# Developer Onboarding Checklist > The fastest way to get started is using the VS Code Dev Container, which provides a fully-configured development environment. - Skill: `tools-only/developer-onboarding-checklist-2` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/developer-onboarding-checklist-2` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/developer-onboarding-checklist-2/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only) - Updated: 2026-09-29 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/developer-onboarding-checklist-2 --- # โœ… Developer Onboarding Checklist > Follow this checklist to set up your development environment, verify all features, and ensure consistent onboarding across ContextForge project. --- ## ๐Ÿณ VS Code Dev Container (Recommended) The fastest way to get started is using the VS Code Dev Container, which provides a fully-configured development environment. ???+ check "Prerequisites" - [ ] **VS Code** with the [Dev Containers extension](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/devcontainers/containers) - [ ] **Docker** or **Podman** installed and running locally ???+ check "Setup" 1. Clone and open the repository: ```bash git clone https://github.com/ibm/mcp-context-forge.git cd mcp-context-forge code . ``` 2. VS Code will detect `.devcontainer` and prompt: **"Reopen in Container"** (or manually: ++ctrl+shift+p++ โ†’ **Dev Containers: Reopen in Container**) 3. First-time build automatically: - Installs system packages & Python 3.11 - Runs `make install-dev` to pull all dependencies - Executes tests to verify the toolchain ???+ check "Daily workflow inside container" ```bash make dev # Dev server with hot reload (http://localhost:4444) make test # Run test suite make lint # Run all linters ``` ???+ check "GitHub Codespaces (1-click cloud IDE)" No local Docker? Use Codespaces: 1. Go to the repo โ†’ **Code โ–ธ Codespaces โ–ธ Create codespace on main** 2. Wait for the container image to build in the cloud 3. Develop using the same workflow above --- ## ๐Ÿ›  Manual Environment Setup If not using Dev Containers, set up manually: ???+ check "System prerequisites" - [ ] Python โ‰ฅ 3.11 - [ ] Node.js and npm, npx (used for testing with `supergateway` and the HTML/JS Admin UI) - [ ] Docker, Docker Compose, and Podman - [ ] Make, GitHub CLI (`gh`), `curl`, `jq`, `openssl` - [ ] Optional: Visual Studio Code + Pyrefly extension - [ ] Optional: On Windows, install the WSL and Remote Development extensions ???+ check "Python tooling" - [ ] `pip install --upgrade pip` - [ ] `uv` and `uvx` installed - [install uv](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv) - [ ] `.venv` recreated with `make install-dev` (installs runtime + dev extras) ???+ check "Additional tools" - [ ] `helm` installed for Kubernetes deployments ([Helm install docs](https://helm.sh/docs/intro/install/)) - [ ] Security tools in `$PATH`: `hadolint`, `dockle`, `trivy`, `osv-scanner` ???+ check "Useful VS Code extensions" - [ ] Python, Pylance - [ ] YAML, Even Better TOML - [ ] Docker, Dev Containers (useful on Windows) ???+ check "GitHub setup" - [ ] GitHub email configured in `git config` - [ ] See [GitHub config guide](./github.md#16-personal-git-configuration-recommended) ???+ check ".env configuration" - [ ] Copy `.env.example` to `.env` - [ ] Set various env variables, such as: - `JWT_SECRET_KEY` - `BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD` --- ## ๐Ÿ”ง Makefile Targets ???+ check "Local setup" - [ ] `make check-env` (validates .env is complete) - [ ] `make install-dev serve` - [ ] `make smoketest` runs and passes ???+ check "Container builds" - [ ] Docker: `make docker-prod docker-run-ssl-host compose-up` - [ ] Podman: `make podman podman-prod podman-run-ssl-host` ???+ check "Packaging" - [ ] `make dist verify` builds packages - [ ] `make devpi-install devpi-init devpi-start devpi-setup-user devpi-upload devpi-test` - [ ] Install and test `mcpgateway` CLI locally ???+ check "Minikube & Helm" - [ ] `make helm-install minikube-install minikube-start minikube-k8s-apply helm-package helm-deploy` - [ ] See [minikube deployment](../deployment/minikube.md) --- ## ๐Ÿงช Testing ???+ check "Code quality" - [ ] `make lint`, `make lint-web` - [ ] `make shell-linters-install`, `make shell-lint` - [ ] `make hadolint` (Dockerfile linting) ???+ check "Python unit tests" - [ ] `make test` passes all cases - [ ] `make coverage` generates coverage report ???+ check "UI automation (Playwright)" - [ ] `playwright install` (one-time browser setup) - [ ] `pytest tests/playwright/` passes - [ ] `pytest tests/playwright/ -k admin` validates Admin UI flows ???+ check "Load testing (Locust)" - [ ] `make testing-up` (containerized Locust + test services) - [ ] Or run Locust locally: `locust -f tests/loadtest/locustfile.py --host=http://localhost:4444` - [ ] Access dashboard at http://localhost:8089 - [ ] Verify no errors under moderate load (50-100 users) ???+ check "Frontend linting" - [ ] `make eslint` - JavaScript linting - [ ] `make lint-web` - ESLint + HTMLHint + Stylelint - [ ] `make format-web` - Prettier formatting - [ ] Note: JS unit tests not yet implemented --- ## ๐Ÿ” Security ???+ check "Vulnerability scans" - [ ] Run: ```bash make hadolint dockle osv-scan trivy pip-audit ``` ???+ check "SonarQube analysis" - [ ] `make sonar-up-docker` - [ ] `make sonar-submit-docker` - ensure no critical violations --- ## ๐Ÿ”‘ JWT Authentication ???+ check "Generate and use a Bearer token" - [ ] Export a token with: ```bash export MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN=$(python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key) ``` - [ ] Verify authenticated API access: ```bash curl -k -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" https://localhost:4444/version | jq ``` --- ## ๐Ÿค– Client Integration ???+ check "Run wrapper and test transports" - [ ] Run: `python3 -m mcpgateway.wrapper` (stdio support) - [ ] Test transports: - Streamable HTTP - Server-Sent Events (SSE) - [ ] Optional: Integrate with Claude, Copilot, Continue ([usage guide](../using/index.md)) --- ## ๐Ÿงญ API Testing ???+ check "Authentication required" - [ ] Unauthenticated: ```bash curl http://localhost:4444/tools # -> should return 401 Unauthorized ``` - [ ] Authenticated: ```bash curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" http://localhost:4444/version | jq ``` ???+ check "Endpoint coverage" - [ ] Confirm key routes: - `/version` - `/health` - `/tools` - `/servers` - `/resources` - `/prompts` - `/gateways` - [ ] Browse [Redoc docs](http://localhost:4444/redoc) --- ## ๐Ÿ–ฅ Admin UI ???+ check "Login and diagnostics" - [ ] Navigate to [`/admin`](http://localhost:4444/admin) - [ ] Log in with Basic Auth credentials from `.env` - [ ] `/version` shows healthy DB and Redis ???+ check "CRUD verification" - [ ] Create / edit / delete: - Servers - Tools - Resources - Prompts - Gateways - [ ] Toggle active/inactive switches - [ ] JWT stored in `HttpOnly` cookie, no errors in DevTools Console ???+ check "Metrics" - [ ] Confirm latency and error rate display under load --- ## ๐Ÿ“š Documentation ???+ check "Build and inspect docs" - [ ] `cd docs && make venv serve` - [ ] Open http://localhost:8000 - [ ] Confirm: - `.pages` ordering - nav structure - working images - Mermaid diagrams ???+ check "Read and understand" - [ ] `README.md` in root - [ ] [Official docs site](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/) - [ ] [MkDocs Admonitions guide](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/reference/admonitions/) --- ## โœ… Final Review ???+ check "Ready to contribute" - [ ] All items checked - [ ] PR description links to this checklist - [ ] Stuck? Open a [discussion](https://github.com/your-repo/discussions) or issue