Codespace keeps disconnecting every few minutes during active development

[luffynokaizoku]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

Body

My GitHub Codespace keeps disconnecting randomly every few minutes even when I am actively working in it. This started happening recently and is making it impossible to work on my project consistently.

Environment:

• Editor: VS Code (Browser)
• Machine type: 2-core, 8GB RAM
• Repository: Private
• OS: Windows 11 (local browser: Chrome)

What happens:
The codespace shows "Disconnected" in the bottom left corner of VS Code and I have to manually reconnect every few minutes. Sometimes unsaved work is lost.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open a Codespace from a private repository
2. Start actively writing code
3. After a few minutes the connection drops without any warning
4. Clicking reconnect works temporarily but the cycle repeats

Expected behavior:
The Codespace should maintain a stable connection throughout the entire session without disconnecting unless the browser tab is closed or idle for a long period.

Actual behavior:
Random disconnections occur every few minutes even during active use. No idle timeout is configured.

What I have already tried:

• Switching from Chrome to Edge
• Clearing browser cache and cookies
• Rebuilding the container
• Using a different network connection

Has anyone else experienced this recently or is there a known fix?

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[suresurya]

Hey! I've seen this issue come up a few times and it's usually one of these causes:

1. Check your Codespace timeout settings

Go to your GitHub settings and make sure the idle timeout is set high enough:

Settings → Codespaces → Default idle timeout

Set it to at least 30 minutes to rule out premature disconnections.

2. Try the VS Code Desktop app instead of browser

Browser-based Codespaces are more sensitive to network fluctuations. Install VS Code locally and connect via the GitHub Codespaces extension instead:

# Install the GitHub Codespaces extension in VS Code desktop
ext install GitHub.codespaces

This alone fixes the disconnection issue for most people.

3. Check your network stability

Even if you switched networks, the issue might be packet loss rather than full disconnection. Run this while the codespace is open:

ping github.com -t

If you see any request timeouts, your network is dropping packets which breaks the WebSocket connection Codespaces relies on.

4. Disable browser extensions

Ad blockers and VPN extensions sometimes interfere with WebSocket connections. Try opening the Codespace in a clean browser profile with no extensions.

If none of these work, I'd recommend opening a support ticket directly at github.com/support with your Codespace logs attached since it might be an infrastructure issue on GitHub's end.