IDE FAQ
Common questions when attaching an editor. See each editor’s page for the step-by-step: VS Code, VS Codium, JetBrains.
Which editor should I pick?
Section titled “Which editor should I pick?”Any of the supported ones - it’s preference. VS Code and VS Codium are lightweight (a small server runs in the container). JetBrains is heavier (a full IDE backend runs in the container) but Monoceros shares that backend across containers so it downloads once. If you live in JetBrains, use it; otherwise VS Code / Codium is the lighter default.
”Host unreachable” / “could not connect” / the editor can’t find the host
Section titled “”Host unreachable” / “could not connect” / the editor can’t find the host”Walk down this list:
- Is the container running? Check
monoceros status <name>; if not, runmonoceros apply <name>. The editor attaches to a running container - it doesn’t start one. - Does a plain SSH work?
ssh monoceros-<name>from a terminal. If that connects, the editor will too; if it doesn’t, the problem is the connection, not the editor. - Stale connection state: remote clients (the JetBrains Toolbox App, the Claude Code app, …) sometimes cache an old connection after a rebuild or a config change - retry, or fully quit and restart the client.
Do my extensions and settings survive a rebuild?
Section titled “Do my extensions and settings survive a rebuild?”Yes. They live in named Docker volumes, so monoceros apply keeps them.
monoceros remove <name> deletes them with the container. JetBrains also
keeps per-project indexes per container.
Does my Claude Code chat history survive a rebuild?
Section titled “Does my Claude Code chat history survive a rebuild?”Only if the workbench has the claude-code feature.
The Claude Code desktop app keeps conversations under ~/.claude in the
container, and that directory only persists to your host when the feature is
present. Add it (monoceros add-feature <name> claude) and your history
survives monoceros apply; without it, each rebuild starts fresh. The app
still connects either way. See Claude Code for the
details.
Windows: do I need to set anything up?
Section titled “Windows: do I need to set anything up?”No. The CLI runs in WSL, but monoceros apply also writes the Windows-side
SSH config and key, so editors on Windows resolve monoceros-<name>
automatically. You only need Docker Desktop (provides docker.exe)
and the Windows OpenSSH client (bundled since Windows 10). VS Code can
alternatively use the Dev Containers extension, which handles WSL itself.
monoceros open <tool> says the editor isn’t found
Section titled “monoceros open <tool> says the editor isn’t found”monoceros open looks for the editor binary on PATH, then known install
locations (macOS app bundles; under WSL the Windows install). If it’s
still missing, install the editor’s shell command (on macOS, the Shell
Command: Install … in PATH palette command), or just connect from inside
the editor with Remote-SSH: Connect to Host… and pick
monoceros-<name>.
JetBrains downloaded gigabytes - is that normal?
Section titled “JetBrains downloaded gigabytes - is that normal?”Yes. JetBrains remote dev is a thin client plus a full IDE backend in the container. It downloads once into a machine-wide shared volume and is reused by every container after that.
How do I reclaim the shared JetBrains backend disk?
Section titled “How do I reclaim the shared JetBrains backend disk?”monoceros remove leaves the shared backend volume in place (other
containers may use it). When no JetBrains container remains:
docker volume rm monoceros-jetbrains-distDo I have to restart the container to reattach?
Section titled “Do I have to restart the container to reattach?”No. Once the container is up, attaching is just connecting - no restart. That’s the point of the SSH attach point.