cdk-vscode-server 0.0.60

Running VS Code Server on AWS

cdk-vscode-server

Running your dev IDE vscode on AWS for development and workshop purposes.

[!Note] This construct is designed for workshop purposes and does not fulfill all security and authentication best practices.

This is an early version of the package. The API will change while I we implement new features. Therefore make sure you use an exact version in your package.json before it reaches 1.0.0.

Table of Contents

• Features

• Usage

  • Standard
  • Custom Domain Configuration

• Solution Design

• Inspiration

Features

• ⚡ Quick Setup: Spin up and configure your vscode server in under 10 minutes in your AWS account
• 📏 Best Practice Setup: Set up with projen and a single configuration file to keep your changes centralized.
• 🤹‍♂️ Pre-installed packages: Besides the vscode server, other tools and software packages such as git, docker, awscli nodejs and python are pre-installed on the EC2 instance.
• 🌐 Custom Domain Support: Use your own domain name with automatic ACM certificate creation and Route53 DNS configuration, or bring your existing certificate.
• 🏗️ Extensibility: Pass in properties to the construct, which start with additional*. They allow you to extend the configuration to your needs. There are more to come...

Usage

Actually we supported 2 modes:

Standard

The following steps get you started:

1. Create a new awscdk-app via

npx projen new awscdk-app-ts --package-manager=npm

1. Add @mavogel/cdk-vscode-server as a dependency to your project in the .projenrc.ts file
2. Run npx projen to install it
3. Add the following to the src/main.ts file:

import { App, Stack, StackProps } from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import * as ec2 from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-ec2';
import * as iam from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-iam';
import { Construct } from 'constructs';
import {
  LinuxArchitectureType,
  LinuxFlavorType,
  VSCodeServer
} from '@mavogel/cdk-vscode-server';

export class MyStack extends Stack {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props: StackProps = {}) {
    super(scope, id, props);

    new VSCodeServer(this, 'vscode', {
      // for example (or simply use the defaults by not setting the properties)
      instanceVolumeSize: 8,
      instanceClass: ec2.InstanceClass.M7G,
      instanceSize: ec2.InstanceSize.LARGE,
      instanceOperatingSystem: LinuxFlavorType.UBUNTU_22,
      instanceCpuArchitecture: LinuxArchitectureType.ARM,

      // 👇🏽 or if you want to give the InstanceRole more permissions
      additionalInstanceRolePolicies: [
        new iam.PolicyStatement({
          effect: iam.Effect.ALLOW,
          actions: [
            'codebuild:*',
          ],
          resources: [
            `arn:aws:codebuild:*:${Stack.of(this).account}:*/*`,
          ],
        }),
      ]

      // and more... 💡
    });
  }
}

const env = {
  account: '123456789912',
  region: 'eu-central-1',
};

const app = new App();
new MyStack(app, 'vscode-server', { env });
app.synth();

and deploy it

npx projen build
npx projen deploy

with the output

✨  Deployment time: 509.87s

Outputs:
dev.vscodedomainName6729AA39 = https://d1foo65bar4baz.cloudfront.net/?folder=/Workshop
dev.vscodepassword64FBCA12 = foobarbaz

See the examples folder for more inspiration.

Custom Domain Configuration

You can configure your VS Code Server with a custom domain name instead of using the default CloudFront domain. The construct supports three different configuration options:

Option 1: Auto-create Certificate with DNS Validation

new VSCodeServer(this, 'vscode', {
  domainName: 'vscode.example.com',
  hostedZoneId: 'Z123EXAMPLE456',  // optional - will auto-discover if not provided
  autoCreateCertificate: true,
});

This will:

• Create an ACM certificate in us-east-1 (required for CloudFront)
• Validate the certificate using DNS validation
• Create a Route53 A record pointing to the CloudFront distribution
• Configure the CloudFront distribution with the custom domain

Option 2: Use Existing Certificate

new VSCodeServer(this, 'vscode', {
  domainName: 'vscode.example.com',
  hostedZoneId: 'Z123EXAMPLE456',
  certificateArn: 'arn:aws:acm:us-east-1:123456789012:certificate/12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012',
});

Requirements:

• Certificate must be in us-east-1 region
• Certificate must be validated and ready to use
• Certificate must include the domain name

Option 3: Default (No Custom Domain)

new VSCodeServer(this, 'vscode', {
  // No domain configuration - uses CloudFront default domain
});

For complete examples, see examples/custom-domain/main.ts.

1. Then open the domain name in your favorite browser and you'd see the following login screen:
2. After entering the password, you are logged into VSCode and can start coding :tada:

[!Important] There are issues with copy pasting into the VSCode terminal within the Firefox browser (2025-01-12)

Solution Design

... if you're curious about click here for the details

Inspiration

This project was created based on the following inspiration

• vscode-on-ec2-for-prototyping: as baseline, which unfortunately was outdated
• aws-terraform-dev-container: as baseline for terraform, but unfortunately also outdated
• java-on-aws-workshop-ide-only.yaml: an already synthesized cloudformation stack, which used mostly python as the custom resources
• fleet-workshop-team-stack-self.json: also an already synthesized cloudformation stack, which did much more as I currently implemented here.
• eks-workshop-vscode-cfn.yaml: another great baseline

🚀 Unlock the Full Potential of Your AWS Cloud Infrastructure

Hi, I’m Manuel, an AWS expert passionate about empowering businesses with scalable, resilient, and cost-optimized cloud solutions. With MV Consulting, I specialize in crafting tailored AWS architectures and DevOps-driven workflows that not only meet your current needs but grow with you.

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🌟 Why Work With Me?

✔️ Tailored AWS Solutions: Every business is unique, so I design custom solutions that fit your goals and challenges. ✔️ Well-Architected Designs: From scalability to security, my solutions align with AWS Well-Architected Framework. ✔️ Cloud-Native Focus: I specialize in modern, cloud-native systems that embrace the full potential of AWS. ✔️ Business-Driven Tech: Technology should serve your business, not the other way around.

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🛠 What I Bring to the Table

🔑 12x AWS Certifications I’m AWS Certified Solutions Architect and DevOps – Professional and hold numerous additional certifications, so you can trust I’ll bring industry best practices to your projects. Feel free to explose by badges

⚙️ Infrastructure as Code (IaC) With deep expertise in AWS CDK and Terraform, I ensure your infrastructure is automated, maintainable, and scalable.

📦 DevOps Expertise From CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions and GitLab CI to container orchestration Kubernetes and others, I deliver workflows that are smooth and efficient.

🌐 Hands-On Experience With over 7 years of AWS experience and a decade in the tech world, I’ve delivered solutions for companies large and small. My open-source contributions showcase my commitment to transparency and innovation. Feel free to explore my GitHub profile

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💼 Let’s Build Something Great Together

I know that choosing the right partner is critical to your success. When you work with me, you’re not just contracting an engineer – you’re gaining a trusted advisor and hands-on expert who cares about your business as much as you do.

✔️ Direct Collaboration: No middlemen or red tape – you work with me directly. ✔️ Transparent Process: Expect open communication, clear timelines, and visible results. ✔️ Real Value: My solutions focus on delivering measurable impact for your business.

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🙌 Acknowledgements

Big shoutout to the amazing team behind Projen! Their groundbreaking work simplifies cloud infrastructure projects and inspires us every day. 💡

Author

Manuel Vogel