JetBrains CodeCanvas 2025.3 Help

Personalize Dev Environment

Remote development is focused on standardization – dev environments should be reproducible and consistent. While that's true, it doesn't mean you can't make them feel like your local machine. You can still apply personal shell settings, install your favorite tools, and sync your IDE preferences.

In CodeCanvas, you can personalize dev environments in two main ways:

  • JetBrains Settings Sync – a JetBrains IDE feature that lets you share your IDE settings (code style, keymaps, themes, etc.) across different instances of the IDE.

  • Dotfiles – CodeCanvas clones you personal dotfiles repository into the dev environment and runs a setup script to apply your personal settings.

Settings Sync (JetBrains IDEs only)

Settings Sync lets you apply the same JetBrains IDE preferences in your dev environments as you use locally – including keymaps, themes, code style, and other UI settings. It works across all IDE instances linked to your JetBrains account.

  1. In your local IDEA instance (the one with the settings you want to apply to dev environments), in settings, go to Settings Sync and click Enable Settings Sync.

  2. Choose the settings you want to sync, log in to your JetBrains account, and click Push Settings to Account.

  3. In the IDE in a dev environment, go to Settings Sync and click Enable Settings Sync.

  4. Log in to your JetBrains account and click Get Settings from Account.

Learn more about the Settings Sync

Dotfiles

Dotfiles are configuration files in your home directory. Their names usually start with a dot (e.g., .bashrc, .gitconfig). Developers often store and share them in Git repositories to reuse their personal shell, tool, and Git setups.

In CodeCanvas, you can use dotfiles to personalize your dev environments. Once you turn on the support for dotfiles in your account, CodeCanvas will clone your personal dotfiles repository into each started dev environment (to the ~/dotfiles directory) and run a setup script to apply your personal settings. CodeCanvas runs the first setup script it finds from this list:

  • install.sh

  • install

  • bootstrap.sh

  • bootstrap

  • script/bootstrap

  • setup.sh

  • setup

  • script/setup

Dotfiles setup runs only once when a dev environment is created. The changes you apply to the dotfiles repository will be applied only to new dev environments started after the changes.

  1. Create a Git repository with your dotfiles and an install script. See https://dotfiles.github.io/ for examples.

  2. In CodeCanvas, open your account settings by clicking your name in the top right corner.

  3. In the sidebar, select Dotfiles under Personalization.

  4. Turn on Use dotfiles in dev environments and paste your repository URL.

  5. Specify Authentication settings:

    • Anonymous   –   the remote repository is publicly available and requires no access credentials.

    • SSH   –   the remote repository is accessible via SSH. You need to have an SSH key pair (private and public) generated and stored on your local machine in the .ssh\ subdirectory. Provide the Private SSH key to CodeCanvas by uploading it to the corresponding field and enter the Passphrase if your key is protected by one. Note that the public key must be registered in the remote repository.

      If you turn on the Auto-generate SSH keys option, CodeCanvas will generate a new SSH key pair for you. The private key will be uploaded to CodeCanvas automatically, and the public key will be displayed so you can register it in the remote repository.

    • Password   –   the remote repository is accessible via HTTPS. Provide your Username and Password (this can be a plain text password or a personal access token).

  6. You can Test connection, and if everything is set up correctly, click Save.

23 July 2025
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