Bitrise for VS Code

Use Bitrise without leaving your editor. Today this extension supports the Bitrise Remote Development Environment (RDE): spin up cloud development sessions from your repository, then connect to them over SSH and work in a remote VS Code window — as if the code were running on your own machine, just on a much bigger one.

Requirements

• A Bitrise account with access to Remote Development Environments.
• The Remote - SSH extension — installed automatically alongside this one.
• For cloning private repositories: an SSH key for your git host. The extension starts an SSH agent and adds your default key automatically when it can, so sessions clone as you. If your key is passphrase-protected, add it once with ssh-add (or store it in your Keychain on macOS) beforehand.

Getting started

1. Sign in to Bitrise

Open the Bitrise icon in the activity bar and choose Sign in to Bitrise. Your browser opens to complete the standard Bitrise login; once you approve, the browser hands you back to VS Code and you're signed in. Your credentials are stored securely by VS Code and refreshed automatically — you won't be asked to sign in again until your session genuinely expires.

2. Select a workspace

Right after signing in, you're asked to pick a workspace (your Bitrise organization). Choose the workspace where Remote Development is enabled — its sessions then appear in the sidebar.

You can switch workspaces any time from the Configuration view (the organization icon) or via Bitrise: Select Workspace in the Command Palette.

Quick configurations

The Configuration view lists a few optional setups, each marked Configured or Not configured. They're not required to use RDE, but each one removes friction. Right after you sign in, the extension walks you through any of these that aren't set up yet — and you can configure or change them anytime afterwards by clicking a row.

Passwordless SSH access

Registers your local SSH public key with your sessions so connecting just works.

• Why it helps: you connect to a session in one click, with no password prompts.
• If you skip it: every time you open a session, a one-time connection password is copied to your clipboard and you paste it into the Remote - SSH prompt to connect.

Claude Code

Saves your Claude credential so new sessions come with Claude Code already signed in.

• Why it helps: Claude Code is ready to use the moment your session opens — no separate login on the remote machine.
• If you skip it: sessions still work, but you'll need to authenticate Claude Code yourself inside the session before using it.

SSH agent forwarding

Forwards your local SSH agent to session hosts so the remote terminal can use your local git keys.

• Why it helps: in the session's terminal you can git pull/git push against your private repositories as yourself, without copying any keys onto the remote machine.
• If you skip it: the remote terminal can't reach your git keys, so git operations against private repositories from inside the session may fail until you set up credentials there manually.

Create your first session

Start a session from the Sessions view with ➕ (or Bitrise: Open Repo in New Session in the Command Palette). A short step-by-step picker walks you through five choices — press Esc at any point to cancel:

1. Name — a name for the session. A unique default is filled in; press Enter to accept it or type your own.
2. Local repository — the git repository to clone onto the session. The picker offers the folder you currently have open, other repositories VS Code already knows about, and repos you've used recently — or choose Browse… to pick any folder. It must be a git repository with an origin remote; if it isn't, you're asked to choose another.
3. Branch — which branch to check out. Your current branch is marked and listed first, and every local and origin branch is available.
4. Image — the environment image for the session (the default is marked).
5. Machine type — the machine size. The list is filtered to the sizes available for the image you picked.

Bitrise then does the rest automatically: it provisions the session, waits for it to start, clones your chosen branch onto it, and opens a remote VS Code window connected to the session at the cloned repository. Your global git identity (name and email) is carried over so commits are attributed to you, and your locally-installed extensions are installed on the session when it connects (you can turn that off in the extension's settings). You can follow along in the progress notification and in the Bitrise output panel.

Only commits you've already pushed are available on the session, so push any work you want to bring with you before creating it.

💡 Private repos are cloned over SSH using your forwarded agent. For GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket the extension automatically rewrites an https:// origin to its SSH form (git@…), so either remote style works. For other hosts, an https:// origin can only clone public repos — you'll be warned and can still continue.

Manage your sessions

The Sessions view lists every session in the selected workspace. A status icon precedes each name — green for running, a spinner while it's starting or stopping, red for failed, dimmed for stopped — and a relative "time ago" shows when it last changed.

• Click a session to connect: a running session opens a remote VS Code window; a stopped or failed session is restarted first, then connected. The list refreshes itself while a session is changing state.
• Open in browser (hover): view the session in the Bitrise RDE web UI.
• Stop (hover, running sessions): shuts the machine down — you can start it again later.
• Delete (hover, stopped sessions): removes the session for good.
• Search, ➕ create, and refresh live in the view's title bar.

Need support?

Documentation

Learn more about Bitrise Remote Development Environments on the Bitrise platform page.

Feedback & issues

Found a bug or have a request? Reach us in the Bitrise community Slack.

Privacy

By signing in to this extension you agree to the Bitrise Privacy Policy.

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