From 79202608a635ce1f89bd3aaf9ebce4c3a0894e4b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Raghu Betina Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2026 19:21:53 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Recommend VS Code Desktop for Codespaces The browser Codespace terminal is choppy, and both Claude's and Neon's sign-ins send a localhost callback that a browser tab can't receive, so attendees retried or fell back to an API key. VS Code Desktop connected to the Codespace has a native terminal and forwards ports, while Claude and the app still run in the Codespace, so attendees who chose Codespaces for privacy keep it. The browser stays the fallback, and gh codespace ssh is noted for people who prefer a plain terminal. --- README.md | 25 +++++++++++++++++++++---- 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 568f0ae..0006a0f 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -3,6 +3,11 @@ Use this if you cannot install programs on your laptop. Everything happens in a GitHub Codespace: VS Code in your browser, with every tool already installed. You type a request to Claude in its terminal, and Claude does the work. +**If you can install one program, install [VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) first** and open the Codespace in +it (step 2). Its terminal is much smoother than the browser's, and sign-ins are more likely to work on the first +try. Your privacy stays the same: VS Code is only the window, and Claude and your app still run in the Codespace, +with no access to your laptop's files. + Plan on: - **Setting up your Codespace:** about 5 minutes. @@ -20,6 +25,11 @@ You need a personal GitHub account and a Claude account that includes Claude Cod ![On the repo page, click Use this template, then Open in a codespace.](images/use-this-template.png) 2. If VS Code asks, choose **Trust Folder & Continue**. Wait until the terminal at the bottom says `Drawing Board setup complete.` + + **If you installed VS Code:** open the ☰ menu and choose **Open in VS Code Desktop**. Let your browser open + VS Code, and if VS Code asks, install the **GitHub Codespaces** extension and sign in to GitHub. When the + Codespace opens in VS Code, close the browser tab and do the rest there. Open a terminal with **Terminal** → + **New Terminal**. 3. Click in the terminal, type `claude` and press Enter. If the terminal shows no `$` prompt, first open a new one from the ☰ menu: **Terminal** → **New Terminal**. @@ -31,8 +41,9 @@ You need a personal GitHub account and a Claude account that includes Claude Cod Then sign in with your Claude account. Claude shows a long link in the terminal: select all of it, copy it, and paste it into a new browser tab. - Claude may also open a sign-in tab by itself. Close that tab without clicking anything: in a Codespace it ends - at "This site can't be reached". If you already clicked **Authorize** there, just use the terminal's link now. + Claude may also open a sign-in tab by itself. In the browser Codespace, close that tab without clicking + anything: it ends at "This site can't be reached". If you already clicked **Authorize** there, just use the + terminal's link now. In VS Code Desktop, that tab may work: if it signs you in, skip the rest of this step. ![In the terminal, select the whole sign-in link that starts with https://claude.com, copy it, and paste it into a new browser tab.](images/claude-sign-in-link.png) @@ -62,8 +73,8 @@ When you first try to sign in to First Draft, you'll hit a username/password wal commits. - **Render** puts your app on the internet. - **Neon** runs your app's database on the internet. If the page after you approve says "This site can't be - reached", tell Claude. You then make a Neon API key and paste it into a private file, the same way as - Cloudinary below. + reached" (it always does in the browser Codespace), tell Claude. You then make a Neon API key and paste it + into a private file, the same way as Cloudinary below. - **Cloudinary** stores the photos people upload to your app. Claude opens a private file in the editor. You copy the three values shown below from Cloudinary's website into it, one after each `=`, and save it (`Ctrl+S`, or `Cmd+S` on a Mac); Claude saves them without showing them. Before it shows the API Secret, Cloudinary may ask for your @@ -181,6 +192,12 @@ Each Codespace holds one app and saves it to one GitHub repository, so another i - Render's free plan sleeps when nobody visits, so the first visit afterwards takes about a minute. - To remove an app from the internet, ask Claude: `Delete this app's Render service and its Neon project.` +## Using a plain terminal + +If you have the [GitHub CLI](https://cli.github.com/), `gh codespace ssh` connects your own terminal to your +Codespace instead. Sign-in pages don't open by themselves there: Claude prints each link, and you open it in your +browser. + ## Using Codex Codex is also installed. In step 3, run `codex login --device-auth`: open the link it shows, sign in to ChatGPT,