OpenCS

Do your Aalto OpenCS programming exercises right in your editor. Browse your course, download an exercise, write and test your code locally, submit it, and see your grading results without switching back and forth to the browser.

Preview: for students enrolled in courses on opencs.aalto.fi. You need an OpenCS account. Works in VS Code and VSCodium.

Getting started

1. Click the Aalto OpenCS icon in the Activity Bar and choose Sign In with Browser. Sign in on the OpenCS website as usual, and allow your browser and editor to open the sign-in link.
2. Pick a folder on your computer where your exercises will be saved.
3. Choose Select Course and pick your course and its version.
4. In Course Parts, select an exercise and choose Download Exercise.
5. Choose Show Assignment Handout to read the handout beside your code.
6. When your solution is ready, choose Submit Current Exercise, check the files that will be uploaded, and confirm. The result appears in Submissions.

For step-by-step instructions with pictures, see Guide: OpenCS IDE extension on the OpenCS website.

What you can do

• Browse your course — see course parts, exercises, and which ones you have completed, right in the sidebar.
• Read the handout next to your code.
• Work on real files — exercises are ordinary files in the folder you chose, so you can use any editor tools you like.
• Try your code before submitting — in Dart and Flutter exercises, run the exercise, check it for errors, and run the public tests that come with it.
• Submit with confidence — you always see exactly which files will be uploaded before anything is sent.
• Understand your result — follow grading as it happens, open failed tests and grader errors, and look back at earlier submissions.
• Jump in from the website — links to an exercise on OpenCS can open it directly in the editor.
• Keep browsing offline — course information you have already loaded stays available if the platform is briefly unreachable.

Good to know

• The OpenCS platform decides your grade. Local runs and public tests are only a preview. Points and completion come from grading on the platform, which may also use hidden tests.
• Only some courses and exercises are listed. You see only the courses and programming exercises that your teacher has made available in the editor. Other exercises are done on the OpenCS website.
• Your files are safe. Signing out or cleaning up never deletes your work. Redownloading an exercise replaces your copy only after you confirm.
• Pick a folder you can find again, and back it up the way you back up your other work.

What happens to your code

• Your code stays on your computer until you confirm a submission.
• When you submit, the extension uploads the files you reviewed. It also sends a short history of how your code changed each time you ran it, ran public tests, or submitted since downloading the exercise. Course staff can use this history to understand how a solution developed. It does not affect your points.
• You sign in through the OpenCS website. Your session is stored in the editor's secure storage, and the extension never writes your code or login details to its logs.

Requirements

• VS Code or VSCodium, version 1.125 or newer.
• To run, check, or test exercises: these actions currently work only in Dart and Flutter exercises and need Flutter, which includes Dart. Check that the flutter and dart commands work in a terminal. You can edit and submit other exercises without it.

Troubleshooting

Sign-in doesn't return to the editor. Check that opencs.aalto.fi opens in your browser, then try Sign In with Browser again. Allow your browser to open VS Code or VSCodium, and choose Open when the editor asks.

My course isn't listed. Only courses that your teacher has made available in the editor are listed. If yours should be, check on the OpenCS website that you are enrolled and the course is currently running, then choose Select Course again.

An exercise is missing. Only the programming exercises that your teacher has made available in the editor are listed. Do the other exercises on the OpenCS website.

The run actions are missing or don't work. They are available only in Dart and Flutter exercises, and only in a folder your editor trusts. If the terminal says that flutter or dart is not found, install Flutter and restart your editor.

I want to start an exercise over. In Course Parts, right-click the exercise you are working on and choose Redownload Assignment. This replaces your copy with fresh starter files and permanently deletes your changes, so the extension asks you to confirm first.

Something looks out of date. Refresh the view, or run Aalto OpenCS IDE: Check Platform Status from the Command Palette.

When asking for help, include the extension version, your editor and operating system, what you were doing, and the error message you saw. Never share passwords, access tokens, or login codes.

Preview status

This extension is a preview. Features and screens may change as more OpenCS courses are supported.