Quickstart for GitHub Codespaces

Try out GitHub Codespaces in 5 minutes.

In this article

Introduction

In this guide, you'll create a codespace from a template repository and explore some of the essential features available to you within the codespace. You'll work in the browser version of Visual Studio Code, which is initially the default editor for GitHub Codespaces. After trying out this quickstart you can use Codespaces in other editors, and you can change the default editor. Links are provided at the end of this guide.

From this quickstart, you'll learn how to create a codespace, connect to a forwarded port to view your running application, publish your codespace to a new repository, and personalize your setup with extensions.

For more information on exactly how GitHub Codespaces works, see the companion guide "Deep dive into GitHub Codespaces."

Creating your codespace

  1. Navigate to the github/haikus-for-codespaces template repository.

  2. Click Use this template, then click Open in a codespace.

    Screenshot of the "Use this template" button and the dropdown menu expanded to show the "Open in a codespace" option.

Running the application

Once your codespace is created, the template repository will be automatically cloned into it. Now you can run the application and launch it in a browser.

  1. When the terminal becomes available, enter the command npm run dev. This example uses a Node.js project, and this command runs the script labeled "dev" in the package.json