Docker Dev Environment

Docker Dev Environment

Creates an isolated, reproducible Docker-based development environment for any project. The approach wraps the target repo inside a "wrapper" repo that contains a Dockerfile and a standardized container.sh script to drive ephemeral containers for building, running, testing, and debugging.

Why This Approach

• Isolation: transitive dependencies cannot access the host system beyond the mounted project directory
• Reproducibility: all build deps are captured in a Dockerfile, version-controlled in the wrapper repo
• Independence: the wrapper is separate from the upstream project; customizations don't pollute the original repo
• Simplicity: requires only Docker and bash knowledge; no exotic tooling

Workflow

Step 1: Create the Wrapper Repo Structure

Starting from the directory containing the target project (or where it will be cloned):

1. Determine the project name (from directory name or git remote URL)
2. Create a wrapper directory named <project>-wrapper/
3. If the project is already cloned elsewhere, instruct the user to clone/move it into the wrapper as a subdirectory. If a git URL is provided, clone it into the wrapper.
4. The final structure MUST be:

<project>-wrapper/
├── <project>/          # the actual project repo (nested, gitignored)
├── Dockerfile
├── container.sh        # executable (chmod +x)
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

5. Create .gitignore with:

<project>/
.cache/

6. Create a short README.md:

# <project> wrapper repo

Docker-based dev environment for <project>.

## Usage

    ./container.sh docker   # Build/rebuild the Docker image
    ./container.sh build    # Build the project
    ./container.sh run      # Run the project
    ./container.sh test     # Run tests
    ./container.sh sh       # Open a shell in the container

7. Initialize git in the wrapper directory and make an initial commit with the README and .gitignore.

Step 2: Analyze the Project

Scan the project subdirectory to determine:

Build system detection — check for these files (in order of priority):

Also read (if they exist, truncate at 4000 chars each):

• README*, BUILDING*, CONTRIBUTING*, INSTALL*, DEVELOPMENT*
• Any existing Dockerfile or docker-compose* (to learn what deps the project already knows about)
• Any devcontainer.json
• flake.nix, shell.nix (to extract dependency lists)

Use this information to determine:

• Exact build, test, and run commands
• Required OS packages (apt)
• Required toolchain versions
• Language-specific cache directories
• Any ports that need forwarding
• Any environment variables required

If commands are ambiguous or unclear, use TODO placeholders rather than guessing. The user or a subsequent agent can fill them in.

Package manager detection for Node.js:

• pnpm-lock.yaml → use pnpm
• yarn.lock → use yarn
• bun.lockb → use bun
• package-lock.json → use npm ci
• Otherwise → use npm install

Step 3: Generate the Dockerfile

Use reference/Dockerfile.base as the starting template. Rules:

1. Base image: ubuntu:24.04 (preferred) or debian:stable-slim
2. First layer: RUN apt update && apt upgrade -y
3. Common essentials: ca-certificates, curl, git, build-essential, pkg-config
4. Language toolchains (install ONLY what the project needs):

Rust:

RUN curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y
ENV PATH="/root/.cargo/bin:${PATH}"

Node.js (via NodeSource):

RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | bash - \
    && apt install -y nodejs
# If pnpm: RUN npm install -g pnpm
# If yarn: RUN npm install -g yarn

Python:

RUN apt install -y python3 python3-venv python3-pip

Go:

RUN curl -fsSL https://go.dev/dl/go1.23.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz | tar -C /usr/local -xzf -
ENV PATH="/usr/local/go/bin:/root/go/bin:${PATH}"

(Adjust version based on go.mod if version is specified)

C/C++ (CMake):

RUN apt install -y cmake ninja-build

Java:

RUN apt install -y openjdk-17-jdk

5. NO ENTRYPOINT, CMD, WORKDIR, or USER directives
6. Clean apt cache in the final layer: rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
7. Add project-specific packages identified from docs/lockfiles
8. Use separate RUN layers for clarity (one per logical group)

Step 4: Generate container.sh

Use reference/container.sh.generic as the starting template. Customize it for the detected project:

Required substitutions:

• __PROJECT_DIR__: name of the project subdirectory
• __IMAGE_NAME__: <project>-dev (lowercase, hyphens only)
• __CONTAINER_HOSTNAME__: <project>-dev-container
• __BUILD_CMD_PLACEHOLDER__: actual build command
• __TEST_CMD_PLACEHOLDER__: actual test command
• __RUN_CMD_PLACEHOLDER__: actual run command (or TODO)
• __ENV_SETUP_PLACEHOLDER__: any env setup needed before commands (e.g., . "$HOME/.cargo/env" for Rust, source /app/.venv/bin/activate for Python venvs)

Cache directory mounts (__CACHE_DIRS_PLACEHOLDER__ and __MOUNT_PLACEHOLDER__):

Port forwarding (__PORT_PLACEHOLDER__):

• Web projects: -p 3000:3000 (or whatever port docs specify)
• Only add if the project serves HTTP or has a UI

The script MUST:

• Use set -euo pipefail
• Create cache directories if they don't exist (in ensure_cache_dirs)
• Use --rm -it for ephemeral interactive containers
• Use --cap-add=SYS_PTRACE for debugging support
• Warn (not error) if rootful Docker is detected
• Set container hostname
• Run all commands with bash -c and prepend any env setup
• Be marked executable (chmod +x)

Step 5: Commit the Wrapper

After generating all files:

1. git add all wrapper files (Dockerfile, container.sh, .gitignore, README.md)
2. Commit with message: auto: add Dockerfile + container.sh

Step 6: Verify

Run these checks:

1. ./container.sh docker — confirm the Docker image builds successfully
2. ./container.sh sh — confirm a shell opens in the container with the project mounted at /app
3. ./container.sh build — attempt to build (may need manual fixes)

If the image build fails, read the error output and fix the Dockerfile (usually missing apt packages). Iterate until the image builds.

Handling Special Cases

Multiple languages in one repo (monorepo):

• Identify the primary language from docs or the root build file
• Install all detected toolchains in the Dockerfile
• Set build/test/run to the primary language's commands
• Add TODO comments for secondary language commands

Projects with existing Dockerfile/docker-compose:

• Read them to extract dependency information
• Do NOT reuse them as-is; generate a fresh dev-focused Dockerfile
• The existing Dockerfile is likely for production, not development

GUI applications (need display forwarding):

• Add Wayland/X11 socket passthrough only if the project is a GUI app
• For Wayland: pass WAYLAND_DISPLAY, XDG_RUNTIME_DIR, mount the Wayland socket
• For X11: pass DISPLAY, mount /tmp/.X11-unix
• Mount GPU render nodes: /dev/dri/renderD*
• This is advanced; add TODO comments and let the user customize

Projects needing services (databases, etc.):

• Out of scope for the basic wrapper
• Add a TODO comment in container.sh suggesting docker-compose for multi-service setups

Done Checklist

After applying this skill, verify:

• Wrapper directory exists with correct structure
• .gitignore ignores the project subdirectory and .cache/
• Dockerfile installs only detected dependencies (no kitchen sink)
• Dockerfile has NO ENTRYPOINT, CMD, WORKDIR, or USER
• container.sh is executable and implements all 5 commands (docker, build, run, test, sh)
• Cache directories are mounted for the detected language
• Wrapper repo has an initial git commit
• Docker image builds successfully
• ./container.sh sh opens a shell with project at /app