Connect and Develop

Connect to your Outpost Machine via SSH, VS Code Remote, or file sync and start building.

Once your machine is running, you can connect to it over SSH, open it in VS Code, or sync files between your local machine and the remote environment.

Connect via SSH

Every Outpost Machine is accessible over SSH. Make sure your public key is added under Settings > SSH Keys .

Quick connect

The fastest way to connect is the command shown on the machine's dashboard page:

ssh ubuntu@<machine-ip>

Configure your SSH client

For a smoother experience, add an entry to your ~/.ssh/config file:

Host my-dev-box
  HostName <machine-ip>
  User ubuntu
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
  IdentitiesOnly yes
  ForwardAgent yes
  StrictHostKeyChecking no
  Port 22

Host my-dev-box
  HostName <machine-ip>
  User ubuntu
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
  IdentitiesOnly yes
  ForwardAgent yes
  StrictHostKeyChecking no
  Port 22

Then connect with just:

ssh my-dev-box

Tip

Enable `ForwardAgent yes` to use your local SSH keys on the remote machine -- useful for pulling from private Git repositories.

VS Code Remote

VS Code Remote SSH gives you a full local IDE experience while running code on your Outpost Machine.

Install the extension

Open VS Code and install the Remote - SSH extension from the marketplace.

Connect to your machine

Press Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) and select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host. Choose your machine from the list, or enter ubuntu@<machine-ip>.

Open your workspace

Once connected, use File > Open Folder to navigate to your project directory. VS Code will install its server component on the remote machine automatically.

Note

Extensions like Python, Pylance, and GitLens run on the remote machine, giving you full IntelliSense and debugging support with access to remote GPUs.

JetBrains Gateway

JetBrains Gateway connects IntelliJ, PyCharm, and other JetBrains IDEs to your Outpost Machine.

Download and open JetBrains Gateway .
Click New Connection and select SSH.
Enter ubuntu@<machine-ip> and select your private key.
Choose the IDE and project directory on the remote machine.

Browser-based IDEs

You can run browser-based IDEs directly on your machine:

Jupyter Lab -- Include jupyter lab --no-browser --port 8888 in your setup script, then open http://<machine-ip>:8888 in your browser.
Code-Server -- Install code-server in your setup script and access VS Code in the browser.

Warning

When using browser-based IDEs, make sure the corresponding port (e.g., `8888`) is included in your machine's port configuration.

File sync

Outpost file sync keeps a local directory in sync with your remote machine so edits on either side are reflected in real time.

Start file sync

outpost machine sync my-dev-box --local ./project --remote /home/ubuntu/project

This sets up a two-way sync between your local ./project folder and /home/ubuntu/project on the remote machine. Changes are transferred in real time.

Manual file transfer

You can also transfer files with standard tools:

# Copy a file to the remote machine
scp ./model.py ubuntu@<machine-ip>:/home/ubuntu/project/
 
# Copy a directory from the remote machine
scp -r ubuntu@<machine-ip>:/home/ubuntu/project/results ./results
 
# Use rsync for larger transfers
rsync -avz ./data/ ubuntu@<machine-ip>:/home/ubuntu/data/

# Copy a file to the remote machine
scp ./model.py ubuntu@<machine-ip>:/home/ubuntu/project/
 
# Copy a directory from the remote machine
scp -r ubuntu@<machine-ip>:/home/ubuntu/project/results ./results
 
# Use rsync for larger transfers
rsync -avz ./data/ ubuntu@<machine-ip>:/home/ubuntu/data/

Port forwarding

Access services running on your machine (dev servers, Jupyter, TensorBoard) through SSH port forwarding:

# Forward remote port 8888 to local port 8888
ssh -L 8888:localhost:8888 my-dev-box

# Forward remote port 8888 to local port 8888
ssh -L 8888:localhost:8888 my-dev-box

Then open http://localhost:8888 in your local browser.

Tip

VS Code Remote handles port forwarding automatically. Any service you start on the remote machine will appear in the **Ports** panel.

Monitoring

Track your machine's resource utilization from the Outpost dashboard:

GPU -- Utilization percentage, memory usage, and temperature.
CPU -- Core utilization and load averages.
Memory -- Used and available RAM.
Disk -- Storage consumption and I/O throughput.
Network -- Inbound and outbound bandwidth.

You can also check GPU status from the terminal:

nvidia-smi

Next steps

Machines Overview — GPU selection, auto-stop, and monitoring
CLI Reference — Compute Commands — full command documentation

Previous → Create a Machine

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