Killercoda IDE Theia deeper integration

Creators can now use the in-browser Theia IDE as default interface

Killercoda?

Killercoda is an interactive learning platform which allows everyone to access Linux|Kubernetes based environments just in their browser. READ MORE

Why do we need an IDE if we have vim?

Look, let’s not even go there ;) Everyone should use the editor they’re most familiar with! If you’re studying for the CKS|CKA|CKAD exams make sure to be fast with a console editor like Vim or Nano because there isn’t a visual one.

What is Theia IDE?

Theia is amazing! It describes itself as

An Open, Flexible and Extensible Cloud & Desktop IDE Platform. Theia is an extensible platform to develop full-fledged multi-language Cloud & Desktop IDE-like products with state-of-the-art web technologies.

It allows you to have a full blown IDE just in your browser, and you can even load and use VSCode extensions.

BUT make sure you understand what the scope it really is:

Establish a platform to build IDE-like products

… and that’s what it is! You can use Theia to build your own web or desktop IDE. Out-of-the-box you’ll also get a working version, but you might need some development work to adapt it to your needs. Just be prepared for that.

Theia as default interface

If you create a scenario on Killercoda, then by default it’ll have the first terminal tab activated. Users can then select the Editor link to switch to Theia:

This can be changed, so that Theia (Editor tab) is selected by default, if you add this to your index.json:

{
  "title": "Theia",
  "backend": {
    "imageid": "ubuntu"
  },
  "interface": {
    "layout": "ide"
  }
}

Here is an example scenario and it’s code on Github.

Code Exec and Foreground Scripts

Code exec and running automatic commands using foreground scripts work just as before. There is an extended example showcasing this with its code on Github.

How does Killercoda run Theia?

If you like to know more about how we run Theia on Killercoda, check our article about it here.

What kind of integrations would you like to see?

What should we implement to marry Theia even closer into the Killercoda workflows? Let us know on SUPPORT or SLACK!