Clarification: Project vs Workspace and Remote Interpreters
Hi everyone,
First off, I want to say that I think DataSpell is an outstanding IDE: easily the best I’ve used. However, I’ve run into a persistent issue related to remote interpreter integration that I’d appreciate help understanding.
I typically work with one Project per window. For instance, I have a project called myutils that opens in its own window. But when I try to connect myutils to a remote interpreter, I get the following error:
Cannot Save Settings: myutils_remote Version: Python 3.11.11 Path: (/) can't be used as a workspace interpreter.
To work around this, I created a dummy project called ProjectHub and attached the myutils directory to it. In that context, assigning the myutils_remote interpreter works fine.
I don’t understand why this happens. I also haven’t been able to add a second remote SSH interpreter under the original setup.
Could someone please explain—clearly and concisely—the difference between a workspace and a project in DataSpell? Also, how do they interact with interpreters?
Thanks in advance,
Dan
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Hello Dan Levy
Thank you for the question! The issue is caused by this bug which is triggered by a workspace with a single project only: https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/DS-5884/Impossible-to-set-remote-interpreter-to-a-single-project-in-DataSpell
Answering your question about the difference, I think the bug and the error message mislead us about this. The workspace is the IDE tool window, just a complex UI element. Any folder opened via File | Open menu or attached via Add (plus button) | Attach Directory is a project. So a single project / single folder you can see in the Workspace window is a project too.
The only difference between projects is that the first opened project is a primary one and the others are dependent. This bug makes it impossible to add a remote interpreter to the primary project only. You can read more about this here: https://www.jetbrains.com/help/dataspell/opening-your-project-for-the-first-time.html#multiple
The interpreters are added per-project, they aren't connected to a workspace.
You're welcome to put a vote on the issue and leave comments. A high number of votes/comments makes the issue more visible and helps to elevate its priority.