Where your code runs

Elyra is local by default: the app runs on your machine. But where the work happens is a separate choice. This page explains the three destination options so you pick the right one before creating a project or a workspace.

Project and workspace are different things

• A project is the repository or the working folder. It is what you open, and where Git lives.
• A workspace is a unit of work inside the project. Several workspaces can point at the same folder or at different folders.

That distinction matters here because the destination is chosen on the workspace (and partly when the project is created). Changing destination is not changing project.

The three options

Destination	Where the code runs	When it makes sense
This machine	On your computer	The common case. Nothing to configure.
SSH host	On a machine you reach over the network	The project lives on a server, a VPS or someone else’s machine
Saved remote environment	On an Elyra runtime you already registered	You already have an environment registered and want to select it by name

This machine

This is the default. The project is a local folder, the terminal runs locally and Git runs locally. Nothing is sent anywhere.

SSH host

You register a host and start opening project, workspace and terminal on the remote machine. The project is not copied to your computer: the app points at a folder that exists on the other side. Registering the host has its own page — see SSH hosts — and the remote project creation path is in Open a project on another machine.

Saved remote environment

A remote environment is an Elyra runtime registered in your local profile. It appears in the app’s lists and in the command-line selectors, and can be queried by name.

Two important things:

• A saved environment is not an available server. The local registration says you pointed the app at that environment; it does not say the other side is up.
• An environment belongs to the client, not the project. Forgetting an environment only touches your local profile.

How to choose

1. Is the project already on your computer? Stay on This machine.
2. Does the project need someone else’s machine or a server? Register the host and open the project over SSH.
3. Have you already registered a remote environment? Check what is saved before using it — a registration may be pointing at something that no longer answers.

Limits

• The destination does not copy files. Choosing a remote host registers a remote path; it does not bring the project to your computer.
• The remote environment depends on the other side. Availability, version and permissions on the remote side are not guaranteed by the app.

Next steps

• SSH hosts
• Open a project on another machine