# Startup without $HOME on AWS

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/startup-without-home-on-aws/85452>\
**Category:** Performance\
**Tags:** package, cloud-computing\
**Created:** [August 8, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/startup-without-home-on-aws/85452 "2022-08-08T00:51:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sparrowhawk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/sparrowhawk/32/9148_2.png) [@sparrowhawk](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/sparrowhawk)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/startup-without-home-on-aws/85452/1 "2022-08-08T00:51:25Z")

</div>

Hi all, I’m trying to run Julia on Amazon Workspaces, where all users at our workshop can simply spin up Julia and VSCode on a virtual 8 core Windows 10 machine. However, every time I spin up a new workspace, the windows equivalent of the $HOME directory gets recreated per new user, and I have to reset VSCode preferences, remove the first default DEPOT\_PATH on D: with a `popfirst!(DEPOT_PATH)` and point to the generic ones with pre-installed packages on C: (see below).

```julia
 "D:\\Users\\blahuser\\.julia"
 "C:\\software\\Julia-1.7.3\\local\\share\\julia"
 "C:\\software\\Julia-1.7.3\\share\\julia"

```

In fact, I have to re-install the Julia VSCode Extension every time, as D: gets deleted every time the workspace is shut down ☹

Is there a way to use Julia and VScode to not use the D: drive at all, and only use the pre-installed packages in `C:\\software\\Julia-1.7.3\\local\\share\\julia"`, with the Julia extension pre-installed, with a default environment not pointing to D: ?

Thanks

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sparrowhawk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/sparrowhawk/32/9148_2.png) [@sparrowhawk](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/sparrowhawk)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/startup-without-home-on-aws/85452/2 "2022-08-08T01:39:17Z")

</div>

For anyone else with the same problem, use **Portable mode** in VSCode

> **[Portable Mode in Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/portable)**
>
> Visual Studio Code supports a Portable Mode.