lightrun" in the input box and click Install:

    Install Lightrun
    Install Lightrun
  • Once installed, The Lightrun plugin icon Lightun VSCode plugin icon will appear in your VS Code left sidebar - click it to open Lightrun Sidebar:

    Open Lightrun Sidebar
    Open Lightrun Sidebar
  • Click "Sign In" to authenticate to the plugin:

    Sign in to Lightrun
    Sign in to Lightrun
  • If you have a Lightrun account with us simply sign in to it. If you don't have an account, create one:

    Lightrun Registration Screen
    Lightrun Registration Screen
  • After logging in or signing up, in the first onboarding page, choose "Other IDE" and your language of choice:

    Select IDE and Language
    Select IDE and Language

From there, depending on the language you choose, you will be directed to install the relevant Lightrun agent. Please see below for detailed instructions for each supported runtime:

Lightrun for vscode.dev

For some developers, self-hosting VS Code is not something that they'd be interested to take on. For these developers - who still want the creature comforts VS Code provides without having to actually host it themselves, there is the option of using a Microsoft-hosted, web-based version of VS Code called vscode.dev.

Lightrun supports vscode.dev out of the box - see installation instructione here.

Limitations

Since Lightrun for code-server runs completely within your browser, there are some limitations when compared to using Lightrun directly in your IDE.


Last update: November 30, 2023