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docs: document opening a file at a line via the payload query parameter - #7909

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docs: document opening a file at a line via the payload query parameter#7909
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Grynn:docs-open-file-via-url

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@Grynn Grynn commented Jul 28, 2026

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Relates to #1964.

What

Adds an FAQ entry documenting how to open a specific file — optionally at a line and column — directly from a URL, using the payload query parameter (openFile + gotoLineMode) alongside the existing folder parameter.

Why

#1964 ("Ability to open a file directly using a URL") has been open since 2020 and is in the backlog, but the capability already exists: code-server inherits upstream VS Code web's payload query parameter, so no new patch is needed — it just isn't documented anywhere. The FAQ currently only mentions workspace and folder.

Verified working on code-server 4.122.1 behind a reverse proxy:

https://<host>/?folder=/tmp&payload=%5B%5B%22gotoLineMode%22%2C%22true%22%5D%2C%5B%22openFile%22%2C%22vscode-remote%3A%2F%2F%3Chost%3E%2Ftmp%2Ftest.txt%3A6%3A3%22%5D%5D

opens /tmp/test.txt with the cursor at line 6, column 3.

The new entry includes a small shell snippet for generating such links from a CLI (e.g. an code <file> --line N style wrapper that emits a browser link), which is the use case that keeps coming up in #1964.

@Grynn
Grynn requested a review from a team as a code owner July 28, 2026 16:25
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