Remote Work Setup for Developers: Tools and Tips

As the world shifts to remote work, developers need a robust environment that mirrors the office setup. This isn’t just about Zoom calls; it’s about secure connectivity, consistent dev environments, and efficient collaboration. We explore WSL 2, VS Code Remote, and VPN strategies.

VS Code Remote Development

The VS Code Remote extensions are a game changer. They allow you to run your dev environment (compilers, debuggers) in a container or remote SSH host while keeping the UI local.

flowchart LR
    Local[Local Machine
(Visual Studio Code UI)]
    Remote[Remote Host
(WSL 2 / Docker / SSH)]
    
    Local <-->|SSH Tunnel| Remote
    
    subgraph Remote
        Ext[VS Code Server]
        Source[Source Code]
        Runtime[Node/NET Runtime]
    end
    
    style Local fill:#E1F5FE
    style Remote fill:#FFF3E0

Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2)

WSL 2 (shipping May 2020) runs a real Linux kernel. It offers 100% system call compatibility and blazing fast file I/O compared to WSL 1.

# Check version
wsl --list --verbose

# Set default to 2
wsl --set-default-version 2

# Mount network drive
sudo mount -t drvfs Z: /mnt/z

Secure Connectivity

Avoid full-tunnel VPNs that route video calls through corporate HQ. Use split-tunneling or Azure Bastion for secure VM access.

Key Takeaways

• Use **VS Code Remote – Containers** to define dev environments as code (devcontainer.json).
• Upgrade to WSL 2 for Docker performance on Windows.
• Invest in good noise-canceling hardware.