Manage Knot cloud development environments directly from VS Code — across multiple servers.
Features
Multiple servers — connect to any number of Knot servers. Each shows as a top-level node in the sidebar; name them or let the address be shown.
List spaces grouped under their server, with live status (running / starting / stopped / deleting) and animated spinners while transitioning.
Grouped by stack — spaces belonging to a stack are nested under a collapsible stack node; standalone spaces sit at the root.
Space lifecycle: start, stop, and restart spaces with inline toolbar buttons or the context menu.
Stack lifecycle: create a stack from a stack definition, plus start, stop, restart, and delete an entire stack from the stack node.
Create & delete spaces by picking a template and naming it (with an optional start-on-create prompt). Custom fields defined by the template are prompted for at create time.
Native web terminal — open an interactive terminal into any running space (per-server credentials), bridged to Knot's web-terminal WebSocket.
Run commands in a space and view the output in an editor.
Open in VSCode — open a running, SSH-enabled space in a new VSCode window via Remote-SSH (the extension wires up ~/.ssh/config and uses the knot CLI as the SSH proxy).
Open code-server or the space's web page in your browser.
Web ports — running spaces that expose HTTP ports expand to show each dev URL (including alt-name aliases); click one to open it in your browser.
Auto-refresh — polls for status changes only while the Knot view is visible, with a short burst-poll right after lifecycle actions.
Getting started
Click the Knot icon in the activity bar.
Run Knot: Add Server (the Add Server button in the view title, or the Command Palette).
Enter the server URL, an optional display name, and an API token.
Create a token in the Knot web UI.
Spaces for that server appear under its node. Add as many servers as you like.
An API token — create one in the knot web UI (Profile → Tokens) or via the CLI (knot admin).
For Open in VSCode (Remote-SSH):
The knot CLI installed and on your PATH (or set knot.cliPath to its location). The extension calls it as the SSH ProxyCommand.
The Remote - SSH extension (ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh). The plugin warns and offers to install it if missing.
When you use Open in VSCode, the extension writes host entries straight into ~/.ssh/config, grouped under alias markers (#===KNOT-START (KNOT_VSCODE_<server>)===) — the same convention as knot ssh-config update, just under a KNOT_VSCODE_* alias so the two never clash.
Managing servers
Command
Description
Knot: Add Server
Add a server (address, optional name, token)
Knot: Edit Server
Change a server's address, name, or token
Knot: Remove Server
Remove a server
These are also available on a server node's context menu (right-click).
Commands
Command
Description
Knot: Refresh
Reload all servers
Knot: Create Space
New space from a template (picks the server, or use a server node)
Knot: Start / Stop / Restart
Space lifecycle control
Knot: Start / Stop / Restart Stack
Stack lifecycle control
Knot: Create Stack
Instantiate a stack from a stack definition (per server)
Knot: Delete Stack
Delete a stack and all its spaces
Knot: Delete Space
Delete a space
Knot: Open Terminal
Interactive terminal in the space
Knot: Run Command in Space
Run a one-off command
Knot: Open Code-Server
Open code-server in a browser
Knot: Open in Browser
Open the space page
Knot: Open in VSCode
Open the space in a new VSCode window via Remote-SSH
Configuration
Setting
Default
Description
knot.autoRefresh
true
Poll for status changes
knot.refreshInterval
15
Polling interval in seconds
knot.terminalShell
"bash"
Default shell for new terminals
knot.insecureSkipVerify
false
Default skip TLS verification option when adding a server (each server keeps its own)
knot.serverUrl
""
Legacy single-server URL, used only to migrate to the multi-server list
