Dev Container

The repository includes a Development Containers configuration for a repeatable KiCad Studio Kit workspace in VS Code Dev Containers and GitHub Codespaces.

Runtime Baseline

The container follows the repository support matrix:

Tool	Container source
Node 24	official ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1 feature with version: "24"
pnpm 11	root packageManager through Corepack, with the Node feature not installing a global pnpm
Python 3.13	official mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:3.13-bookworm base image
uv 0.11.16	pinned Python package install, matching the MCP container policy
actionlint 1.7.12	pinned upstream release archive with SHA-256 verification
shellcheck	Debian package
GitHub CLI	official ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1 feature
Playwright	Chromium browser install in postCreateCommand.sh with browser binaries under /ms-playwright
KiCad CLI	best-effort Debian kicad package install when available from the base image apt sources

First Start

Open the repository in a devcontainer from VS Code or create a GitHub Codespace from the repository. The postCreateCommand.sh script runs:

corepack enable pnpm
corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
uv sync --all-extras --frozen --project packages/mcp-server
corepack pnpm --filter kicadstudiokit exec playwright install --with-deps chromium
corepack pnpm run check:dev-doctor
corepack pnpm run check:devcontainer
corepack pnpm run dev-doctor -- --require-devcontainer

After setup, the same root checks used by CI can run inside the container:

corepack pnpm run lint
corepack pnpm run typecheck
corepack pnpm run test
corepack pnpm run build
corepack pnpm run verify:dist
uv run --project packages/mcp-server --all-extras pytest

corepack pnpm run check:devcontainer validates the container contract without building the image. corepack pnpm run dev:doctor -- --json emits a machine-readable environment report for CI/debug logs. corepack pnpm run dev-doctor -- --require-devcontainer checks the active environment marker and the required command-line tools.

Test Coverage

Extension unit tests, Playwright-backed tests, and headless VS Code integration tests are supported where the host container runtime permits nested Electron and browser processes. The image includes xvfb, Playwright Linux dependencies, and the VS Code extension test dependencies installed from the root lockfile.

MCP server tests are supported through the normal uv workflow:

uv sync --all-extras --frozen --project packages/mcp-server
uv run --project packages/mcp-server --all-extras pytest

KiCad Limitations

The container installs KiCad CLI only where the Debian package is available from the base image apt repositories. That package is a smoke-test convenience, not the release-blocking KiCad 10 baseline. Primary KiCad 10 validation still uses the support matrix, the KiCad canary lanes, and host/AppImage environments.

Real KiCad GUI tests are not guaranteed inside Codespaces or every local Docker runtime because they depend on host graphics, sandboxing, and Electron display support. Use the container for reproducible root checks, MCP tests, Playwright browser tests, and headless extension tests; use host or canary lanes for real KiCad GUI validation.

Codespaces Prebuilds

The repository now has a stable .devcontainer/devcontainer.json, Dockerfile, and post-create script. Repository-level Codespaces prebuilds can be enabled in GitHub Codespaces settings after this configuration builds successfully on the default branch. GitHub prebuilds do not run postCreateCommand, so dependency prewarming should be moved to onCreateCommand or updateContentCommand only after a measured prebuild pass proves the command duration and cache behavior are acceptable.