Using Google Cloud Shell Editor on an instance

2
votes

I am using the Beta version of Google's newer file browser along with the web based shell window to access my Google Cloud instance (https://cloud.google.com/shell/docs/features#code_editor).

I want to use the new file editor, when it initially loads it shows the files in my dev shell instances, when I boot up the actual instance I want to work in the files still show those from my persistent storage.

Can I get this window to show the files on the instance, so I can edit them on the fly?

As you can see in the screenshot below, files shown in the top left window do not match those in the active directory on the instance, can I tell the file browser to look at the instance?

tion.

2
google-cloud-platformgoogle-compute-engine
Can I just clarify, do you mean when you SSH into an instance in the standard Cloud Shell, you would like to then be able to display the contents of that instance in the Cloud Shell code Editor? - neilH
@neilH Yes, that's correct! - Ben P

2 Answers

2
votes

No, unfortunately you cannot view/edit files on the remote instance to which you are connecting. Think of Google Cloud Shell as your workstation in the cloud and the web editor runs right on that workstation: when you connect to a remote machine you cannot see it's filesystem directly.

You could, however, install a web editor on your remote instance. Google Cloud Shell uses open-source Orion editor that's pre-installed on the Cloud Shell VM.

0
votes

You can run vscode in your browser locally with connection to remote google cloud vm instance. Needs to download code-server and the repo supplies a binary version. After downloading, you caninstall it on the GCP vm instance and run vscode in your browser.

Hope this blog and video will also help.