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Developer Environment Setup

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Developing for the Harness Template Library (HTL) requires a local environment with Docker, Terraform or OpenTofu, and Git installed. Choose either the DevContainer or the local container-based Makefile workflow described below to get set up.

Before you begin​

  • Container engine: A supported version of Docker or a Docker-compatible engine.
  • Git: Git installed locally so you can clone the Harness Template Library repository.
  • Terraform or OpenTofu: Required for template development. Both DevContainer and Makefile workflows supply these inside the container, so a local install is optional.

Use the DevContainer in this repository​

This repository includes support for DevContainers. To install this into your environment, you need the following:

Once your development environment is ready, clone this repository into your IDE. For VS Code installations, you are prompted to reopen the workspace in a new container.

To modify the DevContainer, edit the devcontainer.json file at the root of this repository, then reload.

Local container-based development​

A robust Makefile configuration is included within this repository. The command file contains frequently used shortcuts and commands. To use this solution, you need the following:

Go to Local Testing Using Make to review the testing workflow in detail.

To get the current list of available commands, enter make help in a Terminal session in this directory:

debug            Loads the current directory into the container to allow running commands locally
init             Executes Terraform/Tofu `init`. Pass `migrate` to delete any local `backed.tf` and a `-migrate-state` will be performed.
plan             Executes a Terraform/Tofu `plan`
plan_output      Executes a Terraform/Tofu `plan`
plan_show        Executes a Terraform/Tofu `plan`
apply            Automatically runs a Terraform/Tofu `apply`
destroy          Automatically runs a Terraform/Tofu `destroy`
refresh          Refreshes the statefile
output           Display the Terraform/Tofu outputs | To return a single output, pass `RESOURCE=<terraform-output-name>`
fmt              Formats the Terraform files in the current directory
fmt_all          Formats all Terraform files in the entire repository
testing_cleanup  Removes the local `.terraform` and `.terraform.lock.hcl` files.
cycle            Idempotency Check. Runs the commands - init, destroy, apply, and plan
teardown         Full Suite Cleanup.  Runs the commands - destroy and testing_cleanup
all              End-to-end testing. Runs the commands - init, fmt, plan, apply, destroy, testing_cleanup
version_tests    Runs an entire suite of executions for a template based on the chose type. Supported types: terraform or tofu - e.g `type=tofu`
full_suite       Cycles a full End-to-end testing for all versions listed. Reads all versions in the .terraform_verions and .tofu_versions files.
generate         Generate a new directory using a template type. The argument `name=<new-template-name>` needs to be passed along with this command

Next steps​

Your local environment is ready for Harness Template Library development. Continue with the following: