PyCharm 2017.3 Help

Configure Node.js Remote Interpreter Dialog

This feature is only supported in the Professional edition.

The following is only valid when Node.js Plugin is installed and enabled!

The dialog box is available only when the Node.js Remote Interpreter plugin is enabled. The plugin is not bundled with PyCharm, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.


The dialog box opens when you click the Add toolbar button new in the Node.js Interpreters Dialog and choose Remote... from the drop-down menu. This menu item is available only when you open the Node.js Interpreters Dialog from the Run/Debug Configuration: Node.js.

Use this dialog box to configure access to Node.js installations on remote hosts or in development environments set up in Vagrant instances.

ItemDescription
SSH Credentials Choose this option to configure access to a Node.js interpreter on a remote host through SSH credentials. In the fields of the dialog box, specify the following:
  • Host: in this field, type the name of the host on which the interpreter is installed.
  • Port: in this field, type the port which the SSH server on the remote host listens to. The default port number is 22.
  • User name: in the field, type the user name under which you are registered on the SSH server.
  • Auth type: from this drop-down list, choose the authentication method.
    • To access the host through a password, choose Password from the Auth type drop-down list, specify the password, and select the Save password checkbox to have PyCharm remember it.
    • To use SSH authentication via a key pair, choose Key pair (OpenSSH or PuTTY). To apply this authentication method, you need to have your private key on the client machine and your public key on the remote server you connect to. PyCharm supports private keys generated using the OpenSSH utility.

      Specify the path to the file where your private key is stored and type the passphrase (if any) in the corresponding text boxes. To have PyCharm remember the passphrase, select the Save passphrase checkbox.

    • If your SSH keys are managed by a credentials helper application (for example, Pageant on Windows or ssh-agent on Mac and Linux), choose Authentication agent (ssh-agent or Pageant).

To use an interpreter configuration, you need path mappings that set correspondence between the project folders, the folders on the server to copy project files to, and the URL addresses to access the copied data on the server. PyCharm first attempts to retrieve path mappings itself by processing all the available application-level configurations. If PyCharm finds the configurations with the same host as the one specified above, in the Host field, the mappings from these configurations are merged automatically. If no configurations with this host are found, PyCharm displays an error message informing you that path mappings are not configured.

To fix the problem, open the Deployment page under the Build, Execution, Deployment node, select the server access configuration in question, switch to the Mappings tab, and map local folders to folders on the server as described in Creating a Remote Server Configuration, section Mapping Local Folders to Folders on the Server and the URL Addresses to Access Them.

Vagrant This option is available only when the Vagrant repository plugin is installed and enabled. The plugin is not bundled with PyCharm, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.

Choose this option to configure access to a Node.js interpreter installed in a Vagrant instance using your Vagrant credentials. Technically, it is the folder where the VagrantFile configuration file for the desired environment is located. Based on this setting, PyCharm detects the Vagrant host and shows it as a link in the Vagrant Host URL read-only field.

To use an interpreter configuration, you need path mappings that set correspondence between the project folders, the folders on the server to copy project files to, and the URL addresses to access the copied data on the server. PyCharm evaluates path mappings from the VagrantFile configuration file.

Deployment Configuration This option is available only when the Remote Hosts Access plugin is enabled. The plugin is activated by default. If the plugin is disabled, enable it on the Plugins settings page as described in Enabling and Disabling Plugins.

Choose this option to configure access to a Node.js interpreter on a remote host using a server access configuration. This option is available only if you have at least one server access configuration of the type SFTP, see Creating a Remote Server Configuration.

From the Deployment Configuration drop-down list, choose the server access configuration of the SFTP type according to which you want PyCharm to connect to the target host. If the settings specified in the chosen configuration ensure successful connection, PyCharm displays the URL address of the target host as a link in the Deployment Host URL field.

To use an interpreter configuration, you need path mappings that set correspondence between the project folders, the folders on the server to copy project files to, and the URL addresses to access the copied data on the server. By default, PyCharm retrieves path mappings from the chosen server access (deployment) configuration. If the configuration does not contain path mappings, PyCharm displays the corresponding error message.

To fix the problem, open the Deployment page under the Build, Execution, Deployment node, select the relevant server access configuration, switch to the Mappings tab, and map the local folders to the folders on the server as described in Creating a Remote Server Configuration section.

Docker This option is available only when the Node.js, Node.js Remote Interpreter, and Docker Integration plugins are enabled. The plugins are activated by default. If the plugins are disabled, enable them on the Plugins settings page as described in Enabling and Disabling Plugins.

Choose this option to configure access to a Node.js interpreter running in a Docker container.

  1. In the Server field, specify the Docker configuration to use, see Working with Docker: Process overview. Choose a configuration from the drop-down list or click browseButton next to it and create a new configuration in the Docker dialog box that opens.
  2. In the Image name field, specify the base Docker image to use. Choose one of the previously downloaded or your custom images from the drop-down list or type the image name manually, for example, node:argon or mhart/alpine-node. When you later launch the run configuration, Docker will search for the specified image on your machine. If the search fails, the image will be downloaded from the image repository specified on the Registry page.
  3. The Node.js interpreter path field shows the location of the default Node.js interpreter from the specified image.
  4. When you click OK, PyCharm closes the Configure Node.js Remote Interpreter Dialog and brings you to the Node.js Interpreters Dialog where the new interpreter configuration is added to the list. Click OK to return to the run configuration.
Node.js Interpreter Path In this field, specify the location of the Node.js executable file in accordance with the configuration of the selected remote development environment. By default PyCharm suggests the /usr/bin/node folder for remote hosts and Vagrant instances and node for Docker containers. To specify a different folder, click the Browse button browseButton and choose the relevant folder in the dialog box that opens. Note that the Node.js home directory must be open for edit.

When you click OK, PyCharm checks whether the Node.js executable is actually stored in the specified folder.

  • If no Node.js executable is found, PyCharm displays an error message asking you whether to continue searching or save the interpreter configuration anyway.
  • If the Node.js executable is found, you return to the Node.js Interpreters where the installation folder and the detected version of the Node.js interpreter are displayed.

Last modified: 28 March 2018

See Also