Prepare Local Machine

Before you can start working on your project in a remote dev environment, you should prepare your local machine. Some steps are optional as they depend on your setup, such as the Git authentication method, the IDE you use, etc. Skip the steps that aren't relevant to you.

Install client application

You need a client application to connect to remote dev environments. You can use either JetBrains Gateway or JetBrains Toolbox. Toolbox support is currently in beta.

Download and install JetBrains Gateway for your operating system.
Launch the app.

Download and install JetBrains Toolbox for your operating system.
Launch the app.

Configure Git authentication (SSH)

You can authenticate to a Git server using an SSH key or an SSH agent.

In this approach, your Git hosting server holds your public SSH key, and the IDE in your dev environment uses the corresponding private key to authenticate.

Generate an SSH key pair if you don't have one:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
As a result, you will get two files, for example, my-git-key (a private key) and my-git-key.pub (a public key).
Copy the public key to the clipboard and add it to your Git hosting service. For example:
- GitHub
  Open your profile settings, go to SSH and GPG keys, and click New SSH key. Paste the public key into the Key field and click Add SSH key.
  For details, see the GitHub documentation
- GitLab
  Open your profile Preferences, go to SSH keys, and click Add new key. Paste the public key into the Key field and click Add key.
  For details, see the GitLab documentation
- Bitbucket
  Open your Personal Bitbucket settings. Under Security, open SSH keys and click Add key. Paste the public key into the Key field and click Add key.
  For details, see the Bitbucket documentation
Store the private key in a secure location on your local machine. When you first interact with the Git repository from a dev environment, you will need to provide the private key file to the IDE.

Alternatively, you can load the private SSH key into your local SSH agent. The key never leaves your machine – CodeCanvas forwards the SSH agent to the dev environment.

Generate an SSH key pair if you don't have one:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
As a result, you will get two files, for example, my-git-key (a private key) and my-git-key.pub (a public key).
Copy the public key to the clipboard and add it to your Git hosting service. For example:
- GitHub
  Open your profile settings, go to SSH and GPG keys, and click New SSH key. Paste the public key into the Key field and click Add SSH key.
  For details, see the GitHub documentation
- GitLab
  Open your profile Preferences, go to SSH keys, and click Add new key. Paste the public key into the Key field and click Add key.
  For details, see the GitLab documentation
- Bitbucket
  Open your Personal Bitbucket settings. Under Security, open SSH keys and click Add key. Paste the public key into the Key field and click Add key.
  For details, see the Bitbucket documentation
Add the private key to your SSH agent:
ssh-add ~/.ssh/my-git-key
Make sure the SSH agent is running and available to your terminal session. On macOS and Linux, this is typically pre-configured. On Windows, see (Windows only) Enable SSH agent
When you first interact with the Git repository from a dev environment, choose the option to use the SSH agent for authentication.

(Windows only) Enable SSH agent

On Linux and macOS, the SSH agent is pre-installed. On Windows 10 and 11, you can use the pre-installed OpenSSH client, but you will need to enable the SSH agent.

(Windows only) To enable the SSH agent

Open the Windows Start menu, type Services, and press Enter.
In the Services window, find the OpenSSH Authentication Agent service.
Right-click the service and select Properties.
In the Properties window, set the Startup type to Automatic.
Click Start to start the service, then click OK.

Configure SSH agent for remote access

Generate an SSH key pair if you don't have one:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
As a result, you will get two files, for example, mykey (a private key) and mykey.pub (a public key).
Copy the public key to the clipboard and add it to CodeCanvas:
1. In the top right corner, click your name and select Profile.
2. In the sidebar menu, select SSH Keys.
3. Click Add SSH Key.
4. Paste the public key into the Key field, add a description, and click Add.
On your local machine, add your private SSH key to the SSH agent:
ssh-add ~/.ssh/mykey
Replace ~/.ssh/mykey with the actual path to your private key.
You should get a message like Identity added: ~/.ssh/mykey.
If you use a password manager to store your SSH keys, configure the SSH_AUTH_SOCK environment variable. It should point to the SSH agent socket provided by your password manager. For example, for 1Password, follow their SSH client configuration guide.

24 June 2025