Configuring Remote Node.js Interpreters
In JetBrains Rider, you need to configure a remote Node.js interpreter when you want to run and debug your application on Node.js installed on a remote host or in a virtual environment. This is in the Configure Node.js Remote Interpreter Dialog dialog that opens only from Run/Debug Configuration: Node.js.
Configuring a remote Node.js interpreter on a host accessible through SSH connection
Before you start
Configure access to an
sshserver on the target remote host and make sure this server is running.Install and enable the NodeJS and NodeJS Remote Interpreter repository plugins on the Plugins page as described in Managing Plugins.
To configure a Node.js interpreter using SSH credentials
On the main menu, choose . In the Edit Configuration dialog box that opens, click the Add New Configuration toolbar button
, and choose Node.js on the context menu. In the Run/Debug Configuration: Node.js dialog that opens, click 
next to the Node interpreter field. In the Node.js Interpreters dialog that opens with a list of all the currently configured interpreters, click
on the toolbar. In the dialog box that opens, choose Add Remote on the context menu. In the Configure Node.js Remote Interpreter Dialog that opens, choose the SSH Credentials method.
Specify the name of the remote host and the port which the SSH server listens to. The default port number is 22.
- Specify your credentials to access the remote host in accordance with the credentials received during the registration on the server. Type your user name and choose the authentication method:
To access the host through a password, choose Password from the Authentication type list, specify the password, and select the Save password checkbox to have JetBrains Rider 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. JetBrains Rider 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 fields. To have JetBrains Rider 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 OpenSSH config and authentication agent.
- Specify the location of the Node.js executable file in accordance with the configuration of the selected remote development environment.
For remote hosts, JetBrains Rider by default suggests the /usr/bin/node folder.
For Vagrant instances, JetBrains Rider by default suggests the /usr/bin/node folder.
For Docker containers, JetBrains Rider by default suggests the node folder.
- When you click OK, JetBrains Rider checks whether the Node.js executable is actually stored in the specified folder.
If no Node.js executable is found, JetBrains Rider 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 dialog where the installation folder and the detected version of the Node.js interpreter are displayed.
Configuring a remote Node.js interpreter on a remote host accessible through SFTP
Before you start
Make sure a
sftpserver is running on the target remote host and you have configured access to it.Make sure you have at least one JetBrains Rider-wide server access configuration of the SFTP type to establish access to the target host. To make a configuration available in all JetBrains Rider projects, clear the Visible only for this project checkbox in the Deployment: Connection Tab. See Creating a Remote Server Configuration for details.
Install and enable the NodeJS and NodeJS Remote Interpreter repository plugins on the Plugins page as described in Managing Plugins.
To configure a remote Node.js interpreter based on an SFTP server access configuration
On the main menu, choose . In the Edit Configuration dialog box that opens, click the Add New Configuration toolbar button
, and choose Node.js on the context menu. In the Run/Debug Configuration: Node.js dialog that opens, click next to the Node interpreter field. In the Node.js Interpreters dialog that opens with a list of all the currently configured interpreters, click
on the toolbar. In the dialog box that opens, choose Add Remote on the context menu. In the Configure Node.js Remote Interpreter Dialog that opens, choose the Deployment Configuration method.
- From the Deployment Configuration drop-down list, choose the server access configuration of the SFTP type according to which you want JetBrains Rider to connect to the target host. If the settings specified in the chosen configuration ensure successful connection, JetBrains Rider 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, JetBrains Rider retrieves path mappings from the chosen server access (deployment) configuration. If the configuration does not contain path mappings, JetBrains Rider 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 the Mapping local folders to folders on the server and the URL addresses to access them section.
- Specify the location of the Node.js executable file in accordance with the configuration of the selected remote development environment.
For remote hosts, JetBrains Rider by default suggests the /usr/bin/node folder.
For Vagrant instances, JetBrains Rider by default suggests the /usr/bin/node folder.
For Docker containers, JetBrains Rider by default suggests the node folder.
- When you click OK, JetBrains Rider checks whether the Node.js executable is actually stored in the specified folder.
If no Node.js executable is found, JetBrains Rider 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 dialog where the installation folder and the detected version of the Node.js interpreter are displayed.
Configuring a remote Node.js interpreter in a Docker container
You can quickly bootstrap your Node.js application with Docker, JetBrains Rider will take care of the initial configuration by automatically creating a new Dockerfile, keeping your source code up-to-date and installing npm dependencies in the container. Configuring a Node.js environment running in a Docker container as a Node.js remote interpreter lets you run, debug, and profile your Node.js application from JetBrains Rider.
Before you start
Download, install, and configure Docker as described in Docker
Install and enable the NodeJS, NodeJS Remote Interpreter, and Docker Integration repository plugins on the Plugins page as described in Managing Plugins.
To configure a remote Node.js interpreter in a Docker container
On the main menu, choose . In the Edit Configuration dialog box that opens, click the Add New Configuration toolbar button
, and choose Node.js on the context menu. In the Run/Debug Configuration: Node.js dialog that opens, click next to the Node interpreter field. In the Node.js Interpreters dialog that opens with a list of all the currently configured interpreters, click
on the toolbar. In the dialog box that opens, choose Add Remote on the context menu. In the Configure Node.js Remote Interpreter Dialog that opens, choose the Docker method.
and create a new configuration in the Docker dialog box that opens. 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. The Node.js interpreter path field shows the location of the default Node.js interpreter from the specified image. When you click OK, JetBrains Rider 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. Configuring mappings
When you debug an application with a remote Node.js interpreter, the debugger tells JetBrains Rider the name of the currently processed file and the number of the line to be processed. JetBrains Rider opens the local copy of this file and indicates the line with the provided number. This behaviour is enabled by specifying correspondence between files and folders on the server and their local copies. This correspondence is called mapping, it is set in the debug configuration.
To configure mappings
On the main menu, choose . In the Edit Configuration dialog box that opens, click the Add New Configuration toolbar button
, and choose Node.js on the context menu. In the Run/Debug Configuration: Node.js dialog that opens, choose the required remote interpreter from the Node interpreter drop-down list.
Click
next to the Path Mappings field. - The Edit Project Path Mappings Dialog that opens, shows the path mappings retrieved from the deployment configuration or
Vagrantfile. These mappings are read-only.To add a custom mapping, click
and specify the path in the project and the corresponding path on the remote runtime environment in the Local Path and Remote Path fields respectively. Type the paths manually or click 
and select the relevant files or folders in the dialog box that opens. To remove a custom mapping, select it in the list and click
.