toolbox-dev¶

A single, configurable development toolbox container built on Fedora Toolbox.

Instead of maintaining separate container images for each language, toolbox-dev ships one image with Ansible roles that you enable or disable via a simple YAML config file.

How it works¶

One container image includes all the base development tools plus Ansible
Ansible roles install language-specific tooling on demand
Configuration is a simple YAML file toggling roles on/off
Auto-apply detects config changes and applies them on container entry

Available roles¶

Languages¶

Role	Config key	Description
Python	`languages.python_development`	Python 3, pip, ruff, pre-commit, pyright, pyenv dependencies
Node.js	`languages.nodejs_development`	Node.js, pnpm, yarn
Go	`languages.go_development`	Go compiler
Rust	`languages.rust_development`	Rust via rustup, cmake, clang
C++	`languages.cpp_development`	GCC, G++, clangd, cmake, ctags
Ruby	`languages.ruby_development`	Ruby, RVM, ruby-lsp and plugins
.NET	`languages.dotnet_development`	.NET 10.0 SDK and runtime
Zig	`languages.zig_development`	Zig compiler

Environments¶

Role	Config key	Description
Fedora Packaging	`environments.fedora_packaging`	fedpkg, packit, COPR, conversion tools

Quick start¶

toolbox create --image quay.io/toolbox-dev/toolbox-dev:latest dev
toolbox enter dev
tdx-edit    # enable desired languages
tdx-apply   # install them

Usage examples¶

Single language setup¶

Enable just Python for scripting or data work:

languages:
  python_development: true

tdx-apply
python3 --version
pip3 install requests

Full-stack web development¶

Enable multiple languages for a typical web project:

languages:
  python_development: true
  nodejs_development: true
  rust_development: true

After running tdx-apply, tools like python3, node, pnpm, cargo, and rustc are all available in the same container.

Fedora package maintainer¶

Combine language tooling with the packaging environment:

languages:
  python_development: true
  go_development: true

environments:
  fedora_packaging: true

This gives you fedpkg, mock, rpmlint, and packit alongside your development tools.

Configuration¶

Config file¶

The config file lives at ~/.config/toolbox-dev/config.yml. Use tdx-edit to open it in your $EDITOR, or edit it directly.

To use a custom path:

export TDX_CONFIG=~/my-custom-config.yml

CLI tools¶

Command	Description
`tdx-edit`	Open the config file in your editor
`tdx-apply`	Apply the current configuration
`tdx-apply -v`	Apply with verbose Ansible output
`tdx-apply --check`	Dry run -- show what would change without applying
`tdx-upgrade`	Upgrade the container to the latest image

Auto-apply on entry¶

When you enter the container, toolbox-dev automatically detects config changes and runs tdx-apply for you. No need to remember to apply after editing.

Host wrapper scripts¶

Enabled roles install wrapper scripts in ~/.local/bin/ so you can call tools directly from the host without entering the container first:

# These work from the host -- they transparently run inside the container
python3 myscript.py
ruff check .
cargo build

Override the target container name with:

export TDX_CONTAINER_NAME=my-dev

See Getting Started for detailed setup instructions, Configuration for the full reference, and Custom Playbooks to extend toolbox-dev with your own Ansible tasks.