Microsoft updates Visual Studio Code, unveils VS Code Server

Visual Studio Code 1.69 introduces the Command Center, while the VS Code Server streamlines connections to remote development machines.

Christina Morillo (CC0)
By Paul Krill
Editor at Large, InfoWorld
Jul 12, 2022 3:00 AM

Microsoft has moved its Visual Studio Code code editor forward on two fronts. The company has released a private preview of Visual Studio Code Server, a service for connecting to remote development machines, and shipped the June update of Visual Studio Code, with new capabilities for file searching and hiding some error notifications.

Announced July 7, Visual Studio Code Server is a service you can run on a remote development machine that allows connections from anywhere using a vscode.dev URL, without requiring SSH (Secure Shell). VS Code Server leverages technology used in VS Code’s remote development extensions and adds capabilities such as an interactive CLI and secure connections to vscode.dev. 

Visual Studio Code Server supports developing on a remote machine where SSH support may be limited, or where web-based access is needed, or developing on a machine that does not support the VS Code desktop, such as an iPad tablet or a Chromebook. The VS Code Server CLI establishes a tunnel between the VS Code client (vscode.dev) and a developer’s remote machine. Tunneling is used to transmit data from one network to another. Developers can request access to VS Code Server here.

Also on July 7, Microsoft released Visual Studio Code 1.69, also known as the June 2022 release. VS Code 1.69 can be downloaded for Windows, Linux, or Mac from the VS Code website. The new release polishes up the Command Center, replacing the normal title bar with a new UI that lets users quickly search for files, run commands, and navigate cursor history. It’s enabled via the window.command.Center setting.

Also in Visual Studio Code 1.69, a new Do Not Disturb mode hides all non-error notification popups when enabled. Progress notifications will be shown in the Status bar automatically. Hidden notifications still are available to view in the Notifications center. Other new features and improvements in VS Code 1.69:

  • Work has continued on the three-way merge editor, which enables developers to quickly resolve Git conflicts. The merge editor supports word-level merging and language features including diagnostics, tests, and breakpoints. The feature can be enabled by setting git.merge.Editor to true.
  • The Settings editor now shows when a setting has a language override.
  • The Preferences: Toggle between Light/Dark Themes command now does what it says: allows for toggling between preferred light and dark themes.
  • Shell integration for PowerShell bash and zsh is now out of preview. Plans call for enabling it by default in the VS Code 1.70 release. Shell integration allows VS Code’s terminal to understand more of what is going on inside the shell in order to create more features.
  • The UI has been improved for debuggers that step directly into specific function calls when paused on a line.
  • For JavaScript debugging, developers now can easily toggle sourcemaps on and off by clicking the 🧭 compass icon in the title of the Call Stack view.
  • Preview support is offered for the forthcoming TypeScript 4.8.