Loft Labs, a software tools provider for platform engineers, has introduced DevPod, an innovative open-source project that enables engineers to codify and manage reusable development environments for any infrastructure. DevPod would stand out as a tool that operates entirely on the client-side, eliminating the need for a server-side setup.
It would allow engineers to run DevPod directly on their machines while seamlessly connecting to cloud platforms like AWS or remote systems such as Kubernetes, all without the presence of a middle server-side component.
The team behind Loft Labs, known for their contributions to the Kubernetes space with projects like vcluster (2,500+ GitHub stars, 32M+ vclusters created) and DevSpace (3,500+ GitHub stars, 1.2M+ downloads), has expanded its portfolio beyond the Kubernetes ecosystem with the launch of DevPod.
The idea for DevPod arose when the Loft team evaluated existing dev environment solutions and found no pure open-source, infrastructure-independent options that could cater to the needs of both open-source contributors and enterprise engineers. To bridge this gap, the team developed DevPod.
DevPod would set itself apart from other dev environment offerings by not hosting or managing the environments. Instead, it introduces a way to define dev environments that can be run on any cloud infrastructure or even on a localhost machine using Docker or Kubernetes. This approach would empower development teams to have complete control over their environments without being tied to a specific provider. Developers can write code in any language and run it anywhere, whether it's testing on virtual machines, coding in Python with VSCode on Docker Desktop, or running Go in EKS. And if the desired provider is not available, developers have the flexibility to build it.
Lukas Gentele, Co-Founder and CEO of Loft Labs, compares DevPod to Terraform for dev environments, explaining, “Define your dev-environment-as-code and then run it anywhere you want. Just like Terraform, DevPod is infrastructure-independent and client-only, which makes it incredibly easy to get started with. Gentele highlights one of his favorite features, the automatic sleep mode that puts dev environments to rest when they are not in use. This is achieved by injecting a lightweight control tool into the environment, which detects active connections and turns off the environment when it is idle.”
Dev Environment on Any Cloud
“Just like Terraform, DevPod is infrastructure-independent and client-only, which makes it incredibly easy to get started with,” said Lukas Gentele, Co-Founder and CEO of Loft Labs.
For those familiar with the power of pre-configured development environments, as seen in services like Codespaces, DevPod would offer a similar experience but with the added advantage of being open-source and not tied to a specific cloud provider. DevPod would provide an easy-to-install client-only desktop application. All developers need is a devcontainer.json file in their project to launch a dev environment on any cloud or even locally.
By specifying a devcontainer.json file to define a dev environment, developers create a reproducible experience for anyone working on the project, regardless of where they spin up the environment. DevPod would enable seamless switching between cloud-hosted and local environments. For instance, developers can work on Kubernetes in AWS for data-intensive operations and tests that require significant computing power. If cost-saving is a priority and the full cloud power is not necessary, developers can “effortlessly” switch to Docker on their laptops. DevPod would ensure that developers can transition back and forth between environments while maintaining the same experience.
DevPod is the glue connecting local IDEs to machines or containers for development. Developers may build a workspace locally on their computers, construct a powerful VM in the cloud, connect to a spare distant machine, or create a dev container in Kubernetes depending on the needs of a project. To map the definitions in the devcontainer, DevPod employs what are known as providers.to the infrastructure a user chooses to spin up the development environment in json. These containers may be created by DevPod service providers on a local system, a remote machine, or a public or private cloud. Developers may also add new features to DevPod and create original custom providers.
Supporting Main CSPs
According to Loft Labs, DevPod provides the following benefits over hosted services like GitHub Codespaces, GitPod, JetBrains Spaces, or Google Cloud Workstations:- Savings on expenses - DevPod is entirely free. To execute development environments, it may employ basic virtual machines or one’s own laptop.
- There is no vendor lock-in - Since DevPod supports all of the main cloud service providers and also allows developers to create their own, either for the community or just for themselves. Select the most effective cloud provider for the job, whether they are the most powerful or the most economical, and swap as necessary.
- Local development - Users don’t need to depend on a cloud provider since they get the same developer experience locally.
- Cross IE support - VSCode and the whole JetBrains suite are supported by DevPod, and additional IDEs may be accessed through ssh.
- Client-only - Since DevPod is a lightweight desktop application that runs just on a developer’s machine, a server backend is not required to be set up. If they would rather utilize the terminal, developers may use the DevPod CLI.
- Open Source - DevPod is completely expandable and open source. Developers may simply create their own providers if there are none already.
- Comprehensive feature set - DevPod now supports prebuilds, auto inactivity shutdown, git and docker credential synchronization, and there are still more things to come.
