Choosing an IDE

A good editor makes a huge difference when working on large C++ codebases, especially over SSH on a remote HPC machine. This page gives a quick overview of three popular, actively developed editors. All three are free to download, run on Linux/macOS/Windows, and support remote development.

If you have no strong opinion, start with VS Code — it has the largest extension ecosystem and the best remote-development story, and everything in the C++ extensions page assumes it (or a fork of it).

VS Code

Visual Studio Code is the de facto standard editor for most developers. It is built by Microsoft on the open-source Code - OSS project.

Why it's a good default:

• Remote development. The Remote - SSH extension lets you edit files and run a language server on the remote machine while the UI runs locally. This is the single most useful feature for HPC work — you get full IntelliSense/debugging on the cluster without copying files back and forth.
• Huge extension marketplace. Almost every language, linter, and tool has an extension.
• Integrated terminal, git, and debugger.

Caveat: the official Microsoft builds and the Marketplace are proprietary. If you want a fully open-source build, use VSCodium (note that some Microsoft-licensed extensions, such as the C/C++ IntelliSense extension, are not available there — which is another reason we recommend the open-source clangd instead).

Cursor

Cursor is a fork of VS Code focused on AI-assisted coding. Because it is a fork, your VS Code extensions, keybindings, and settings mostly carry over, including Remote - SSH and clangd.

What it adds on top of VS Code:

• Inline AI edits and a chat sidebar that is aware of your codebase.
• "Agent" mode that can make multi-file edits and run commands.
• Tab-completion powered by a code model.

It has a free tier with limited AI usage; heavier use requires a subscription. See the coding agents section for more on AI-assisted tools.

Zed

Zed is a newer editor written in Rust with a strong focus on speed. It is fully open source.

Highlights:

• Extremely fast and low-latency, even on large files.
• First-class clangd support built in — C++ language support works with little configuration.
• Built-in collaboration (shared editing) and AI assistance.

Trade-offs: the extension ecosystem is much smaller than VS Code's, and native Windows support and remote-over-SSH development are less mature. It is an excellent local editor and improving quickly.

Dev Containers

A Dev Container (development container) lets your editor run inside a Docker container, so everyone working on a project gets the exact same compiler, tools, and libraries regardless of their host OS. The environment is described by a .devcontainer/devcontainer.json file (optionally with its own Dockerfile) checked into the repository. This is the same idea as the containers tutorial, but the editor, language server, and debugger all attach to the container automatically.

Why this matters for HPC/C++ work:

• Reproducibility. No more "works on my machine" — the toolchain is pinned in the repo. Great for teaching and onboarding.
• Clean host. You don't have to install g++, cmake, MPI, etc. on your laptop; they live in the container.
• Consistency with clusters. You can base the container on the same Linux distro your HPC system uses.

Editor support:

• VS Code — the Dev Containers extension (ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers). Open a folder that contains a .devcontainer/, then run "Dev Containers: Reopen in Container". It builds the image, installs the listed extensions inside the container, and reopens your project there. It also works together with Remote - SSH (a container on a remote host) and with GitHub Codespaces, which uses the same spec.
• Cursor — being a VS Code fork, it supports the same Dev Containers workflow.
• Zed — has its own container/remote development support, though the devcontainer.json ecosystem is centered on VS Code.

The devcontainer.json can also list which extensions to auto-install in the container (for C++, that's typically clangd, CMake Tools, and a debugger — see the C++ extensions page). The C++ tutorial setup ships a ready-to-use Dev Container so you can start writing C++ with zero local setup.

Quick comparison

Editor	Base	Best for	Remote SSH	Extensions
VS Code	Code - OSS	A safe, capable default	Excellent	Largest
Cursor	VS Code fork	VS Code + integrated AI	Yes (VS Code)	VS Code compatible
Zed	Native (Rust)	Fast local editing, minimal setup	Improving	Smaller