Skip to main content
Managed GRID Enterprise is the fastest way to get started: the GRID team provisions and hardens a cloud VM for your organisation, pre-installs the platform, and leaves a ready-to-use environment waiting for you. All licensing, resource configuration, and container services are already in place—you just connect with VS Code and begin working.

​
1. Gather Your Access Package

You should have received:
  • The public IP address (or DNS name) of the managed VM.
  • An SSH private key (for example grid-enterprise.pem) tied to a user account on that machine.
  • Optional notes such as the default username (grid, ubuntu, etc.).
If anything is missing, contact GRID support before proceeding.

​
2. Prepare the SSH Key

Ensure the key has restrictive permissions (required by OpenSSH on macOS/Linux): 
chmod 400 /path/to/grid-enterprise.pem
Copy the key into ~/.ssh/ or another secure location owned by your account.

​
3. Add the Host to ~/.ssh/config

Create or edit ~/.ssh/config on your local workstation: 
Host grid-managed
    HostName <MANAGED_VM_IP>
    User grid            # replace if a different username was provided
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/grid-enterprise.pem
    ForwardAgent no
This alias lets VS Code (and the ssh command) connect without repeating long arguments.

​
4. Install VS Code Remote Extensions

On your local machine:
  1. Install VS Code.
  2. From the Extensions view, install the Remote Development pack (it bundles Remote-SSH and Dev Containers).

​
5. Open the Remote VM from VS Code

  1. Launch VS Code.
  2. Press F1 (or ⌘⇧P/Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Remote-SSH: Connect to Host….
  3. Select grid-managed. The first connection may prompt for host fingerprint confirmation.
  4. VS Code will open a remote window (green status bar) with the server-side VS Code agent installed automatically.
Tip: you can reuse existing SSH tunnels created outside VS Code, but connecting via Remote-SSH usually handles everything for you.

​
6. Work from the Integrated Terminal

Inside the remote VS Code window:
  1. Open a new terminal (Terminal > New Terminal). It runs on the managed VM.
  2. Run grid --version or grid to confirm the CLI is available. The environment already contains GRID_DATA_DIR, license.json, and resource_config.json.
  3. Start using GRID normally: 
    grid
init airgen
session start demo
The container server is preconfigured on the same VM, so the CLI can manage containers without additional setup.
To develop directly inside the running container, follow VS Code with GRID Containers after you launch your session.

​
7. Forward Ports Through VS Code

When you need to open notebooks or simulations in your local browser:
  1. Open the PORTS tab in VS Code (bottom panel).
  2. Click “Forward a Port” and enter the remote port number (8890, 3080, 9090, 9877, etc.).
  3. VS Code creates a secure forwarding URL you can open locally.
You can also add automatic forwards by editing the host entry in ~/.ssh/config: 
LocalForward 8890 localhost:8890
LocalForward 3080 localhost:3080
LocalForward 9090 localhost:9090

​
8. Maintain the Managed Environment

  • Leave the /opt/grid (or configured GRID_DATA_DIR) contents in place; GRID support manages updates there.
  • Use terminate in the CLI when you are done to shut down containers cleanly.
  • Reach out to GRID before installing extra system packages so the managed image stays compliant.
You’re now ready to explore GRID entirely through VS Code—no local installs, no manual configuration. Need a refresher on CLI workflows? Jump into Hello GRID Enterprise directly from your remote terminal.