dgx-spark-playbooks/nvidia/vscode

Install VS Code

Install and use VS Code locally or remotely on Spark

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Instructions
• Access with NVIDIA Sync

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Overview

Basic Idea

This walkthrough establishes a local Visual Studio Code development environment directly on DGX Spark devices. By installing VSCode natively on the ARM64-based Spark system, you gain access to a full-featured IDE with extensions, integrated terminal, and Git integration while leveraging the specialized hardware for development and testing.

What you'll accomplish

You will have Visual Studio Code running natively on your DGX Spark device with access to the system's ARM64 architecture and GPU resources. This setup enables direct code development, debugging, and execution on the target hardware without remote development overhead.

What to know before starting

• Basic experience working with Visual Studio Code interface and features

• Familiarity with package management on Linux systems

• Understanding of file permissions and authentication on Linux

Prerequisites

• DGX Spark device with administrative privileges

• Active internet connection for downloading the VSCode installer

• Verify ARM64 architecture:

uname -m
#  # Expected output: aarch64

• Verify GUI desktop environment available:

echo $DISPLAY
#  # Should return display information like :0 or :10.0

Time & risk

Duration: 10-15 minutes

Risk level: Low - installation uses official packages with standard rollback

Rollback: Standard package removal via system package manager

Instructions

Step 1. Verify system requirements

Before installing VSCode, confirm your DGX Spark system meets the requirements and has GUI support.

## Verify ARM64 architecture
uname -m

## Check available disk space (VSCode requires ~200MB)
df -h /

## Verify desktop environment is running
ps aux | grep -E "(gnome|kde|xfce)"

Step 2. Download VSCode ARM64 installer

Navigate to the VSCode download page and download the appropriate ARM64 .deb package for your system.

Alternatively, you can download the installer with this command:

wget https://code.visualstudio.com/sha/download?build=stable\&os=linux-deb-arm64 -O vscode-arm64.deb

Step 3. Install VSCode package

Install the downloaded package using the system package manager.

You can click on the installer file directly or use the command line.

## Install the downloaded .deb package
sudo dpkg -i vscode-arm64.deb

## Fix any dependency issues if they occur
sudo apt-get install -f

Step 4. Verify installation

Confirm the VSCode app is installed successfully and can launch.

You can open the app directly from the list of applications or use the command line.

## Check if VSCode is installed
which code

## Verify version
code --version

## Test launch (will open VSCode GUI)
code &

VSCode should launch and display the welcome screen.

Step 5. Configure for Spark development

Set up VSCode for development on the DGX Spark platform.

## Launch VSCode if not already running
code

## Or create a new project directory and open it
mkdir ~/spark-dev-workspace
cd ~/spark-dev-workspace
code .

From within VSCode:

• Open File > Preferences > Settings
• Search for "terminal integrated shell" to configure default terminal
• Install recommended extensions via Extensions tab (left sidebar)

Step 6. Validate setup and test functionality

Test core VSCode functionality to ensure proper operation on ARM64.

Create a test file:

## Create test directory and file
mkdir ~/vscode-test
cd ~/vscode-test
echo 'print("Hello from DGX Spark!")' > test.py
code test.py

Within VSCode:

• Verify syntax highlighting works
• Open integrated terminal (Terminal > New Terminal)
• Run the test script: python3 test.py
• Test Git integration by running git status in the terminal

Step 7. Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
dpkg: dependency problems during install	Missing dependencies	Run sudo apt-get install -f
VSCode won't launch with GUI error	No display server/X11	Verify GUI desktop is running: echo $DISPLAY
Extensions fail to install	Network connectivity or ARM64 compatibility	Check internet connection, verify extension ARM64 support

Step 8. Uninstalling VSCode

Warning: Uninstalling VSCode will remove all user settings and extensions.

To remove VSCode if needed:

## Remove VSCode package
sudo apt-get remove code

## Remove configuration files (optional)
rm -rf ~/.config/Code
rm -rf ~/.vscode

Access with NVIDIA Sync

Step 1. Install and Open NVIDIA Sync

Step 2. Add your Spark to NVIDIA Sync

Step 3. Install VS Code locally

Step 4. Open Sync and launch VS Code

• Wait for the remote connection to be established (may ask your local machine for a password or to authorize the connection)
• It may prompt you to "trust the authors of the files in this folder" when you first land in the home directory after a successful ssh connection.

Step 5. Validation and Follow-ups

• Verify that you can access your Spark's filesystem with VSCode as a text editor. Run test commands in the terminal like hostnamectl and whoami to ensure you are remotely accessing your spark.
• Specify a file path or directory and start editing/writing files
• Install extensions
• Clone repos
• Locally host LLM code assistant