How to use GitHub Codespaces for Free (VSCode in the cloud!)

I started using Codespaces when they launched and I have been blown away. They are fast, easy to use, and it feels like they just took my local environment and put it in the cloud (which they basically did). Today I breakdown and show how to start them, monitor your usage, and open them from a repo.
Twitter: / benjamin41902

[@thornewolfenbarger5462]

It looks very cool. But like Chris said, does seem pretty expensive. We have a similar situation at work with an internal fork of VS code tied into our codebase.

[@elitecoldsteel]

I think it's a really cool concept too. I took a look at their pricing though and it's definitely a bit strange and kinda expensive. Like let's say I wanted to buy a cheap laptop and run Codespaces for 30 hours a week on the 8 core machine. That works out to 320 "core hours", minus the 120 I get for free (non-pro plan account), we get 120 core hours a week, or $86.40 per week. or $345.60 per month, $4,147.20 per year if you worked every week. So yeah it'd be a bit cheaper, but IMO you're better off buying a better laptop.
IDK, maybe I'm doing the math wrong or missing something here, but it just seems prohibitively expensive unless of course you're an enterprise. Anyways, great video, thank you!

[@bmdavis419]

Yea its definitely not something I think I would use full time, more something that I would just pull out when I needed it, or even better to just make a quick edit on the fly without having to get your entire development environment spun up.

[@elitecoldsteel]

@@bmdavis419 I think that makes a lot of sense

[@elorrambasdo5233]

@@elitecoldsteel The real kicker is that (with a little bit of elbow grease) you can purchase a good computer for $1000, install ubuntu or something on it, then host this exact service for free.
It's more effort but not super hard to maintain.

[@potatobot2802]

Amazing content once again!

[@ohhhgggeeezzz]

How is the 60 hour calculated? The timer starts the moment you spin up vs code? Or only when you spin up your application on the virtual machine. Thanks

[@mohammedkhadeer9887]

How can you work on a project locally in Visual Studio Code when you're without an internet connection, but the project's files are in GitHub Codespaces?

[@glungusgongus]

Doesnt VS Code have its own cloud

[@shashwatgupta9993]

Why would I use this when I can develop locally.

[@bmdavis419]

You wouldn't, its not there to replace your local environment, but to give you another one in the cloud when you need it on the go or to make a quick edit. At least that's how I see it.