name: infra-devenv
description: "Set up local development environment with scripts, devcontainers, and environment variable templates for consistent onboarding."
phase: SCAFFOLD
category: infra
version: "1.0.0"
depends_on: ["scaffold"]
tags: [infrastructure, development, devcontainer, scripts, environment]

Infra Dev Environment

Set up local development environment for consistent onboarding.

When to Use

• New project — Establishing the local dev setup from scratch
• Onboarding — Making it easy for new contributors to get started
• Environment drift — Standardizing tool versions across the team
• When you say: "set up dev environment", "create devcontainer", "dev setup script"

Required Deliverables

Core Concept

Dev environment setup answers: "How does a new developer go from clone to running in one command?"

Clone → dev.sh (or devcontainer) → All tools installed → App running locally

The goal is zero-friction onboarding. A developer should run one command and have everything working.

Setup Approaches

Shell Script Pattern (dev.sh)

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

echo "Setting up development environment..."

# Check prerequisites
command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Node.js required. Install via nvm."; exit 1; }
command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Git required."; exit 1; }

# Install dependencies
npm ci

# Set up environment
if [ ! -f .env ]; then
  cp .env.example .env
  echo "Created .env from template — edit with your values"
fi

# Build
npm run build

echo "Development environment ready. Run: npm run dev"

Devcontainer Pattern

{
  "name": "Project Dev",
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/typescript-node:20",
  "postCreateCommand": "npm ci && npm run build",
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": ["dbaeumer.vscode-eslint", "esbenp.prettier-vscode"]
    }
  },
  "forwardPorts": [3000],
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {}
  }
}

Environment Variables

Always provide a .env.example with:
- All required variables listed with placeholder values
- Comments explaining each variable
- Sensitive defaults clearly marked as needing replacement

# .env.example
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/myapp_dev
API_KEY=your-api-key-here  # Get from dashboard.example.com
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

Checklist

• [ ] One command to set up from clean clone
• [ ] .env.example documents all environment variables
• [ ] Prerequisites checked with clear error messages
• [ ] Tool versions specified (Node, Python, etc.)
• [ ] Database initialization included (if applicable)
• [ ] Port configuration documented

Relationship to Other Skills

Key Principles

One command setup. ./dev.sh or "Open in Container" — nothing more.

Fail fast with clear messages. Check prerequisites and report what's missing.

Template secrets, never commit them. .env.example with placeholders, .env in .gitignore.

Pin tool versions. Use .nvmrc, python-version, or similar for reproducibility.