How to Set Up VSCode for Remote Development on Raspberry Pi via SSH

1. Install VSCode and Remote Development Extensions

• Ensure you have Visual Studio Code installed on your local machine. If not, you can download it from here.
• Install the Remote - SSH extension in VSCode. You can do this by:
  1. Opening VSCode.
  2. Clicking on the Extensions view icon on the sidebar.
  3. Searching for Remote - SSH and installing it.

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2. Enable SSH on Your Raspberry Pi

• SSH should be enabled on your Raspberry Pi by default. If it’s not, enable SSH using the following steps:
  1. Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi.
  2. Run the command: sudo raspi-config
  3. Navigate to Interfacing Options > SSH > Enable.

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3. Find Your Raspberry Pi’s IP Address

• On your Raspberry Pi, run the following command to get the IP address: hostname -I
• Take note of the IP address shown (e.g., 192.168.x.x).

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4. Configure SSH on Your Local Machine

• If you haven’t already, generate an SSH key pair on your local machine:
  1. Open a terminal/command prompt on your local machine.
  2. Run on Local Machine(PC) : ssh-keygen
  3. Terminal:
     1. Enter file in which to save the key: Enter(default)
     2. Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Enter
     3. Enter same passphrase again: Enter
  4. Follow the prompts to generate the key. The default location for storing the key is fine
     1. Linux: usually ~/.ssh/<id_name>
     2. Windows: usually C:\Users\<username>\.ssh\<ir_name>
• (Linux): Copy your SSH public key to the Raspberry Pi.
  1. Run: ssh-copy-id <raspberry_pi_username>@<raspberry_pi_ip>
  2. Replace <raspberry_pi_ip> with the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.
  3. Enter the password when prompted.
• (Windows): There is no command to copy the public key directly.
  1. Open the public key and copy it on PC terminal
  2. Run: Show the public key type C:\Users\<Username>\.ssh\<id_name>.pub
  3. Access Raspberry Pi’s SSH : ssh <raspberry_pi_username>@<raspberry_pi_ip>
  4. Create .ssh Folder on Raspberry Pi and paste the public key

mkdir -p ~/.ssh
nano ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

authorized_keys is a fixed filename. If you have many keys, please save all of them in this file.

• Test SSH Access:
  • Able to SSH into your Raspberry Pi from your machine without a password: `ssh @

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5. Configure VSCode to Connect via SSH

• Open VSCode.
• Press Ctrl + Shift + P to open the Command Palette.
• Type and select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host….
• Enter the following: <raspberry_pi_username>@<raspberry_pi_ip>
• Replace <raspberry_pi_ip> with the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.

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Optional: Save Connection

• You can save this SSH connection for easier access in the future:
  1. Go to File > Preferences > Settings.
  2. Search for Remote.SSH: Config File.
  3. Edit the (Linux):~/.ssh/config or (Windows): C:\Users\<username>\.ssh\config file to add config:

# For Linux
Host raspberry_pi
	HostName <raspberry_pi_ip>
	User <raspberry_pi_username>
	IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa`

# For Windows
Host raspberry_pi
	HostName <raspberry_pi_ip>
	User <raspberry_pi_username>
	IdentityFile C:\Users\<username>\.ssh\config

• This way, you can simply type raspberry_pi in the Remote-SSH: Connect to Host command.

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6. Start Editing on Raspberry Pi