Install code-server (VSCode) on Raspberry Pi

You can use this guide to configure a Raspberry Pi to run VScode via code-server and access on a remote network on any device (iPads, yay!), mapped to a domain name of your choosing.

Resources

https://github.com/cdr/code-server/blob/master/doc/install.md https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-nginx-on-ubuntu-18-04 https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-the-code-server-cloud-ide-platform-on-ubuntu-18-04

Set up Raspberry Pi

Recommended model: at least 3B+, in case you need to use ethernet port/USB. Zero W is not recommended due to low memory & ARMV6

• Plug SD card into computer, install Raspbian via Raspberry Pi Imager (https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/)
• Make it headless if connecting via wifi (https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/raspberry-pi-headless-setup-how-to,6028.html)
• Eject, put SD card into Pi, power on
• Login: ssh pi@internal-pi-ip
• Change the password: passwd
• Update some Pi settings: sudo raspi-config
  • Interfacing Options - VNC - Enable
  • Advanced - Expand Filesystem
• sudo reboot
• sudo apt update
• sudo apt upgrade -y (will take a few minutes)
• Install VNC to access desktop remotely: sudo apt install realvnc-vnc-server realvnc-vnc-viewer -y
• Create non superuser - sudo adduser yournewuser

Install node 12 & dependencies

There are apparently issues with other versions of node on ARMV6/V7 devices, so be sure to use node 12:

sudo apt-get install -y \
  build-essential \
  pkg-config \
  libx11-dev \
  libxkbfile-dev \
  libsecret-1-dev

• curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_12.x | sudo bash -
• sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
• Verify node install: node -v
• Verify npm: npm -v
• Install yarn:
  • curl -sL https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/pubkey.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
  • echo "deb https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list
  • sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install yarn

Install code-server

• yarn global add code-server --unsafe-perm
  • This might take upwards of 10 minutes - the build takes a while
• Add yarn to $PATH: export PATH=$PATH:~/.yarn/bin >>>>>>>FIND WAY TO ADD ON REBOOT
• echo $PATH
• code-server --host 0.0.0.0 >>>>>>>FIND WAY TO START ON REBOOT
• Open a new terminal window, SSH in, & get code-server password: cat .config/code-server/config.yaml
• Try logging in to codes-server via another machine's browser using: pi_local_ip:8080

You can stop here if you only want to access on your local network!

Install nginx & firewall

• sudo apt update
• sudo apt install nginx -y
• Verify nginx is working: systemctl status nginx
• sudo apt-get install ufw -y
• sudo ufw allow ssh
• no--sudo ufw allow 8080
• no--sudo ufw allow http?
• no--sudo ufw allow 80?
• sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTP'
• sudo ufw enable
• sudo ufw reload
• sudo ufw status

Make accessible over the internet

• Forward port for Pi IP on your network to 8080
• Map custom domain A record (ie codeserver.mydomain.com) to your external-facing IP
• Update nginx config: sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
  • Uncomment server_names_hash_bucket_size and update value to 64, save
• Create nginx code-server config: sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/code-server.conf

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;

    server_name codeserver.mydomain.com;

    location / {
      proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/;
      proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
      proxy_set_header Connection upgrade;
      proxy_set_header Accept-Encoding gzip;
    }
}

• Create symlink: sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/code-server.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/code-server.conf
• sudo reboot
• Validate: sudo nginx -t
• Restart nginx: sudo systemctl restart nginx

Install Certbot (not working yet)

• sudo apt install python-certbot-nginx -y
• sudo ufw allow https
• sudo ufw reload
• Request a cert; provide your email: sudo certbot --nginx -d codeserver.mydomain.com
  • Select option 1 to disable https auto redirect (in case there are any issues)