Use the editor and app views

Some scenarios give you more than a terminal: an in-browser VS Code editor, and app views — web applications running inside your lab, such as a GitOps dashboard or a monitoring console. They open as extra tabs next to your terminal tabs.

Before you start: these tabs only appear when the scenario includes them. If you see only Shell and Node tabs, this lab has neither.

Edit files in the Code tab

The Code tab is a full VS Code editor running in your browser. It works on the same files as your terminal: anything you save in the editor is immediately visible from the shell, and the other way round.

1. Click the Code tab, after your terminal tabs.

2. Open files from the editor’s file explorer, edit them, and save with Cmd+S on macOS or Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux.

3. Switch back to a Shell tab to apply or run what you edited, for example kubectl apply -f on a manifest you just changed.

The Code tab only appears once the editor is ready to use. If it is missing right after the lab starts, wait a moment: it shows up on its own.

Tip

The editor gets far more room in its own browser tab. Click Open in new tab in the strip above the editor. Your terminal stays in the lab tab, and both work on the same files.

Note

Inside the embedded editor, some browser shortcuts are taken by the browser before the editor sees them. If a VS Code shortcut does not work, open the editor in a new tab or use the editor’s menus.

Use an app view

Each app view tab is named after its application. While the application is still starting, its tab shows a pulsing dot and the pane reads, for example, Starting Argo CD…. The application loads by itself as soon as it is serving; you do not need to reload.

1. Click the application’s tab.

2. If the scenario provides a login, it appears in the strip above the application:

   • User is shown in clear. Click its copy icon (Copy User) to copy it.
   • Password is masked. Click the eye icon (Show password) to read it, or the copy icon (Copy Password) to copy it without revealing it.

3. Paste the credentials into the application’s sign-in page.

4. To work with more space, click Open in new tab.

Open in a new tab

Open in new tab sits at the right of the strip above the editor and every app view. It opens the same application in a separate browser tab.

• The new tab is the same application, not a copy: changes you make there are the changes in your lab.
• It only works while the lab is running. Once the lab is paused or ended, the page stops responding.

If a tab stays blank or keeps loading

• Wait for the pulsing dot on the tab to stop: the application may still be starting, especially right after the lab is created.
• Click Open in new tab to see whether the application answers there.
• If it never comes up, use Report a problem in the top bar. See Report a problem with a lab.

Related

• The lab workspace
• Use the lab terminal