TL;DR: Google Colab’s new VS Code extension is a game-changer. It brings cloud GPU/TPU power into your local editor with an experience that feels completely native.

When the Google Colab team started a limited preview of the new VS Code extension, I signed up almost immediately. I already rely heavily on Google Colab for GPU/TPU workloads, but the browser editor has always been a pain point for me. The overall experience falls short of modern IDEs like VS Code, Cursor, or Windsurf, especially for AI-assisted coding. On top of that, version control in the browser-based Colab flow has never felt smooth to me, even with the built-in GitHub integration. So when the GDE early-access program was announced, I knew I had to join and see whether this extension could finally fix those issues.

The extension is a game-changer. In short: it feels almost completely local.
Editing is smooth, execution is responsive, and all my usual VS Code workflows just work.

But there is also one thing worth knowing to avoid potential confusion — I’ll mention it below.

Getting Started

Installation is straightforward. Once the extension is added from the marketplace and you sign in, you can open a notebook, connect to Colab, and start running code right away.

Within a minute, I had my first notebook running on Google Colab hardware — all without opening a browser tab.

Feels Like Local Development — With Cloud Power

One of the biggest highlights for me is how “native” the experience feels.

✔ Full VS Code Editing Experience

You get everything you normally rely on:

  • IntelliSense
  • Code navigation
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Git integration
  • Outline and symbol navigation
  • Your existing extensions (linting, formatting, etc.)
  • AI-powered coding tools (e.g., Copilot, Gemini)

Because you’re using your own local VS Code environment, you’re not limited by the web UI at all.

✔ Smooth execution

Running a cell feels responsive. Outputs stream naturally. There’s no heavy UI overhead.

After a few minutes, I honestly forgot that the notebook wasn’t running locally.

One Thing to Keep in Mind

While the editing experience feels completely local, it’s worth remembering that execution happens on Google Colab’s remote backend, not your machine.

This means:

  • You cannot read local files (e.g., ./data/*.csv) — they don’t exist in the Google Colab runtime
  • You cannot write files to your local disk — outputs go to Google Colab’s virtual filesystem, not your computer
  • Shell commands like !ls, !pwd, !cat file.txt reflect the Google Colab machine, not your laptop

But honestly? This is exactly how browser-based Colab works too. The extension doesn’t change the execution model — it just gives you a vastly better editing experience.

If you need to work with files, the usual approaches still apply: upload them manually, mount Google Drive, or download results afterward.

Why This Extension Matters

The comparison table tells the story:

Feature VS Code Extension Browser Colab
Editing experience ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Local-grade ⭐⭐ Basic
AI coding tools Fully available Limited
Git/GitHub workflow Native Manual
Distraction level Very low Medium
File operations Remote runtime Remote runtime
Local file access ❌ No ❌ No

The backend works the same way, but the developer experience is night and day.

Final Thoughts

After using the Google Colab VS Code extension for a while, I’m genuinely impressed. It brings the power of Google Colab’s hardware into a developer workflow that feels fully local — fast, clean, and highly productive.

For me personally, this extension transforms Google Colab from “a tool I use for quick GPU experiments” into something I can integrate into real-world workflows. The combination of local editing comfort with cloud compute power is exactly what I’ve been waiting for.

If you rely on Google Colab for ML work, or if you’ve been frustrated by the browser editor limitations, I definitely recommend giving this extension a try. It’s one of those rare tools that just works — and works beautifully.