This guide provides instructions for how to use Visual Studio Code (VS Code) through Open OnDemand on the HPCC, allowing web-based real-time coding, debugging, visualization or smaller real-time interaction tasks. If unsure about resource needs, start with an interactive session to test your job, then scale up with sbatch for production runs. Always monitor and check the resource limit and usage to optimize your workflow.

Steps to Launch VS Code

Open web browser and navigate to Open OnDemand URL (https://login2.coral.um.edu.mo/).

From the dashboard menu, select Interactive Software > Visual Studio Code.

A form will appear to specify the resources for your VS Code session:

Specify the duration of your session (e.g., 1 hours). Note that resources usage will be counted until the session is terminated or the time limit is reached.
Select a partition (e.g., serial-short, serial-normal, or serial-long, etc…). Refer to FAQ for partition details.
Select your preferred Codeserver version (e.g., 4.16.1) .

Click Launch to submit the job to the scheduler SLURM.

The job will enter a queue and wait for Resource Allocation. Wait times depend on the requested resources.

Once resources are allocated, a Connect to VS Code button will appear in the My Interactive Sessions tab. Click the button to open VS Code in a new browser tab.

Using Visual Studio Code

The key components: Editor, File Explorer, Terminal, Extensions, Git.

Best Practices:

Request sufficient resources (CPUs, memory) to avoid crashes or resource waste.
Use /scratch folders to optimize performance.
Avoid running heavy computations in the VS Code terminal and use Slurm batch jobs instead.

Terminating the Session:

Go to My Interactive Sessions, click Delete for your session.