VSCode Remote Control

Windows-only (win32 / x64)

Remote control your VSCode windows from any browser — including mobile — via a DOM-aware web service built on Chrome DevTools Protocol.

Installation

Requires Node.js 18+ and Windows (x64).

npm install -g vscode-remote-control

After install, the vsremote command is available globally.

First Run

vsremote

On first run, a setup wizard will guide you through:

• Server listen port (default 8765)
• Listen address (127.0.0.1 or 0.0.0.0)
• VSCode CDP port (default 19222)
• Dialog viewer feature toggle
• Optionally enable autostart on login

Configuration is saved to %APPDATA%\vsremote\config.yaml.

CLI Commands

vsremote [command] [options]

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | vsremote | Start server (foreground) — default | | vsremote start | Start server (foreground) | | vsremote start --silent | Start server in background | | vsremote stop | Gracefully stop the server | | vsremote restart | Stop then start | | vsremote status | Show PID, port, uptime | | vsremote status --json | JSON output | | vsremote config path | Print config file path | | vsremote config init | Run setup wizard (re-init config) | | vsremote config edit | Open config in default editor | | vsremote config reset | Delete config file | | vsremote autostart enable | Create startup shortcut | | vsremote autostart disable | Remove startup shortcut | | vsremote autostart status | Show autostart shortcut info |

Options

| Flag | Short | Description | |------|-------|-------------| | --silent | -s | Background start | | --port <n> | | Override server port | | --cdp-port <n> | | Override CDP port | | --config <path> | | Use specific config file | | --json | | JSON output (status) | | --force | -f | Force operation | | --help | -h | Show help | | --version | -v | Show version |

Configuration

Config file: %APPDATA%\vsremote\config.yaml

server:
  port: 8765
  host: 127.0.0.1

auth:
  token: "your-secret-token"
  session_ttl_hours: 24

cdp:
  host: localhost
  port: 19222

features:
  dialog_viewer: true

logging:
  level: info
  file: ""   # "" = default (%APPDATA%\vsremote\logs\vsremote.log), "off" = no file

Log files: %APPDATA%\vsremote\logs\vsremote.log (auto-rotated, 7-day retention)

Uninstall

vsremote autostart disable   # remove startup shortcut if enabled
npm uninstall -g vscode-remote-control
# optionally remove config and logs:
rmdir /s /q "%APPDATA%\vsremote"

Migrating from Zip Distribution

If you previously used the zip-based distribution:

1. Back up your config: copy "%APPDATA%\vsremote\config.yaml" config.yaml.bak (or copy from the old zip directory)
2. Install npm version: npm install -g vscode-remote-control
3. If you already have %APPDATA%\vsremote\config.yaml, vsremote will use it automatically (no wizard)
4. If not, run vsremote config init to re-run the wizard, or manually copy your old config.yaml to %APPDATA%\vsremote\config.yaml

Troubleshooting

vsremote not found after global install

npm's global bin directory may not be in PATH. Find and add it:

npm config get prefix
:: Add <prefix> to your PATH via System Properties > Environment Variables

Or use the full path:

node "%APPDATA%\npm\vsremote.js"

PowerShell execution policy

Autostart uses PowerShell. If blocked:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned