Introduction to GitHub Codespaces

Introduction to GitHub Codespaces

GitHub Codespaces is a cloud-based development environment based on the Visual Studio Code editor. It lets you develop and test your code on your browser or chrome extension.

In a nutshell, it is a virtual machine running Windows OS and VS Code and enables you to install additional command-line tools required for the development. For example, you can install npm, Salesforce CLI, yarn, etc.

Getting access to Codespaces

Before we jump into the setup, you need to get access to your free Codespaces from your GitHub account. If you have already got the access skip this step.

• Go to the URL: https://github.com/features/codespaces/signup
• Click on the “Sign in to sign up for the beta” button
• Login with your existing GitHub account or create a new one for free.
• Right now you need to join the waitlist to get access to Codespaces.
• You will receive an email confirmation when it's enabled to your GitHub account. This might take a few weeks or months as this feature is still in beta.

Advantages of Codespaces

• Access it from anywhere.
• Runs with a minimal setup, the bare minimum requirement is to install Java on your local machine and to have a git repo.
• Runs on a browser.
• Experience is pretty much the same as you run VS Code from your local machine.
• All VS Code extensions are supported.
• You can also connect local VS Code to your Codespaces.
• Free Tier is available for Developers.
• All your code is stored in the cloud.
• VS Code themes are available.
• Test your code directly from there.

Problems with Codespaces

These problems are not very big in my opinion. But still, it is worth knowing them.

• You need to set up Java on your local machine
• You need to put your code on GitHub.com.
• The free tier does not support repositories owned by Organizations.
• Sessions are not restored when you reopen Codespace, so it might take a few minutes for all extensions and features to get loaded.

Pricing and Plans

According to the current documents, there are three different plans for Codespaces

1. Free - Free for individual developers.
2. Pro - Paid version for individual developers.
3. Team - Paid version for Teams and Organizations.

For detailed pricing, check out: About billing for Codespaces

I hope this was helpful, please stay tuned for more. A new post is coming up regarding Codespaces Setup. Thank you for reading.