GCP Quick Connect

Manage your Google Cloud Compute Engine (GCP) VM directly from the VS Code Status Bar. With a single click, start your VM, automatically update its ephemeral External IP in ~/.ssh/config, and connect via Remote-SSH in the current window.

✨ Key Features

• Unified Status Bar Indicator:
  • Displays real-time VM state at the bottom-left of VS Code (GCP: Stopped, GCP: Starting..., GCP: Running, GCP: Stopping...) with smart background polling.
• 1-Click Connect (Connect (Start VM & Update SSH Config)):
  1. Checks your GCP VM status (waits gracefully if the VM is currently finishing a shutdown).
  2. Starts or resumes the VM on Google Cloud if it is not running.
  3. Polls until the new External IP (natIP) is assigned.
  4. Automatically updates HostName <NEW_IP> for your target SSH Host in ~/.ssh/config.
  5. Waits for TCP port 22 (SSH) to accept connections, then immediately connects the current VS Code window to the remote host via Remote-SSH.
• 1-Click Stop (Stop VM):
  • Sends the stop command to Google Cloud, cleanly disconnects the active Remote-SSH session (preventing VS Code reconnect popups), and tracks the shutdown until the VM reaches TERMINATED.
• 1-Click Browser Sign-In (Sign in with Google):
  • Authenticate directly via Google OAuth2 in your browser — no gcloud CLI installation required and no Service Account JSON keys needed (works even when iam.disableServiceAccountKeyCreation Organization Policy is enforced).
• Cross-Machine Synchronization (VS Code Settings Sync):
  • Automatically syncs your GCP credentials, Project ID, Zone, VM Name, SSH Host configuration, and SSH Private Key across all your computers via VS Code Settings Sync.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Click the GCP: ... item on the bottom-left Status Bar to open the GCP Quick Connect menu.
2. Select Sign in with Google and complete sign-in in your browser.
3. The extension will automatically detect your active GCP Project, VM Name, and Zone.
4. Select Connect (Start VM & Update SSH Config) to boot your VM, update ~/.ssh/config, and connect via Remote-SSH!
5. When finished working, click the Status Bar item and select Stop VM to shut down the instance and stop billing.

⚙️ Commands

🔧 Extension Settings

All settings use application scope so they automatically sync across machines when VS Code Settings Sync is enabled:

• gcpQuickConnect.sshHost: Host alias in ~/.ssh/config (default: "sat").
• gcpQuickConnect.sshUser: Default SSH username when creating a new ~/.ssh/config block (default: "yuna").
• gcpQuickConnect.sshIdentityFile: Path to the SSH private key in ~/.ssh/config (default: "~/.ssh/sat").
• gcpQuickConnect.sshPrivateKey: Synced SSH private key content so new machines automatically restore the key file.
• gcpQuickConnect.vmName: Compute Engine VM instance name.
• gcpQuickConnect.zone: Compute Engine VM zone (e.g., asia-southeast1-c). Leave blank to auto-detect.
• gcpQuickConnect.project: Google Cloud Project ID.
• gcpQuickConnect.closeSshWindowOnStop: Automatically disconnect/close the Remote-SSH session when stopping the VM (default: true).