Exercise - Code with Codespaces and Visual Studio Code

In this lab, you will learn to use GitHub Codespaces with Visual Studio Code to develop and run code in a cloud-based development environment. GitHub Codespaces provides a complete, configurable dev environment that runs in the cloud, allowing you to code from anywhere without setting up a local development environment.

You will learn how to:

  • Create and configure a GitHub Codespace
  • Use Visual Studio Code in the browser
  • Develop and run code in Codespaces
  • Manage and customize your development environment
  • Understand the benefits of cloud-based development

This lab takes approximately 30-45 minutes to complete.

Before you start

To complete the lab, you need:

  • A GitHub user account. If you don't have one, you can create a new account. If you need instructions on how to create a GitHub account, refer to the article Creating an account on GitHub.
  • A web browser with access to the internet.
  • Basic understanding of coding and using an IDE (helpful but not required).

Complete the exercise on GitHub

In this exercise, you'll learn to create and use GitHub Codespaces through a hands-on GitHub Skills exercise.

Note: This exercise is hosted on GitHub Skills and provides an interactive learning experience. You'll create a Codespace, make code changes, and understand how to work in a cloud-based development environment.

The exercise consists of the following activities:

  1. Start a web browser and navigate to the exercise repository: https://github.com/skills-dev/code-with-codespaces

  2. On the exercise page, select the Use this template button to copy the exercise to your GitHub account.

    Note: Simply copy the exercise to your account, then give GitHub about 20 seconds to prepare the first lesson, then refresh the page.

  3. Follow the instructions on the repository's README to complete all the challenges, which include:

    • Creating a Codespace for your repository
    • Exploring the Codespace interface and understanding its features
    • Making code changes in the Visual Studio Code editor
    • Running and testing code in the integrated terminal
    • Committing and pushing changes from your Codespace
    • Managing your Codespaces and understanding resource usage

  4. Work through each step in the exercise, following the prompts and instructions provided.

    Note: Codespaces provides a full-featured development environment with extensions, terminal access, and debugging capabilities.

  5. When you finish all the challenges, you'll understand how to use Codespaces for your development workflow.

What you've learned

After completing this exercise, you should be able to:

  • Create and launch GitHub Codespaces
  • Use Visual Studio Code in the browser
  • Develop code in a cloud-based environment
  • Customize your Codespace configuration
  • Understand when to use Codespaces vs local development
  • Manage your Codespace resources
  • Integrate Codespaces into your development workflow

Congratulations! You've completed the "Code with Codespaces and Visual Studio Code" exercise and learned how to develop in the cloud!