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I also started doing this, but using containers locally (on a Mac). The ability to have a set dev environment without needing to install local programs or compi

I also started doing this, but using containers locally (on a Mac). The ability to have a set dev environment without needing to install local programs or compilers is great. And really once you flip to this model, it doesn’t matter if you’re running your dev in a container or remote VM. So long as you can get a command line to your dev environment, it really doesn’t matter where it is. (Or who hosts it)

miohtama 5y ago
Though I like this model, the problem with dev containers on macOS is that the disk io is bog slow. This makes some IO heavy tasks (pip install, npm install) painfully slow. I have started to run some dev tasks on a remote Linux server, with Dockers, and then just configured automatic file sync on save over SSH.
- mbreese 5y ago
  Very true. It really depends on what the workflow is. But once you’ve already moved to a disconnected dev environment, moving from a container to remote server is a small step.
- zamalek 5y ago
  > This makes some IO heavy tasks (pip install, npm install) painfully slow. Aside/HTH: The new Yarn has "Plug 'n Play"[1]. They claim that committing [their version of] node_modules is a reasonable thing to do, so that's one way to avoid install entirely. I don't trust that claim, yet (it smells like noisy diffs). You can instead re-enable the global cache[2], and then mirror your host cache directory into your container (whatever `yarn cache dir` gives you). I have tried none of this myself because I'm not working on anything JS right now. pnpm[3] is what I've been using up til now, and is also a direct upgrade in terms of speed (but I suspect it won't work with mounting host directories). [1]: https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/pnp/ https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/pnp/ [2]: https://yarnpkg.com/features/offline-cache#sharing-the-cache https://yarnpkg.com/features/offline-cache#sharing-the-cache [3]: https://pnpm.io/ https://pnpm.io/

miohtama 5y ago

Though I like this model, the problem with dev containers on macOS is that the disk io is bog slow. This makes some IO heavy tasks (pip install, npm install) painfully slow. I have started to run some dev tasks on a remote Linux server, with Dockers, and then just configured automatic file sync on save over SSH.

mbreese 5y ago
Very true. It really depends on what the workflow is. But once you’ve already moved to a disconnected dev environment, moving from a container to remote server is a small step.
zamalek 5y ago
> This makes some IO heavy tasks (pip install, npm install) painfully slow. Aside/HTH: The new Yarn has "Plug 'n Play"[1]. They claim that committing [their version of] node_modules is a reasonable thing to do, so that's one way to avoid install entirely. I don't trust that claim, yet (it smells like noisy diffs). You can instead re-enable the global cache[2], and then mirror your host cache directory into your container (whatever `yarn cache dir` gives you). I have tried none of this myself because I'm not working on anything JS right now. pnpm[3] is what I've been using up til now, and is also a direct upgrade in terms of speed (but I suspect it won't work with mounting host directories). [1]: https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/pnp/ https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/pnp/ [2]: https://yarnpkg.com/features/offline-cache#sharing-the-cache https://yarnpkg.com/features/offline-cache#sharing-the-cache [3]: https://pnpm.io/ https://pnpm.io/