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Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

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Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#1
A lot of devs I know are excited about Cloud Development Environments (CDEs) like GitHub Codespaces, Gitpod, Codeanywhere, Coder, Replit, and CodeSandbox. They seem great, and simplify many aspects of the dev workflow: easy to onboard onto new projects, everyone on the project stays in sync, etc.

But I rarely hear of actual teams using them; it's usually individuals using CDEs for side projects.

Are you using a CDE at work? Would love to hear about your experience.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#2
None of those, but on my last contract, the client used D.O. + Docker envs for "local" dev. Personally, I loved it. I didn't have about to worry about getting a project to work on my on-desk hardware. I simply opened VSC, VSC+SSH'ed in, and went to work. It simplified collaboration, etc.

By far, what I appreciated the most was I didn't have unnecessary data on my local hardware. No customer data. No order data. Nuttin'.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#3
Most of the CS classes at my university have moved on to an online Jupyter environment with VS Code preinstalled. It lets students spawn an environment with all the required software for their class preinstalled.

E.g. For Computer System it spawns an environment with GDB pre-installed, while for Intro to AI it has PyTorch/Python3 pre-installed

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#4

None of those, but on my last contract, the client used D.O. + Docker envs for "local" dev. Personally, I loved it. I didn't have about to worry about getting a project to work on my on-desk hardware. I simply opened VSC, VSC+SSH'ed in, and went to work. It simplified collaboration, etc. By far, what I appreciated the most was I didn't have unnecessary data on my local hardware. No customer data. No order data. Nutti…

> the client used D.O. + Docker envs

What does D.O. stand for in the context?

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#5
This is one of these things that I'm shocked there isn't more widepsread uptake on. It seems to win on some of the more important dimensions: ease of use/UX (if executed well), power of machines -> faster iteration time for many workflows, improved priacy. I am not familiar with pricing for many of these offerings and I suspect it probably is pretty expensive.

Even at megacorps where they have really good cloud dev environments, adoption is not universal. Many many people at my current employer have big under-desk workstations to do their day-to-day programming.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#6

None of those, but on my last contract, the client used D.O. + Docker envs for "local" dev. Personally, I loved it. I didn't have about to worry about getting a project to work on my on-desk hardware. I simply opened VSC, VSC+SSH'ed in, and went to work. It simplified collaboration, etc. By far, what I appreciated the most was I didn't have unnecessary data on my local hardware. No customer data. No order data. Nutti…

> the client used D.O. + Docker envs What does D.O. stand for in the context?

DigitalOcean

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#7

None of those, but on my last contract, the client used D.O. + Docker envs for "local" dev. Personally, I loved it. I didn't have about to worry about getting a project to work on my on-desk hardware. I simply opened VSC, VSC+SSH'ed in, and went to work. It simplified collaboration, etc. By far, what I appreciated the most was I didn't have unnecessary data on my local hardware. No customer data. No order data. Nutti…

> the client used D.O. + Docker envs What does D.O. stand for in the context?

Digital Ocean if I were to guess

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#8

None of those, but on my last contract, the client used D.O. + Docker envs for "local" dev. Personally, I loved it. I didn't have about to worry about getting a project to work on my on-desk hardware. I simply opened VSC, VSC+SSH'ed in, and went to work. It simplified collaboration, etc. By far, what I appreciated the most was I didn't have unnecessary data on my local hardware. No customer data. No order data. Nutti…

> the client used D.O. + Docker envs What does D.O. stand for in the context?

Probably "DigitalOcean", https://www.digitalocean.com/

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#9

None of those, but on my last contract, the client used D.O. + Docker envs for "local" dev. Personally, I loved it. I didn't have about to worry about getting a project to work on my on-desk hardware. I simply opened VSC, VSC+SSH'ed in, and went to work. It simplified collaboration, etc. By far, what I appreciated the most was I didn't have unnecessary data on my local hardware. No customer data. No order data. Nutti…

> the client used D.O. + Docker envs What does D.O. stand for in the context?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone using cloud dev environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?

#10
We've started integrating Codespaces into our team's workflow. It's been a game-changer for onboarding new devs. No more "works on my machine" issues. The ability to jump into any project without the setup hassle is pretty sweet. We're still ironing out some kinks, but overall, I'm pretty bullish on it for professional use.
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