🖥️ Local Codespaces: Offline and High-Performance Development

🌟 What Are Local Codespaces?

Local Codespaces bring the power of pre-configured development environments to your own machine. They allow developers to work offline and leverage local hardware for better performance, making them ideal for resource-intensive tasks or environments with limited internet access.

🔑 Key Benefits of Local Codespaces

🖥️ Offline Development: Work without relying on an internet connection.
⚡ Faster Performance: Leverage local hardware for builds, tests, and debugging.
🔧 Full Control: Customize your local environment to suit your specific needs.
🔄 Consistency: Use the same tools and configurations as your team.

🎯 When to Use Local Codespaces?

Scenario	Best Option
🛠️ Offline development	🖥️ Local Codespaces
⚡ Low-latency performance required	🖥️ Local Codespaces
🏗️ Resource-intensive tasks	🖥️ Local Codespaces

🛠️ How to Set Up Local Codespaces

🔧 Install Prerequisites:
- Install Visual Studio Code and the Remote - Containers extension:
  - 🖥️ Download VS Code.
  - 🛠️ Install the Remote - Containers extension from the VS Code marketplace.
- Install Docker Desktop (Community Edition):
  - 🐳 Download Docker Desktop.
  - Verify Docker is running by executing:
    docker --version
📂 Clone Your Repository:
- Clone the repository containing your platform engineering project:
```
git clone <repository-url>
cd <repository-folder>
```
⚙️ Configure the .devcontainer Files:
- The repository includes a pre-configured .devcontainer folder located at ./local_example/.devcontainer.
- This folder contains:
  - Dockerfile: Defines the container environment and installs required tools:
    - Azure CLI (with Bicep CLI)
    - Terraform
    - OpenTofu
    - Dagger CLI
  - devcontainer.json: Configures VS Code extensions, settings, and container-specific configurations.
  - settings.json: Ensures required extensions (e.g., Docker, Terraform, Bicep, Go, Python) are installed automatically and customizes VS Code behavior.
- What settings.json Does:
  - Installs specific extensions automatically.
  - Customizes VS Code behavior, such as disabling extension recommendations to streamline the development experience.
- Ensure these files are correctly configured for your development needs.
🚀 Start Your Local Codespace:
- Open the project in Visual Studio Code.
- When prompted, select “Reopen in Container” to start the Local Codespace.
- VS Code will:
  - Build the container using the ./local_example/.devcontainer/Dockerfile.
  - Apply the settings from ./local_example/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json and settings.json.

🌟 Conclusion

Local Codespaces are perfect for developers who need offline access, low-latency performance, or full control over their environment. By leveraging the pre-configured .devcontainer folder, including the Dockerfile, devcontainer.json, and settings.json, you can ensure consistency and efficiency in platform engineering development and deployment workflows.

Start using Local Codespaces today to supercharge your development workflow! 🚀