Guides for Codespaces

All Codespaces guides

• Quickstart for GitHub Codespaces

  Get started with GitHub Codespaces quickly.

  • Codespaces

• Deep dive into GitHub Codespaces

  Quickstart

  Explore more detail about how GitHub Codespaces work.

  • Codespaces

• Introduction to dev containers

  How-to guide

  When you work in a codespace, the environment you are working in is created using a development container, or dev container, hosted on a virtual machine.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up
  • Fundamentals

• Setting up a Node.js project for GitHub Codespaces

  Tutorial

  Get started with a Node.js, JavaScript, or TypeScript project in GitHub Codespaces by creating a custom dev container configuration.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer
  • Set up

• Setting up a Python project for GitHub Codespaces

  Tutorial

  Get started with a Python project in GitHub Codespaces by creating a custom dev container configuration.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer
  • Set up

• Setting up a C# (.NET) project for GitHub Codespaces

  Tutorial

  Get started with a C# (.NET) project in GitHub Codespaces by creating a custom dev container configuration.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer
  • Set up

• Setting up a Java project for GitHub Codespaces

  Tutorial

  Get started with a Java project in GitHub Codespaces by creating a custom dev container configuration.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer
  • Set up

• Setting up a PHP project for GitHub Codespaces

  Tutorial

  Get started with a PHP project in GitHub Codespaces by creating a custom dev container configuration.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer
  • Set up

• Setting a minimum specification for codespace machines

  How-to guide

  You can avoid under-resourced machine types being used for GitHub Codespaces for your repository.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up

• Adding features to a devcontainer.json file

  How-to guide

  With features, you can quickly add tools, runtimes, or libraries to your dev container configuration.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up

• Automatically opening files in the codespaces for a repository

  How-to guide

  You can set particular files to be opened automatically whenever someone creates a codespace for your repository and opens the codespace in the Visual Studio Code web client.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up

• Specifying recommended secrets for a repository

  How-to guide

  You can add a setting to your dev container configuration that will prompt people to set specific development environment secrets when they create a codespace.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up

• Facilitating quick creation and resumption of codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can add a link to take people straight to a page for creating a codespace, with your choice of options preconfigured. Alternatively you can link to the "Resume codespace" page.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up

• Setting up a template repository for GitHub Codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can help people get started with a project by setting up a template repository for use with GitHub Codespaces.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up

• Personalizing GitHub Codespaces for your account

  How-to guide

  You can personalize GitHub Codespaces by using a dotfiles repository on GitHub or by using Settings Sync.

  • Codespaces
  • Set up
  • Fundamentals

• Creating a codespace for a repository

  How-to guide

  You can create a codespace for a branch in a repository to develop online.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Creating a codespace from a template

  How-to guide

  If you're starting a new project, you can create a codespace from a blank template or choose a template specially designed for the type of work you want to do.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Developing in a codespace

  How-to guide

  You can work in a codespace using your browser, Visual Studio Code, or in a command shell.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Deleting a codespace

  How-to guide

  You can delete a codespace you no longer need.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Forwarding ports in your codespace

  How-to guide

  You can forward ports in your codespace to test and debug your application. You can also manage the port protocol and share the port within your organization or publicly.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Opening an existing codespace

  How-to guide

  You can reopen a codespace that you have closed or stopped and return to your work.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Stopping and starting a codespace

  How-to guide

  You can stop and start your codespace to save resources and to pause work.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Working collaboratively in a codespace

  How-to guide

  You can work collaboratively with other people in a codespace by using Visual Studio Live Share.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer

• Using GitHub Codespaces in Visual Studio Code

  How-to guide

  You can develop in your codespace directly in Visual Studio Code by connecting the GitHub Codespaces extension with your GitHub account.

  • Codespaces
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Developer

• Using GitHub Codespaces with GitHub CLI

  How-to guide

  You can work with GitHub Codespaces directly from your command line by using gh, the GitHub command line interface.

  • Codespaces
  • CLI
  • Developer

• Using source control in your codespace

  How-to guide

  After making changes to a file in your codespace you can quickly commit the changes and push your update to the remote repository.

  • Codespaces
  • Fundamentals
  • Developer

• Using GitHub Codespaces for pull requests

  How-to guide

  You can use GitHub Codespaces in your web browser, or in Visual Studio Code to create pull requests, review pull requests, and address review comments.

  • Codespaces
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Developer

• Changing the machine type for your codespace

  How-to guide

  You can change the type of machine that's running your codespace, so that you're using resources appropriate for the work you're doing.

  • Codespaces

• Configuring automatic deletion of your codespaces

  How-to guide

  Inactive codespaces are automatically deleted. You can choose how long your stopped codespaces are retained, up to a maximum of 30 days.

  • Codespaces

• Setting your default editor for GitHub Codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can set your default editor for Codespaces in your personal settings page.

  • Codespaces

• Setting your default region for GitHub Codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can set your default region in the GitHub Codespaces profile settings page to personalize where your data is held.

  • Codespaces

• Setting your timeout period for GitHub Codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can set your default timeout for GitHub Codespaces in your personal settings page.

  • Codespaces

• Managing your account-specific secrets for GitHub Codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can store sensitive information, like tokens, that you want to access in your codespaces via environment variables.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer
  • Security
  • Secret store

• Managing access to other repositories within your codespace

  You can manage the repositories that GitHub Codespaces can access.

  • Codespaces
  • Security

• Managing GPG verification for GitHub Codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can allow GitHub to automatically use GPG to sign commits you make in your codespaces, so other people can be confident that the changes come from a trusted source.

  • Codespaces
  • Developer
  • Security

• Enabling or disabling GitHub Codespaces for your organization

  How-to guide

  You can control which users can use GitHub Codespaces in your organization's private and internal repositories.

  • Codespaces
  • Billing
  • Administrator

• Managing the cost of GitHub Codespaces in your organization

  Reference

  You can check your GitHub Codespaces usage and set usage limits.

  • Codespaces
  • Billing

• Managing development environment secrets for your repository or organization

  Development environment secrets allow you to store sensitive information in your organization or repository for use with GitHub Codespaces.

  • Codespaces
  • Secret store
  • Security

• Restricting access to machine types

  How-to guide

  You can set constraints on the types of machines users can choose when they create codespaces in your organization.

  • Codespaces

• Restricting the base image for codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can specify which base images can be used to create the dev container for new codespaces created within your organization.

  • Codespaces

• Restricting the idle timeout period

  How-to guide

  You can set a maximum timeout period for any codespaces owned by your organization.

  • Codespaces

• Restricting the retention period for codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can set a maximum retention period for any codespaces owned by your organization.

  • Codespaces

• Restricting the visibility of forwarded ports

  How-to guide

  You can set constraints on the visibility options users can choose when they forward ports from codespaces in your organization.

  • Codespaces

• Reviewing your organization's audit logs for GitHub Codespaces

  How-to guide

  You can use the audit log to review all actions related to GitHub Codespaces.

  • Codespaces
  • Security
  • Administrator

• GitHub Codespaces billing

  Learn about the costs for using GitHub Codespaces, and the monthly usage quotas included with GitHub personal accounts.

  • Codespaces
  • Billing

• Using the Visual Studio Code Command Palette in GitHub Codespaces

  Reference

  You can use the Command Palette feature of Visual Studio Code to access many commands in GitHub Codespaces.

  • Codespaces
  • Visual Studio Code

• Disaster recovery for GitHub Codespaces

  This article describes guidance for a disaster recovery scenario, when a whole region experiences an outage due to major natural disaster or widespread service interruption.

  • Codespaces

• Security in GitHub Codespaces

  Reference

  Overview of the GitHub Codespaces security architecture, with guidelines to help you maintain security and minimize the risk of attack.

  • Codespaces
  • Security