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This guide will walk you through how to connect your development board (e.g. RB3 Gen-2 running Ubuntu) from your local computer using Visual Studio Code (VS Code) over SSH.

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Prerequsites

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Step 1 — Enable SSH / Locate IP Address

  1. Connect to the device using a serial port, see Qualcomm docs: Configuring Ubuntu on the device (docs for RB3, but same apply to Rubik Pi 3).
  2. Log in over the console, the default username is ubuntu and the default password is also ubuntu.
  3. Ensure the network is set up (Ethernet or Wi-Fi).
  4. Find the board’s IP address. For example via: 
    sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y net-tools
ifconfig | grep -Eo 'inet (addr:)?([0-9]*\.){3}[0-9]*' | grep -Eo '([0-9]*\.){3}[0-9]*' | grep -v '127.0.0.1'
# 192.168.1.253

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Step 2 — Install / Enable Remote ‑ SSH Extension in VS Code

On your local machine:
  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Go to Extensions.
  3. Search for Remote ‑ SSH (by Microsoft) and install it.

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Step 3 — Add the Board as an SSH Host in VS Code

  1. Open the Command Palette in VS Code (F1 or Command+Shift+P on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux).
  2. Run Remote‑SSH: Add New SSH Host...
  3. Enter the SSH connection string, e.g.: 
    ubuntu@board-ip-address
    Optional: If you are using a key, you can include the identity file: 
    ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa_board user@board-ip-address
  4. Choose which SSH config file to use (usually ~/.ssh/config). VS Code will insert an entry for your board. Example config snippet: 
    Host my-board
    HostName 192.168.1.100
    User ubuntu
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_board

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Step 4 — Connect to the Board via VS Code

  1. In VS Code, open the Command Palette again → Remote‑SSH: Connect to Host...
  2. Select your host (e.g. ubuntu@board-ip-address or the name you gave in the SSH config).
  3. If prompted, select the platform of the remote.
  4. After a short wait, VS Code will install the VS Code Server onto the board automatically. The status will be shown in the lower status bar.
  5. Once connected, you can use File → Open Folder… to browse files on the board, open terminals (these will run on the board), and install extensions on the remote host as needed.

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Troubleshooting

  • VS Code Server uses excessive RAM: Running many VS Code extensions on the remote host can consume large amounts of memory, leading to out-of-memory (OOM) errors and random network dropouts
    • Solution: Disable or selectively enable extensions on the remote host to reduce memory usage
  • SSH connection fails: Board not reachable / wrong IP / SSH not running
    • Solution: Check network, run ssh ubuntu@IP from terminal, verify the board’s network tools are updated and working over serial connection e.g. 
      sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y net-tools
ifconfig
  • Host platform detection incorrect: VS Code guesses wrong (e.g. ARM vs x86)
    • Solution: Manually set remote.SSH.remotePlatform in VS Code settings

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Optional: Use SSH Key‑Based Authentication

To avoid typing passwords:
  1. On your local machine, generate an SSH keypair if you don’t have one: 
    ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa_board
  2. Add the public key to your board: 
    ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa_board.pub user@board-ip-address
  3. Confirm that you can SSH in without a password.
  4. Update your VS Code SSH configuration to refer to this key (as in Step 3).