Codespace Loading Issue

[nicholastyjackson30]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

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I can not access my codespace. I keep getting the following error: "An unexpected error occurred that requires a reload of this page. The workbench failed to connect to the server (Error: exception was thrown by handler. exception: failed to start vs code remote server.)" Any help, advice or a work around would be great. Thanks.

[frantizek]

This is a pretty common Codespaces issue. The fastest fix is usually to go to your Codespaces list at https://github.com/codespaces, stop the affected Codespace using the ... menu, and then start it again. If that doesn't work, try the Rebuild Container option from the same menu. A full browser cache clear or trying a different browser/VS Code client can also help. If all else fails, you might need to delete and recreate the Codespace—just make sure any uncommitted changes are backed up first. Hope that gets you back up and running!

[Imashanilupul]

This usually means the VS Code server inside the Codespace failed to start properly. A few things you can try:

1. Reload the Codespace — close the browser tab and reopen the Codespace from GitHub.
2. Rebuild the container — from the Codespace menu, try Rebuild Container. This can fix issues with the dev container environment.
3. Check Codespace logs — open the Codespace and look at the logs for a more specific error, especially around the VS Code Remote Server.
4. Try another browser/incognito window — extensions or cached browser data can sometimes interfere with Codespaces.
5. Stop and restart the Codespace — from your GitHub Codespaces page, stop the Codespace and start it again.
6. If it still doesn't work, create a new Codespace from the same repository. If the new one works, the original Codespace's environment may have become corrupted.

Also check the GitHub Status page in case Codespaces is experiencing an outage.

If you can share the Codespace logs around failed to start vs code remote server, it should be possible to narrow down the exact cause.

[narendraanbazhagann]

Hi! This error generally indicates that the VS Code Remote Server inside the Codespace couldn't start. I'd first try restarting/rebuilding the Codespace and, if possible, opening it through VS Code Desktop.

If that doesn't fix it, could you share the relevant Codespaces/creation logs from the failed startup? The exact error immediately before failed to start vs code remote server would help narrow down whether it's a container, resource, extension, or GitHub-side issue.