Daytona Dev

Skill: Daytona Dev Environment

Launch the OpenWork Electron app in a Daytona cloud sandbox. The real desktop app runs on Daytona's XFCE/noVNC desktop stack and is accessible through your browser.

Prerequisites

• Daytona CLI installed: brew install daytonaio/cli/daytona or download from GitHub releases
• Logged in: daytona login
• Using the right Daytona organization for your workspace: daytona organization use "<org-name>"

Quick Start

1. Create and start the sandbox

bash .devcontainer/test-on-daytona.sh [branch-or-commit]

The helper uses the VNC snapshot, starts noVNC/Vite/Electron, and prints the URLs. If the snapshot is missing, create it with bash .devcontainer/create-daytona-openwork-snapshot.sh.

Use the Daytona setup as four reusable pieces. Prefer the focused skills when a request names one piece directly:

• test-on-daytona.sh for the real Electron/noVNC/CDP sandbox.
• daytona-flow-validator for the observe -> act -> assert -> evidence loop.
• test-server-on-daytona.sh for the cloud Den server sandbox.
• daytona-electron-den for Electron connected to a Daytona Den server.
• daytona-chrome-cdp for standalone Chrome in the sandbox, separate from Electron.
• openwork-eval-secrets:/daytona-secrets for provider keys and eval-only secrets.
• openwork-eval-artifacts:/daytona-artifacts for screenshots, validation notes, and recordings.

Focused skills:

• daytona-cloud-server for cloud server and Den flows.
• daytona-electron-den for two-sandbox Electron + Den validation.
• daytona-flow-validator for pass/fail validation and evidence.
• daytona-chrome-cdp for normal Chrome browser automation in Daytona.
• daytona-secrets-volume for adding or verifying secrets.
• daytona-electron-test for real Electron UI validation.
• daytona-recording-artifacts for screenshots, recordings, and PR evidence.

Or SSH in after the helper prints the sandbox name:

daytona ssh <sandbox>
cd /workspace

2. Get the noVNC URL

daytona preview-url openwork-dev -p 6080

Open that URL in your browser. You'll see the real Electron OpenWork app.

4. Get other URLs

# Den Web dashboard (if Den stack is running)
daytona preview-url openwork-dev -p 3005

# CDP debugging endpoint
daytona preview-url openwork-dev -p 9825

What's Running

Running with Den (full stack)

The devcontainer's docker-compose.yml includes MySQL. If you're using Daytona's raw sandbox mode (no Docker Compose), the Den stack won't start because there's no MySQL. Two options:

Option A: Daytona sandbox + production Den

Just point the app to the production Den:

1. Open the app via noVNC
2. Sign in normally (uses production app.openworklabs.com)
3. All cloud features work

Option B: Daytona sandbox + local Den

If you need a local Den (for testing customization, restrictions, etc.):

1. Use the docker-compose.yml approach (requires Docker-in-Docker)
2. Or run Den on your local machine and tunnel to the sandbox

Common Commands

# List running sandboxes
daytona list

# SSH into sandbox
daytona ssh openwork-dev

# Check logs
daytona exec openwork-dev 'tail -50 /tmp/electron.log'
daytona exec openwork-dev 'tail -50 /tmp/vite.log'
daytona exec openwork-dev 'tail -50 /tmp/start-vnc.log'

# Inspect Electron CDP targets
daytona exec openwork-dev 'curl -s http://127.0.0.1:9825/json/list'

# Capture a persistent screenshot artifact
daytona exec openwork-dev 'bash .devcontainer/capture-daytona-screenshot.sh'

# Restart just the Electron app
daytona exec openwork-dev 'bash -lc "pkill -f electron || true; pkill -f electron-dev || true"'
daytona exec openwork-dev 'bash -lc "cd /workspace && bash /opt/openwork-daytona/start-daytona-electron.sh --detach"'

# Stop the sandbox (preserves state)
daytona stop openwork-dev

# Start it again
daytona start openwork-dev

# Delete (destroys everything)
daytona delete openwork-dev

Updating the Code

Inside the sandbox, the repo is at /workspace. To pull latest:

daytona ssh openwork-dev
cd /workspace
git pull origin dev
pnpm install
# Then restart Vite/Electron

Troubleshooting

Electron shows blank window: Vite might not be running. Check tail /tmp/vite.log. Restart with:

cd /workspace/apps/app && OPENWORK_DEV_MODE=1 nohup npx vite --host 0.0.0.0 --port 5173 > /tmp/vite.log 2>&1 &

noVNC shows black screen: Xvfb/XFCE may have crashed. Restart the desktop stack:

bash /opt/openwork-daytona/start-daytona-vnc.sh

"no space left on device" when creating sandbox: Use --disk 10. The default Daytona disk can be 3 GB, which is not enough for OpenWork dependencies and sidecar prep. Also don't use --context . — it uploads the entire repo (with worktrees, node_modules). Use individual --context flags for just the files needed.

Electron can't connect to localhost:5173: Vite must listen on 0.0.0.0, not just localhost. The start script handles this, but if running manually use npx vite --host 0.0.0.0.

Source: different-ai/openwork → .opencode/skills/daytona-dev/SKILL.md