Could you please share the steps to manually install the VS Code Server on the target machine when the automatic download process times out ?

Hello Arjun,

Thank you for posting your question on the Microsoft Windows Forum!

If VS Code Remote times out while downloading the VS Code Server, you can manually install the server on the target machine and bypass the automatic download process.

Manual Installation Steps

Step 1: Find the VS Code Commit ID

On your local VS Code machine:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Go to:

Help → About

1. Copy the Commit ID shown in the dialog.

Step 2: Download the Matching VS Code Server Package

On a machine that has internet access, download the server package that matches your VS Code version using the Commit ID from Step 1.

Example format:

https://update.code.visualstudio.com/commit:<COMMIT_ID>/server-linux-x64/stable

Replace:

<COMMIT_ID>

with the actual commit ID from your VS Code installation.

Step 3: Copy the Package to the Target Machine

Transfer the downloaded archive to the remote server using:

scp

or any file transfer method available in your environment.

Step 4: Extract the Server Files

Create the expected VS Code Server directory and extract the package.

Linux example:

mkdir -p ~/.vscode-server/bin/<COMMIT_ID>

tar -xzf vscode-server.tar.gz -C ~/.vscode-server/bin/<COMMIT_ID> --strip-components=1

Step 5: Reconnect from VS Code

Reconnect using Remote SSH.

Since the required server files already exist, VS Code should detect them and skip the download step.

Additional Checks

If the manual installation still fails, please verify:

• The server has enough free disk space.
• Proxy settings are not blocking access.
• Firewall rules allow the SSH connection.
• The VS Code Server version matches the local VS Code Commit ID.

Microsoft Documentation

For additional guidance, please review:

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/troubleshooting

and

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/ssh

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