Getting started with remote with the thin client

Launch JetBrains Gateway and connect to a remote server

1. Download and install the JetBrains Gateway app.

   Alternatively, you can access JetBrains Gateway from the welcome screen of your IDE through the Remote Development option.

2. Сlick New Connection under the SSH connection provider.

   

   note

   You can also click Connect with a Link and enter a link that you previously generated to connect either to a Code With Me session or to a remote server.

3. On the next page of the wizard, specify the SSH configuration through which you want to connect to a remote server.

   

   Alternatively, click to open the SSH Configurations dialog and configure the SSH settings.

   In the SSH Configurations dialog, add the following information:

   

   • Host: specify the address of your remote server.

   • Port: specify the SSH port, which defaults to 22.

   • Local port: specify the outgoing port.

     For example, TCP 10.101.0.1:50705->13.49.137.87:22 (ESTABLISHED).

   • Username: specify the name of a user that will be used to connect to the remote server.

   • Authentication type: select one of the following authentication methods:

     • Password: to access the host with a password. To save the password in CLion, select the Save password checkbox.

     • Key pair (OpenSSH or PuTTY): to use SSH authentication with a key pair. To apply this authentication method, you must have a private key on the client machine and a public key on the remote server. CLion supports private keys that are generated with the OpenSSH utility.

       Specify the path to the file where your private key is stored and type the passphrase (if any) in the corresponding fields. To have CLion remember the passphrase, select the Save passphrase checkbox.

     • Parse config file ~/.ssh/config: select this option if you want JetBrains Gateway to use the .ssh/config file.

   • Test Connection: click this button to see whether the connection is established.

   • Connection Parameters: use this section to configure additional parameters for the connection.

   • HTTP/SOCKS Proxy: use this section to configure proxy settings. For more information, refer to Proxy settings.

   Click OK to save the changes and return to the Welcome to JetBrains Gateway dialog.

   Click Check Connection and Continue to check whether the connection is established.

4. On the next page, specify the CLion version to download to the remote server. JetBrains Gateway displays a list of the IDEs versions that are available for downloading and the already installed ones.

   You can also use "Other options" for setting the alternative sources of IDE installers.

   The version of JetBrains Client downloaded to your local machine always matches the remote IDE version.

By default, the downloaded CLion is located in the following folder on the remote server: ~/.cache/JetBrains/RemoteDev/dist. However, you can change it and install CLion into a custom location with the following steps:

1. Click Other options and select the Customize install path option.

2. In the Install path field add the needed location for the installation.

Add the path to your project on the remote host.

Click Upload IDE and Connect.

JetBrains Gateway downloads the IDE, and opens your remote project in JetBrains Client. The connection is shown in the JetBrains Gateway window, from which you can connect to other IDEs or disable the connection. This window is hidden to tray by default.

Override -Xmx VM options

1. Launch JetBrains Gateway.

2. Follow the steps of the wizard. Click Check Connection and Continue.

3. On the page that opens, under the IDE version field, click Installation options.

4. From the drop-down list, select the Customize heap size.

   

5. In the Maximum heap size field, override the default heap size as needed.

   

   Note that this field can only contain numeric values and cannot exceed the INT_MAX value.

   note

   If you want to return to the default value, click Installation options again and select Use default heap size.

6. After you've done with your configurations, click Download IDE and Connect to start your project.

Open recent projects

1. In the JetBrains Gateway wizard, select SSH from the options on the left.

2. In the search field, enter the name of your project to quickly navigate to it.

   

   If you need to quickly access the terminal, click .

Change the backend version

• In the JetBrains Gateway wizard, click next to the name of the recent project and choose the version of the backend with which you want to open your project.

  

  If you can't locate the necessary version in the list, click Select Different IDE and choose the desired IDE version in the IDE version field.

  

Stop the running instance

1. In the JetBrains Gateway wizard, select SSH from the options on the left.

2. When your remote session is active, the Running indicator is displayed next to the project.

   Click next to the project and select Stop IDE Backend to stop the remote session for that project.

   

   You can also select Remove from Recent Projects to remove the project listed on the page altogether.

Uninstall the backend IDE version

1. In the JetBrains Gateway wizard, click against the name of the remote server and select Manage IDE Backends to open the list of installed IDE versions.

   

2. In the window that opens, click next to the backend IDE version you need to uninstall and click Yes to confirm the action.

1. Start a backend project in the remote IDE.

2. Select one of the connection links generated by the backend.

3. Open the link on your local machine.

Connect to a remote IDE

1. Ensure you have downloaded and installed JetBrains Gateway or you have an IDE with the JetBrains Gateway plugin on your local machine.

2. Ensure you have connected to the remote machine with CLion via SSH.

3. In the remote server's terminal, run the following command:

   remote-dev-server.sh run /path_to_project/ --ssh-link-host host_server_address
   --ssh-link-user remote_side_user
   --ssh-link-port ssh_connection_port

   Check the following example:

   ~/ideaIU-213.3469/bin/remote-dev-server.sh
   run ~/spring-boot-example/
   --ssh-link-host ec2-11-50-136-85.eu-north-1.compute.amazonaws.com
   --ssh-link-user ubuntu

   If you don't pass the parameters, the script will use the default ones: 22 for port, system user's username, and host from the hostname command.

4. If the project starts successfully, as an output, you should receive the following 3 links in the terminal:

   • Join link: tcp://127.0.0.1:5990...[ ]: contains the local address and port where the remote IDE is listening now.

     Example:

     tcp://127.0.0.1:5991#jt=71e779a1-070e-4fd3-a4e6-83c1f8cb65a5&p=IU&fp=A42F6041C2878D7A22339ECABF4A9C294F643BG05E91E3DFC06035E03DB71BF8&cb=222.4167.29&jb=17.0.4b469.53

     To use it, ensure the remote machine should be accessible by this local address. For example, for inside-Docker IDE with forwarded/open ports.

     tip

     For more information, refer to the output of the ssh -L command in the command line.

   • Http link: https://code-with-me.jetbrains.com/remoteDev...[ ]: contains information about your host-port-user, the IDE and its version.

     Example:

     https://code-with-me.jetbrains.com/remoteDev#idePath=%2Fhome%2Fubuntu%2F.cache%2FJetBrains%2FRemoteDev%2Fdist%2F3e4cd27bfbb95_ideaIU-2022.2.2&projectPath=%2Fhome%2Fubuntu%2Fdevelopment%2Fspring-petclinic&host=ec2-xx-xx-xxx-xx.eu-north-1.compute.amazonaws.com&port=22&user=ubuntu&type=ssh&deploy=false

     When opened in your local browser, it displays a welcome page and tries to call the local Gateway application with pre-filled connection settings values.

     If no JetBrains Gateway application is found on the local machine, you'll be able to download it from the welcome page.

   • Gateway link: jetbrains-gateway://connect#idePath... [ ]: also contains information about your host-port-user, IDE and its version.

     Example:

     jetbrains-gateway://connect#idePath=%2Fhome%2Fubuntu%2F.cache%2FJetBrains%2FRemoteDev%2Fdist%2F3e4cd27bfbb95_ideaIU-2022.2.2&projectPath=%2Fhome%2Fubuntu%2Fdevelopment%2Fspring-petclinic&host=ec2-xx-xx-xxx-xx.eu-north-1.compute.amazonaws.com&port=22&user=ubuntu&type=ssh&deploy=false

     When opened in your local browser, it launches the local JetBrains Gateway application directly without a welcome page.

5. Copy the generated link and paste it into your local browser allowing it to Open JetBrains Gateway.

6. All these links can be also opened in the already launched JetBrains Gateway.

   For this, on the JetBrains Gateway welcome screen, paste a link in the Connect to a Running IDE field, click Connect.

   CLion downloads the required version of JetBrains Client and opens the remote project inside it.

Registering previously installed remote IDE

Beginning with version 221.5481, you can manually register an existing backend IDE on the remote server and make it visible for Gateway.

To register the installed IDE and make it appear in the list of available builds, follow these steps:

1. Connect to the remote server via SSH.

2. Locate the folder with the unpacked IDE and open the bin directory.

3. Use the command line to run the following command:

   remote-dev-server.sh registerBackendLocationForGateway

   Example:

   sh WebStorm-221.5591.52/bin/remote-dev-server.sh registerBackendLocationForGateway

Connect to your workstation in Google Cloud

1. Launch JetBrains Gateway.

2. Select All Providers from the options on the left.

3. In the Install More Providers section, locate Google Cloud and click Install.

   

   Once the plugin is installed, you can locate it in the Run the IDE Remotely section.

4. From the options on the left, locate Cloud Workstations and click Connect to Google Cloud.

5. In the window that opens, select the preferred workstation and click Next.

   

   note

   Click Cloud console if you need to switch to the Google Cloud dashboard and manage Cloud Workstations.

6. On the next page, select the IDE version that you have chosen as the code provider in your configuration file and the project on which you want to work.

   

   The connection is established and the workstation with the project is opened in JetBrains Client where you can work further inside the IDE.

Connect to your workspace on Gitpod

1. Launch JetBrains Gateway.

2. Select Remote Development from the options on the left.

3. In the Install More Providers section, locate Gitpod and click Install.

   

   Once the plugin is installed, you can locate it under the Remote Development node as well as in the Install More Providers section.

4. From the options on the right, locate Gitpod and click Connect to Gitpod.

   

   .

5. In the window that opens, select the IDE with which you want to work.

   note

   Click if you need to switch to the Gitpod dashboard, read the Gitpod documentation, or log out from Gitpod.

6. Click New Workspace.

   JetBrains Gateway connects you to your Gitpod workspace in the browser. Gitpod prepares the workspace and displays a notification about opening the workspace inside JetBrains Client.

   

   Click Allow and then Yes in the authentication dialog.

   The connection is established and the workspace with the project is opened in JetBrains Client where you can work further inside the IDE.

   The created workspace is added to the Recent workspaces section. If you have existing workspaces, they are added to the list of recent workspaces, and you can connect to them at any time by clicking Connect against the necessary workspace.

Connect to your Codespaces developer environment

1. Launch JetBrains Gateway.

2. Click on the bottom of the screen and select Manage Providers.

3. On the page that opens, on the Marketplace tab, locate GitHub Codespaces, install and enable the plugin.

   

   The plugin is added to the Connections list.

4. Select All Providers from the options on the left.

5. From the options on the right, locate GitHub Codespaces and click Connect to Codespaces.

   

6. On the next page, follow the GitHub Codespaces instructions to authorize your account on GitHub.

7. After the authorization is complete, a list of available GitHub Codespaces will be displayed, and you can select the desired project.

   

   note

   If you need to add a new Codespace or stop the existing one, click the Manage Codespaces on GitHub link.

8. Select the IDE version that you want to run and click Connect.

   The GitHub Codespaces development environment with the selected project is opened in JetBrains Client where you can work further inside the IDE.

Connect to the Coder workspace

1. Launch JetBrains Gateway.

2. Click on the bottom of the screen and select Manage Providers.

3. On the page that opens, on the Marketplace tab, locate Coder, install and enable the plugin.

   The plugin is added to the Connections list.

4. Select All Providers from the options on the left.

   

5. Make sure you have the workspace configured in Coder and copy the access URL.

   

6. In JetBrains Gateway, click Connect to Coder.

7. On the next page of the wizard, in the URL field, paste the copied URL and click Connect.

   

8. Copy the session token from the browser and paste it in JetBrains Gateway in the Session Token field.

   

   Click OK.

9. When everything is authenticated, you will see the list of configured workspaces, select the one you need and click Select IDE and Project.

10. On the next page of the wizard, select the necessary IDE and specify a path to your project in the workspace. If you need to use the workspace terminal, click Use Terminal.

    

    When everything is selected, click Start IDE and connect.

    The Coder development environment with the selected project is opened in JetBrains Client where you can work further inside the IDE.

Connect to Code Canvas Dev environment

1. Launch JetBrains Gateway.

   The CodeCanvas plugin is enabled by default.

2. Select All Providers from the options on the left.

   

3. In JetBrains Gateway, click Connect to CodeCanvas.

4. On the next page of the wizard, enter the access URL and click Continue in Browser.

5. In the browser window that opens, click Accept to grant the required permissions. If you are not yet logged in to the CodeCanvas web app, you will also be prompted to enter your username and password. You will be then redirected back to your JetBrains Gateway.

6. Click New Environment and configure the new dev environment (skip this step if your project already has the necessary dev environment):

   • Select Template that you want to use for the dev environtment.

   • The Environment name is selected automatically.

   • Select the necessary branch and a warm-up snapshot if available.

   Click Create Environment.

   

7. After the dev environment is created, your project is opened in JetBrains Client and you can start coding.

   Select JetBrains CodeCanvas under the Connections node on the Jetbrains Gateway welcome screen to see the list of existing dev environments.

   

Connect to WSL

1. Launch JetBrains Gateway.

2. In the All Providers list select WSL.

3. From the options on the right, click New Connection.

   

4. On the next page, select the WSL instance and click Next.

   

5. On the next page, select the IDE version and the project you want open. Click Start IDE and Connect.

   

   The connection is established, the backend IDE is downloaded, and the project is opened in JetBrains Client.