GitHub Codespaces Dev Environment

AutoCloud includes a ready-to-use dev container configuration so you can start contributing or using the project instantly in GitHub Codespaces (or any dev container-compatible tool like VS Code Dev Containers).

Quick Start

Option 1: GitHub Codespaces (recommended)

1. Navigate to the AutoCloud repository.
2. Click Code → Codespaces → Create codespace on main.
3. Wait for the container to build and the post-create setup to finish.
4. Sign in to Azure with az login when prompted.

Option 2: VS Code Dev Containers (local)

1. Install Docker Desktop and the Dev Containers extension.
2. Clone the repository and open it in VS Code.
3. When prompted, click Reopen in Container (or run the command Dev Containers: Reopen in Container).
4. Sign in to Azure with az login.

What's Included

Base Image

mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:ubuntu — a lightweight Ubuntu image maintained by Microsoft.

Dev Container Features

Feature	Version	Purpose
Azure CLI	latest	Azure resource management and deployments
GitHub CLI	latest	PR creation, issue management, workflow dispatch
Python	3.12	Checkov IaC scanner and scripting
Node.js	20	Tooling and automation scripts
PowerShell	latest	PSRule, ARM-TTK, and Azure PowerShell modules
Common utilities	—	Zsh with Oh My Zsh as default shell

Post-Create Setup

The post-create.sh script runs automatically after the container is built and installs:

• Checkov — IaC security scanner supporting ARM, Bicep, and Terraform templates.
• PSRule for Azure — WAF-aligned validation rules for ARM and Bicep templates.
• ARM-TTK — Microsoft's ARM Template Test Toolkit for template validation.

VS Code Extensions

The following extensions are automatically installed in the container:

Extension	Purpose
GitHub Copilot	AI coding assistant
GitHub Copilot Chat	Chat-based AI assistance
Azure Resource Groups	Browse and manage Azure resource groups
Azure Functions	Develop and deploy Azure Functions
Azure MCP Server	Azure MCP integration for Copilot agents
PSRule	Run PSRule validation from VS Code

VS Code Settings

The Azure MCP server is preconfigured with:

• azureMcp.serverMode: namespace — organizes tools by Azure service.
• azureMcp.readOnly: false — allows read and write operations.

After Setup

Once the environment is ready:

1. Sign in to Azure: Run az login to authenticate. For Codespaces, az login --use-device-code works best.
2. Verify the setup: Run az account show to confirm your subscription.
3. Start using AutoCloud: Open Copilot Chat and try @autocloud deploy a Python function app.

Customization

To add features or tools to the dev container:

• Dev container features: Add entries to the features object in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json.
• Post-create tools: Add installation commands to .devcontainer/post-create.sh.
• VS Code extensions: Add extension IDs to customizations.vscode.extensions in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Codespace build fails	Check the creation log for errors. Common cause: feature version conflicts.
az login fails in Codespaces	Use az login --use-device-code for browser-based auth.
ARM-TTK not found	Run pwsh and verify the profile loaded: Get-Module arm-ttk -ListAvailable.
Checkov not found	Run pip install --user checkov manually.
Extensions missing	Reload the window (Ctrl+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window).