devc

CLI tool for generating ready-to-use development containers.

Overview

devc is a command-line interface that generates development container configurations for various technologies. It downloads templates from the devcontainers repository and sets them up in your project.

Features

• 🚀 Instant dev environment setup
• 📦 Multiple technology templates (including nested categories like android/kotlin-native)
• 🔄 Auto-updates for templates
• 💾 Offline support with local cache
• ⚙️ Git configuration support
• 🎯 Interactive mode with guided prompts
• 🎛️ Interactive version selector — customize tool versions (Android API, Kotlin, NDK, Node, etc.) with arrow-key selection
• 🔗 Smart version suggestions — Build Tools auto-suggests the matching version when you pick an Android API Level

Installation

npm (Recommended — works on all platforms)

npm i @blackycoderx4/devc

Requires Node.js 14+. The package automatically downloads the correct native binary for your platform (Windows, Linux, or macOS).

Quick Install (Linux / macOS)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SamitoX4/devc/main/docs/install.sh | bash

Windows

If you have Node.js installed, use the npm method above.

Alternatively:

• WSL2: Run the Linux installer inside your WSL2 distribution.
• Manual: Download the latest .zip for Windows from the Releases page, extract it, and add devc.exe to your PATH.

From Source

git clone https://github.com/SamitoX4/devc.git
cd devc/cli
cargo build --release

On Linux/macOS copy the binary to your PATH:

cp target/release/devc ~/.local/bin/

On Windows the binary will be at target\release\devc.exe.

Usage

Interactive Mode (Recommended)

Just run:

devc gen

The CLI will guide you through:

1. Select a template (arrow keys) — supports nested templates like android/kotlin-native

2. Project name (default: current directory)

3. Git User Name

4. Git User Email

5. Customize versions (optional) — if the template supports parameterized versions, you can pick from a curated list:

   KOTLIN_VERSION:
     2.0.0
     2.0.10
   > 2.0.21
     2.1.0
   
   ANDROID_API_LEVEL:
     33
     34
     35
   > 36
   
   BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION:
     33.0.0
     34.0.0
     35.0.0
   > 36.0.0   ← auto-suggested from API Level 36

With Flags

Skip prompts by passing flags:

# Specify template and project name
devc gen --template nodejs --name my-project

# Nested templates (Android stack)
devc gen --template android/kotlin-native --name my-native-app
devc gen --template android/flutter --name my-flutter-app
devc gen --template android/ndk --name my-ndk-project

# With Git configuration
devc gen --template android/react-native --name my-app --git-name "John Doe" --git-email "[email protected]"

# All options
devc gen -t java -n my-java-app --git-name "John Doe" --git-email "[email protected]"

Configure Git

# Interactive (prompts for name and email)
devc config

# With flags
devc config --git-name "Your Name" --git-email "[email protected]"

# Show current configuration
devc config --show

List Available Templates

devc list

Update Templates

devc update

Available Templates

General

| Template | Description | |----------|-------------| | nodejs | Node.js with TypeScript, npm/pnpm | | java | Java 17 + Maven | | laravel | PHP 8.3 + Composer | | rust | Rust (stable) + Cargo | | go | Go 1.22 | | python | Python 3.12 + pip |

Android Stack

| Template | Description | Customizable Versions | |----------|-------------|----------------------| | android/java | Java 17 + Android SDK | API Level, Build Tools, NDK, CMD Line Tools | | android/kotlin-native | Kotlin/Native + Android SDK | Kotlin, API Level, Build Tools, NDK, CMD Line Tools | | android/ndk | Android NDK + CMake | API Level, Build Tools, NDK, CMake, CMD Line Tools | | android/react-native | Node.js + React Native + Android SDK | Node version, API Level, Build Tools, NDK, CMD Line Tools | | android/flutter | Flutter + Android SDK | Flutter branch, API Level, Build Tools, NDK, CMD Line Tools |

Commands

devc gen [options]              Generate a devcontainer (interactive if no options)
devc list [options]             List available templates
devc update [options]           Update templates from repository
devc config [options]          Configure Git user settings

Options:
  -t, --template <name>        Template name (e.g., nodejs, android/kotlin-native)
  -n, --name <name>            Project name
  --git-name <name>            Git user name
  --git-email <email>          Git user email
  --verbose                    Verbose output

How It Works

1. First Run: Downloads templates to ~/.devc/cache/
2. Template Discovery: Automatically finds all valid templates, including nested ones like android/kotlin-native
3. Interactive Mode: Guides you through setup with prompts, including an optional version picker for parameterized templates
4. Flag Mode: Skip prompts by passing options
5. Git Configuration: Saved to ~/.devc/config.json for future use
6. Each Execution: Checks for updates in the background
7. Offline Mode: Uses cached templates when offline

Project Structure

devc/
├── .github/           # GitHub Actions workflows
│   └── workflows/
│       └── release.yml
├── cli/               # Rust CLI source code
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── commands/  # CLI commands (gen, list, update, config)
│   │   └── utils/     # Cache, fetcher, copier, merger
│   └── Cargo.toml
├── npm/               # npm wrapper package
│   ├── bin/
│   ├── install.js
│   ├── platform.js
│   └── package.json
├── docs/              # GitHub Pages (landing + install)
│   ├── index.html
│   └── install.sh
└── scripts/          # Build scripts
    └── build-release.sh

Creating a Release

Releases are built automatically with GitHub Actions. Simply push a version tag:

git tag v0.3.0
git push origin v0.3.0

GitHub Actions will compile binaries for Linux, macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon), and Windows, package them with templates, and publish them to the Releases page.

Manual Release (local)

If you prefer to build locally:

cd scripts
chmod +x build-release.sh
./build-release.sh

After the package is created, upload it manually to GitHub Releases.

Configuration

The CLI stores configuration in:

~/.devc/
├── cache/
│   └── templates/     # Downloaded templates
└── config.json       # CLI configuration (Git user, etc.)

config.json Example

{
  "templates_version": "1.0.0",
  "last_check": "2026-03-31",
  "git": {
    "name": "Your Name",
    "email": "[email protected]"
  }
}

License

MIT

Links

• GitHub Repository
• Templates Repository