VS Code Remote SSH: Fix Root-Owned Directories In Roo-Code

by Alex Johnson 59 views

Have you ever been working on a remote server using VS Code's Remote SSH feature, perhaps with a privileged user, only to find that newly created directories are owned by root, while the files within them are correctly owned by your SSH user? This can be a frustrating snag, especially when you're trying to maintain clean ownership permissions for your projects. If this sounds familiar, you're likely encountering a bug within the Roo-Code extension that we're here to dive into and explain. This article will break down the issue, explore its potential causes, and propose a straightforward solution to get your directory ownership back in line.

Understanding the Root of the Problem: Directory Ownership Discrepancies

The core of this bug lies in how Roo-Code handles directory creation versus file creation when connected via VS Code Remote SSH to an Ubuntu server. Specifically, when your Ubuntu user has privileged access (meaning it can use sudo), you'll notice a peculiar behavior: directories are being created with root ownership, while files within those directories are correctly owned by your logged-in SSH user. This inconsistency forces you to manually intervene by running chown -R commands every time Roo-Code generates new directories, which can be a time-consuming and repetitive task. Imagine you're setting up a new project structure, and every folder you need gets created with the wrong permissions – it's a workflow killer!

This issue specifically affects users who are:

  • Using VS Code on their local machine.
  • Connecting to a remote Ubuntu server using the Remote SSH extension.
  • Operating as a privileged user (i.e., a user with sudo capabilities) on the Ubuntu server.
  • Utilizing the Roo-Code extension, version 3.35.5, with an API Provider like LiteLLM.

The prompt for this investigation came from a community member who described their experience: "i am using vscode on a pc with an normal user. VSCode is connected via ssh to an ubuntu server. The ubuntu user is privileged, so sudo applies there. When i use the extension roo-code then directories, -not- files are created as root. In my eyes this is a bug. I guess files and directories are created as sudo root but only files are correctly chowned to ssh-user. Directories stay root." This is a clear indicator that something is amiss in how Roo-Code interacts with the remote file system under specific conditions.

The Impact on Your Workflow

When directories are created with root ownership, it means your regular SSH user doesn't have the necessary permissions to modify, delete, or even sometimes list the contents of those directories. This can lead to:

  • Permission Denied Errors: Attempts to write to or modify files within these root-owned directories will fail.
  • Inability to Delete Directories: You might find yourself unable to remove directories created by Roo-Code, requiring sudo rm -rf which is often undesirable for routine operations.
  • Workflow Interruptions: Constantly having to switch to sudo or manually chown directories breaks the flow and adds unnecessary steps to your development process.

Understanding this specific behavior is crucial for anyone relying on VS Code's Remote SSH and extensions like Roo-Code for their development tasks on Linux-based systems. We'll now delve into why this might be happening and how to fix it.

Unpacking the Root Cause: A Tale of Two File Operations

To truly understand why directories end up with root ownership while files don't, we need to look under the hood at how Roo-Code interacts with the file system. Our analysis points to a divergence in the code paths used for creating directories versus saving files. This difference, when combined with the VS Code Remote SSH environment and a privileged user, creates the observed discrepancy.

Directory Creation: The fs.mkdir() Culprit

When Roo-Code needs to create a new directory (or a series of parent directories for a new file), it appears to be using Node.js's built-in fs.mkdir() function. As seen in the source code snippet from src/utils/fs.ts, line 27:

await fs.mkdir(dirsToCreate[i])

This is a direct, low-level file system operation. In the context of VS Code's Remote SSH, commands executed this way might not automatically inherit the correct user context of your SSH session. Instead, they could be running with the privileges of the vscode-server process itself, or potentially a default user context established during the server's initialization.

File Saving: The vscode.workspace Savior

In contrast, when a file needs to be saved, Roo-Code utilizes VS Code's own Workspace API. The relevant snippet from src/integrations/editor/DiffViewProvider.ts, line 211, shows this:

await updatedDocument.save()

VS Code's Workspace API, particularly methods like document.save() or vscode.workspace.applyEdit(), are designed to work within the VS Code extension host environment. When operating in a Remote SSH context, these APIs are often intercepted by VS Code itself. This interception allows VS Code to ensure that these operations are executed using the permissions of the connected SSH user, effectively translating the command to the remote server with the correct user context. Therefore, files saved through this mechanism end up with the expected user ownership.

The Hypothesis: Interception and Execution Contexts

Putting these observations together, our hypothesis is that raw fs.mkdir() calls bypass the VS Code Remote SSH's file operation interception layer. While operations handled by VS Code's Workspace API are routed and executed with the proper SSH user permissions, direct Node.js file system calls like fs.mkdir() run in a different context. If the vscode-server process on the remote machine was started under root, or if the user's shell profile (which vscode-server might inherit) has any configurations that default to elevated privileges or specific user contexts, then fs.mkdir() would naturally create directories as root.

This is further supported by the fact that the user in question has a privileged Ubuntu user. It's plausible that certain initializations or system configurations on the server might cause the vscode-server process to operate with elevated privileges by default, or that the user's sudo configuration influences the environment in unexpected ways for raw system calls.

Essentially, VS Code's API acts as a guardian, ensuring files are handled correctly, but when Roo-Code attempts a direct directory creation, it steps outside that protection, leading to the root ownership issue.

A Practical Solution: Leveraging VS Code's File System API

Fortunately, the solution to this directory ownership problem is quite elegant and aligns with the philosophy of using VS Code's integrated features for remote development. Instead of relying on Node.js's raw fs.mkdir(), we can modify Roo-Code to use VS Code's own vscode.workspace.fs.createDirectory() method. This approach ensures that directory creation is also routed through VS Code's Remote FileSystem layer, guaranteeing consistent ownership with file operations.

Implementing the Fix

The proposed change involves updating the createDirectoriesForFile() function located in src/utils/fs.ts. The original implementation uses fs.mkdir(), which we identified as the source of the problem. The corrected version would replace this with vscode.workspace.fs.createDirectory().

Here's how the modified function would look:

import * as vscode from "vscode"
import * as path from "path"
// Assuming fileExistsAtPath is correctly defined elsewhere and accessible

export async function createDirectoriesForFile(filePath: string): Promise<string[]> {
    const newDirectories: string[] = []
    const normalizedFilePath = path.normalize(filePath)
    const directoryPath = path.dirname(normalizedFilePath)

    let currentPath = directoryPath
    const dirsToCreate: string[] = []

    // Check if the immediate directory exists. If not, determine parent directories to create.
    // Note: This loop might need adjustment if directoryPath itself doesn't exist and needs creating.
    // A more robust check might be needed to see if the *target file's directory* exists.
    // Let's assume fileExistsAtPath checks for directories too.
    while (!(await fileExistsAtPath(currentPath))) {
        dirsToCreate.push(currentPath)
        currentPath = path.dirname(currentPath)
        // Prevent infinite loop if path.dirname returns the same path (e.g., root '/')
        if (currentPath === path.dirname(currentPath)) {
            break;
        }
    }

    // Create directories from the deepest missing one up to the target directory
    for (let i = dirsToCreate.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
        const dirUri = vscode.Uri.file(dirsToCreate[i])
        try {
            // Use VS Code's workspace filesystem API instead of raw fs.mkdir()
            await vscode.workspace.fs.createDirectory(dirUri)
            newDirectories.push(dirsToCreate[i])
            console.log(`Successfully created directory: ${dirsToCreate[i]}`)
        } catch (error) {
            console.error(`Error creating directory ${dirsToCreate[i]}:`, error)
            // Depending on requirements, you might want to throw the error or handle it differently
            throw error; // Re-throw to indicate failure
        }
    }

    return newDirectories
}

// Placeholder for fileExistsAtPath for context. This function needs to be properly implemented.
async function fileExistsAtPath(pathToCheck: string): Promise<boolean> {
    try {
        await vscode.workspace.fs.stat(vscode.Uri.file(pathToCheck))
        return true
    } catch {
        return false
    }
}

By making this switch, vscode.workspace.fs.createDirectory() will be aware of the remote context and execute the directory creation command through VS Code's established communication channel with the vscode-server. This channel ensures that the operation is performed with the correct SSH user's permissions, just like when files are saved using updatedDocument.save().

Why This Works

VS Code's Remote FileSystem API (vscode.workspace.fs) provides an abstraction layer over various file system interactions. When you're connected via Remote SSH, this API is designed to tunnel file operations through the vscode-server process running on the remote machine. Crucially, these tunneled operations are executed within the security context of the user that the vscode-server is running as – which, in a correctly configured Remote SSH setup, is your SSH user.

Therefore, by migrating from fs.mkdir() to vscode.workspace.fs.createDirectory(), we're ensuring that directory creation is handled by the same mechanism that correctly handles file saving. This eliminates the context switch that was causing directories to be created as root, thereby resolving the bug and ensuring consistent file and directory ownership.

This solution is not only effective but also promotes a more robust and integrated use of VS Code's remote development capabilities. It aligns with the best practices for interacting with remote file systems within the VS Code ecosystem.

Conclusion: A Smoother Remote Development Experience

Encountering permission issues, especially with root-owned directories when using VS Code Remote SSH with a privileged user, can be a significant hurdle in a smooth development workflow. The root cause, as we've explored, stems from a difference in how Roo-Code handles directory creation versus file saving – relying on raw Node.js file system calls for directories, which bypass VS Code's permission-aware remote file system layer. This leads to directories being created with root ownership while files are correctly owned by the SSH user.

By implementing the proposed fix – switching from fs.mkdir() to vscode.workspace.fs.createDirectory() in the createDirectoriesForFile function – we can ensure that all file system creations are handled through VS Code's remote context. This guarantees consistent ownership for both files and directories, aligning them with your logged-in SSH user's permissions.

This adjustment not only resolves the immediate bug but also reinforces the power and consistency of VS Code's Remote Development tools. It means less time spent on manual permission corrections and more time focused on coding. We hope this detailed explanation and solution help you maintain a cleaner and more efficient remote development environment.

For more information on VS Code's Remote Development capabilities and best practices, you can refer to the official VS Code Remote Development Documentation. This resource provides in-depth guidance on setting up and optimizing your remote workflows.