Tempest Remote

Open your saved Tempest SSH servers in Visual Studio Code. Pick a server and a remote folder, then use VS Code's remote files, terminal, extensions and debugger through Microsoft Remote - SSH.

Tempest Remote uses the local Tempest CLI to resolve your saved connections, credentials, proxies and jump hosts. The Tempest desktop app does not need to stay open while you work.

Requirements

Visual Studio Code 1.85 or later on macOS, Windows or Linux.
Microsoft Remote - SSH.
Tempest CLI with tempest remote control support.
A signed-in Tempest account with saved SSH servers. Remote development requires the CLI to verify the portForwarding entitlement and your vault to permit TCP forwarding.
An SSH server supported by Remote - SSH, with permission to install and run VS Code Server.

Install

Download and install Tempest CLI from the official download page, selecting your platform.
Check that the CLI is available:
```
tempest --version
tempest remote --help
```
The remote command must list control. If your installed CLI does not have this command, update to a release that includes remote development support.
Install Tempest Remote and Remote - SSH in your local VS Code. For a downloaded VSIX, run Extensions: Install from VSIX... and select it.
Sign in through Tempest or run tempest login. Save your SSH servers in Tempest before connecting.

If VS Code cannot find the CLI, set Tempest: CLI Path (tempest.cliPath) to its absolute executable path in your local user settings.

Connect

Click the remote indicator in the bottom-left corner of VS Code and select Tempest: Connect to Server. You can also run it from the Command Palette.
Select a saved SSH server.
Enter an absolute remote folder path, such as /home/alice/project.
Answer any vault unlock, password, key passphrase, OTP or host-key prompts.
VS Code opens a new remote window. On the first connection, Remote - SSH may ask for the remote operating system and install VS Code Server.

Loading servers and connecting show cancellable progress notifications. Cancelling a connection closes its control process and lets you retry. Cancelling an authentication prompt stops the connection. Verify the server's fingerprint before accepting a new or changed host key.

Settings

Setting	Default	Purpose
`tempest.cliPath`	`tempest`	Local Tempest CLI executable name or absolute path.
`remote.SSH.configFile`	Remote - SSH default	Optional custom SSH config; Tempest adds its managed Include there.
`remote.SSH.remoteServerListenOnSocket`	`false`	Keep disabled: this version supports Remote - SSH's TCP mode.

Run Tempest: Open Settings to open the CLI path setting directly in the graphical Settings editor. No settings.json editing is required.

Tempest Remote always runs on your local computer, including when the active workspace is remote. SSH configurations and local connection keys are managed by the CLI in ~/.tempest/remotes/. Existing server entries and pinned host keys are preserved. Local data created by the earlier prototype is read for upgrade compatibility.

The CLI continues serving established connections when the original VS Code window closes. It exits after five idle minutes or an upstream transport failure. Reopen the remote folder or reconnect to establish a new session after a dropped upstream connection.

Troubleshooting

The connection command does not appear. Make sure Tempest Remote is installed and enabled in the current VS Code profile. Source code opened in an editor does not install the extension. After installing or updating, reload the window.

The CLI cannot be started or does not support the remote protocol. Check tempest.cliPath and run tempest remote --help with the same executable.

The CLI did not verify the portForwarding entitlement. Refresh account info:

tempest account list --refresh

Check the selected account and its verified plan. If refresh fails, resolve the reported connectivity or sign-in problem and retry. Your vault must also allow TCP forwarding.

An SSH config or key file cannot be prepared. Check write access to your local Tempest directory and effective SSH config, and make sure ssh-keygen is available locally.

Remote - SSH fails after connection setup. Open View → Output and select Remote - SSH for bootstrap details. The Tempest Remote output channel shows control request results and safe failure reasons; it does not log passwords, private keys or authentication answers.

For Tempest help, see the documentation or community.

Current scope

Supported: saved SSH connections, authentication prompts, proxies and jump hosts, remote command execution, terminal PTY and resizing, stdout/stderr, exit status, and TCP forwarding used by Remote - SSH.

Unix socket mode, remote port forwarding, SFTP subsystem requests, X11 and SSH agent forwarding through the local connection service are not supported in this version. Mosh and saved terminal startup commands do not apply to remote workspaces.

Development

Open this directory in VS Code and press F5 to start the Extension Development Host. Configure tempest.cliPath to a CLI built from the accompanying tempest-desktop checkout:

cd ../tempest-desktop/packages/libtempest-rs
cargo build -p tempest-cli

Debug CLI builds use ~/.tempest/vault-dev; release builds use ~/.tempest/vault. Use the matching desktop build, or set TEMPEST_VAULT_DIR in your debug launch environment to select the intended account root.

From the extension directory:

npm test
npm run check
npm run package

Set TEMPEST_TEST_CLI to a built CLI to include the real control-protocol test. The opt-in Rust remote_loopback test uses a disposable loopback sshd fixture specified by TEMPEST_REMOTE_FIXTURE. Protocol details are in PROTOCOL.md in the source project.

License

This VS Code extension is licensed under the MIT License. Copyright © 2026 Altas Express LLC. The Tempest CLI, desktop app and services are separate products with their own licenses and subscription terms.