[Feature Request] Intercepting hardcoded localhost WebSockets for HMR (.NET Hot Reload / dotnet watch)
What is your suggestion?
Implement a client-side interceptor or dynamic proxy mechanism within code-server's browser context that can catch outbound WebSocket requests to localhost:<port> and seamlessly route them through code-server's built-in proxy layer back to the remote workspace.
Why do you want this feature?
Developers relying on code-server for a pure browser-based development experience cannot use .NET's Hot Reload (dotnet watch).
When running dotnet watch, the .NET SDK dynamically injects a script (aspnetcore-browser-refresh.js) into the DOM that attempts to establish an HMR WebSocket connection to a random, ephemeral port on localhost (e.g., ws://localhost:40777).
Because the browser executes this locally, it queries the user's physical machine rather than the remote code-server container. The connection drops, and Hot Reload fails:
Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at ws://localhost:40777/
Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at ws://localhost:43067/. aspnetcore-browser-refresh.js:318:25
WebSocket failed to connect. aspnetcore-browser-refresh.js:19:15
Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at wss://localhost:33935/. aspnetcore-browser-refresh.js:318:25
WebSocket failed to connect. aspnetcore-browser-refresh.js:19:15
Unable to establish a connection to the browser refresh server. aspnetcore-browser-refresh.js:23:13
Are there any workarounds to get this functionality today?
There are no workarounds for a pure browser workflow (e.g., coding on an iPad or a locked-down laptop without CLI access).
Are you interested in submitting a PR for this?
No, I do not have the familiarity with the code-server networking/proxy codebase to implement this reliably.
Source: coder/code-server