Devcontainer Architecture

Tavern utilizes VS Code/Rider Dev Containers to ensure that all developers work in an identical environment, pre-configured with all system-level tools, SDKs, database backends, and external API simulators.

This removes the need to manually install databases, mock S3, setup Keycloak, or install language SDKs on the host machine.

Devcontainer Orchestration (Docker Compose)

The development environment coordinates multiple containers. When the workspace is loaded, the container manager spins up the following services:

graph TD
    subgraph Devcontainer Workspace
        App[".NET 8.0 SDK & Node.js"]
    end

    subgraph Dependency Services
        DB[("PostgreSQL 17 Database")]
        KC["Keycloak (Identity & Auth)"]
        LS["LocalStack (AWS S3 Mock)"]
        NG["Ngrok (Webhook Tunnel)"]
    end

    App -->|Reads/Writes| DB
    App -->|Authenticates| KC
    App -->|Uploads Images| LS
    NG -->|Forwards Webhooks| App

Containerized Services Map:

1. db (PostgreSQL 17):
   • Configured via environment variables to host the core relational schemas and Hangfire background jobs.
   • Internal connections are made through port 5432.
2. keycloak (Keycloak 26.1):
   • Orchestrates authentication and synchronization.
   • Auto-imports a local Tavern realm setup on startup. Accessible at port 8082.
3. localstack (LocalStack 3.0):
   • Mocks AWS S3 APIs locally, allowing image uploads for user profiles and group pictures without incurring cloud costs.
   • Configured through AWS CLI credentials pointing to localhost.
4. ngrok (Ngrok Tunnel):
   • Runs a secure public tunnel to route webhook events (such as Mollie payment completion events) from the public web directly into the backend API container running inside the devcontainer.
   • Enables seamless debugging of real payment notifications.

Integrated Extensions

To simplify local work, the .devcontainer/devcontainer.json configuration automatically provisions the following developer tooling on start:

• C# Dev Kit (ms-dotnettools.csdevkit): Full IDE support for C# compilation, unit testing, and IntelliSense inside VS Code.
• Database Client (cweijan.vscode-database-client2): Direct database explorer inside the IDE, enabling developers to query the local PostgreSQL database tables without third-party desktop apps.