jameshutchison / python-dev-container-template

A template for creating a best-practice following dev container

The Python Dev Container Template

An opinionated template for a Python dev container

Features

• Likely extensions installed
• Poetry for dependency management
• Mypy uses the Daemon for increased performance
• Ruff instead of flake8, uses Ruff extension which features an autofix command
• PostStartCommand and PostCreateCommand, with background script already configured and created
• The virtual environment is under a named volume for good performance
• Docker-in-docker enabled
• Line length: black wraps at the 98 soft limit, ruff errors at the 120 hard limit
• Format on save as well as organize imports
• Debug outside your code
  • Currently there is an issue where the restart button doesn't work.
  • microsoft/vscode-python#19030

Limitations

• Currently just VS Code configurations

Roles and Responsibilities

The .devcontainer/devcontainer.json file defines the extensions, settings, etc that are the foundation.

This means .vscode/settings.json isn't generated yet. This allows for it to be used as user settings or as additional settings. If you wish to have them be user settings, add .vscode/settings.json to the .gitignore file.

Poetry is used for dependency management. The virtual environment is under .env.

• Add production dependency: poetry add <dependency>
• Add development dependnecy: poetry add <dependency> --group=dev

Tests are to be located under the tests directory.

Usage (inside your unconfigured dev container or codespace)

• Step 1 - cd /workspaces/
• Step 2 - sudo git clone https://github.com/JamesHutchison/python-dev-container-template.git
• Step 3 - cd /workspaces/my-project
• Step 4 - /workspaces/python-dev-container-template/py_dev_container_template.py (script runs without args)
• Step 5 - cmd/ctrl + shift + p -> Rebuild container

python-dev-container-template's Issues

Copilot CLI

https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/github-copilot-in-the-cli/using-github-copilot-in-the-cli

Seems like a logical alternative to shai especially if you already have a copilot subscription

Investigate switching from poetry to rye

Switch to hatch instead of poetry?

Fix workspace folder when script is ran from outside dev container

Currently the workspace folder needs to be manually fixed to /workspaces/my-project-name if you aren't already in a parent directory of /workspaces. Since this is from the perspective of the dev container, this should always be under the parent directory /workspaces/

Cannot use restart button for debugging tests

This is an old and known issue with VS Code Python.

microsoft/vscode-python#19030

Add .gitignore for dev container logs

Extensions sometimes (often?) only partially install

Not fully sure on the cause. Its clearly a VS Code bug of some sort. Basically what seems to happen is that the Python extension will refuse to install on its own (it requires the user searching for the extension then clicking the install button), and then downstream extensions that need it simply don't get installed. This reduces the utility of defining extensions ahead of time. So for example, Python has a warning symbol on it and has the install in container button. ruff and autoDocString both have install buttons. The docker extension, as well as others, get installed just fine.

One possible solution is to force an install in the postCreateCommand using code but stuff like this shouldn't be necessary.

Add automatic exporting of `.env` file to shells

set -a; source /workspaces/my-repo/.env; set +a for bash

Add mypy and pytest cache folders as named volumes

Double check the pytest cache is large enough to care first