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Summary: enable the new VSCode-based GitLab Web IDE, currently in beta, as the default in our GitLab instance

Background

The current Web IDE has been the cause of some of the woes when working with the blog. The main problem was that is was slow to load some of the content of the in the project repository, and in some cases even crashing the browser.

The new Web IDE announced a few months ago is now available in the version of GitLab we're running, and initial tests with it seem very promising. The hope is that it will be much faster than its predecessor, and using it will eliminate one of the pain points identified by Tor people who regularly work on the blog.

Proposal

Make the new Web IDE the default by enabling the vscode_web_ide feature flag in GitLab.

Affected users

All GitLab users.

Alternatives

Users who wish to continue using the old version of the Web IDE may continue to do so, by adjusting their preferences.

The removal of the old Web IDE is currently planned for the 16.0 release, which is due in May 2023.

Approval

Needs approval from TPA.

Deadline

The setting is currently enabled. Feedback on this RFC is welcome until Tuesday, February 28, at which point this RFC will transition to the standard state unless decided otherwise.

Status

This proposal is currently in the standard state.

It will transition naturally to the obsolete status once the legacy Web IDE is removed from GitLab, possibly with the release of GitLab 16.0.

References