Computor VS Code Extension

A comprehensive teaching and learning platform for VS Code that facilitates code-based education through integrated course management, assignment submission, and grading workflows.

Overview

Computor is a VS Code extension designed for educational institutions to manage programming courses. It supports three main roles:

• Students: Browse courses, work on assignments, run tests, and submit solutions
• Tutors: Review and grade student submissions, provide feedback
• Lecturers: Create and manage courses, upload examples, release content

Features

• 🎓 Role-based Interface: Dedicated views for students, tutors, and lecturers
• 📚 Course Management: Create, organize, and deploy course content
• 💻 Git Integration: Automatic repository management for assignments
• 🔐 Single Sign-On: Browser-based Keycloak SSO login, with an API-token option for automation
• ✅ Test Integration: Built-in test runner with result visualization
• 💬 Messaging System: Communication between students, tutors, and lecturers
• 📊 Progress Tracking: Real-time submission and grading status

Getting Started

Public learners can use Computor: Public Courses before signing in, read the examples, clone them into desktop VS Code or use their own GitHub Codespace. Enrolled learners can ask Luna through course messages. See Public learning. The same 2027.3.0 extension supports both 26.10 and main/27.3 backends.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio Code (latest version)
• Git installed and configured
• Access to your institution's Computor backend server
• GitLab account (if your institution uses GitLab for repository hosting)

Installation

1. Install the Computor extension from the VS Code marketplace
2. Restart VS Code after installation

Initial Setup

Step 1: Configure Git

1. Open the Command Palette by pressing F1 (or Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)

2. Search for and execute the command:

   Computor: Configure Git
   

3. You will be prompted to provide the following information:

   • Name: Enter your full name (e.g., "John Doe")
   • Email: Enter your institutional email address

Step 2: GitLab Token (if applicable)

If your institution uses GitLab:

Create a Personal Access Token:

1. Navigate to your GitLab instance's personal access token page
2. Click Add new Token
3. Configure the token:
   • Name it computor
   • Set an appropriate expiration date
   • Select the following scopes:
     • api
     • read_repository
     • write_repository
4. Copy and save the generated token - you'll need it in Step 4

Step 3: Configure Backend URL

1. Open the Command Palette (F1)

2. Search for and execute:

   Computor: Change Backend URL
   

3. Enter your institution's Computor backend URL (provided by your administrator)

Step 4: Sign In

Computor uses your institution's single sign-on (SSO). There is no separate password to set in the extension.

1. Open the Command Palette (F1)

2. Search for and execute:

   Computor: Login
   

3. Your web browser opens to your institution's sign-in page. Authenticate there (if you are already signed in, this may complete instantly).

4. When the browser shows "Signed in to Computor", return to VS Code — you're ready to go.

Your Computor account is matched automatically by your email address.

Advanced: signing in with an API token

For automation, CI, or headless/Coder workspaces you can sign in with a Computor API token instead of the browser flow:

• Run Computor: Sign in with API Token and paste a token (it starts with ctp_), or
• Set the COMPUTOR_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable before launching VS Code — the extension picks it up automatically when a Computor workspace is detected.

You can mint an API token from the Computor web interface.

You're now ready to use Computor!

Usage

For Students

1. Browse Courses: Access available courses in the Student view
2. Clone Assignments: Download assignment repositories to your workspace
3. Work on Files: Create, copy, move, rename and delete files from the tree
4. Run Tests: Execute tests locally to verify your solution
5. Commit: Save a single assignment, or the whole course in one step
6. Restore Material: Delete a ruined file and run Update Repository from Template to get a fresh copy
7. Submit Solutions: Push your code and create submissions for grading
8. Export Your Work: Pack the course into a ZIP you keep after enrolment ends

For Tutors

1. Filter Students: Use filters to find specific submissions
2. Clone Student Repositories: Review student code locally
3. Grade Submissions: Provide grades and feedback
4. Track Progress: Monitor grading status across assignments

For Lecturers

1. Create Courses: Set up new courses and course content
2. Upload Examples: Provide starter code and examples
3. Release Content: Deploy assignments to students
4. Manage Users: Handle course enrollments and permissions

Advanced Features

Token Management

• Use Computor: Manage GitLab Tokens to manage GitLab Personal Access Tokens per origin
• Tokens are stored securely in VS Code's secret storage
• Supports multiple GitLab instances

Workspace Management

• Automatic workspace structure creation
• Repository backup before destructive operations
• Conflict detection and resolution

Performance Features

• Response caching for improved performance
• Request batching to reduce network overhead
• Virtual scrolling for large lists

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Cannot connect to backend:

• Verify your network connection
• Check the backend URL is correct
• Ensure your credentials are valid

Git operations failing:

• Verify Git is installed and configured
• Check GitLab token permissions
• Ensure repository access rights

Authentication errors:

• Try signing out and signing back in (Computor: Logout, then Computor: Login)
• Your session may have expired after a period of inactivity — sign in again to refresh it
• If the browser sign-in doesn't complete, confirm your backend URL is correct and reachable

Support

For issues and questions:

• Check the documentation
• Contact your course administrator
• Report bugs through your institution's support channels

Development

For developers who want to contribute or extend the extension, see the Developer Guide and Architecture Overview.