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Testing the Development Environment with Podman

1. Testing the Dockerfile with podman build

Run the following command inside ${workspace}\.devcontainer to build the container:

podman build -t mkdocs-devcontainer .

This will build the container image using your .devcontainer/Dockerfile. Since podman is compatible with docker, no changes to the Dockerfile are required.

2. Testing the Environment with podman run

Run the following command to start the container:

podman run -it --rm mkdocs-devcontainer

This will start the container and drop you into a bash shell. From there, you can test:

  • Python: Run python3 --version to verify Python is installed.
  • Conda: Run conda --version to verify Conda is installed.
  • MkDocs: Run mkdocs --version to verify MkDocs is installed.
  • mkdocs-material: Run pip show mkdocs-material to verify

3. Using the Devcontainer in Windows Terminal App

a. Configure Podman Socket

  1. Ensure the podman socket is running:
podman system service --time=0
  1. Set the DOCKER_HOST environment variable to point to the podman socket:
export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/$(id -u)/podman/podman.sock

This allows tools like Visual Studio Code to communicate with podman.

b. Open the Devcontainer in VS Code

  1. Open your workspace in Visual Studio Code.
  2. Install the "Remote - Containers" extension if not already installed.
  3. Use the "Remote - Containers: Reopen in Container" command from the Command Palette.
  4. VS Code will use the podman runtime to build and run the devcontainer.

c. Windows Terminal Integration

You can open a new tab in the Windows Terminal App and connect to the running container using:

podman exec -it <container-id> bash

Replace <container-id> with the ID of the running container, which you can find using podman ps.

4. Potential Issues

  • Rootless Podman: If you are using rootless podman, ensure that your user has the necessary permissions to run containers and bind the socket.
  • Volume Mounts: If you need to mount your workspace into the container, use the -v flag with podman run:
podman run -it --rm -v $(pwd):/workspace mkdocs-devcontainer
  • Windows File Paths: When using podman on Windows, ensure that file paths are correctly translated (e.g., /mnt/c/... for Windows drives).

5. Testing the Devcontainer

Once the container is running, verify:

  • The mkdocs environment is created and activated:
conda activate mkdocs
  • You can build documentation using mkdocs:
mkdocs serve

With these steps, you should be able to use your devcontainer seamlessly in the Windows Terminal App.