chore: add GitHub Codespaces devcontainer with Nix and direnv#12
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Add devcontainer for GitHub Codespaces with Ubuntu base image and Nix with flakes enabled for reproducible development environments. Tried approaches: - nixpkgs/devbox features: too limited for flake-based workflows - apt-based direnv install: replaced by nix profile in next step
…settings Setup direnv with nix-direnv for cached flake loading, pre-warm the Nix environment during container creation, and configure VS Code with nix-ide, Python, and Ruff extensions. Tried approaches: - direnv VS Code extension (mkhl.direnv): caused reload prompt on startup, removed in favor of bash hook + explicit interpreter path - postAttachCommand for shell info: caused duplicate output, removed - dev server as VS Code task: added then removed, not needed in current workflow - manual direnv allow flow: replaced with auto-allow for better DX
Allow .vscode/settings.json and tasks.json to be tracked in git so Codespaces picks up shared editor configuration. Enable automatic VS Code tasks without the approval prompt.
jcardozo-eth
changed the title
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Summary
Add a fully configured GitHub Codespaces devcontainer so that new (and existing) contributors can spin up a ready-to-code environment in one click — no local Nix install, no manual direnv setup, no "works on my machine" issues.
Why this matters for developer experience & onboarding
Our project relies on Nix flakes and direnv for reproducible tooling, which can lead to some onboarding effort. With this devcontainer, a new contributor can open the repo in GitHub Codespaces (or any devcontainer-compatible tool) and get:
cd).venvZero manual setup. Open the codespace, wait for the build, start coding.
Changes
.devcontainer/devcontainer.json— New devcontainer config with Ubuntu base, Nix feature, direnv setup viaonCreateCommand, VS Code extensions/settings, and environment variables.gitignore— Allow tracking.vscode/settings.jsonand.vscode/tasks.jsonfor shared editor config.vscode/settings.json— Enable automatic VS Code tasks without promptApproaches tried and rejected
During development, several alternatives were explored:
mkhl.direnv)direnv allowflow