Why Use GitHub Codespaces for Cloud Development

I use two computers for my coding projects and take only one with me when I travel. My projects run a lot of tests, and I want them to work reliably even on my M1 Mac, where not every package plays nicely together yet. To stop depending on any single local setup, I use GitHub Codespaces. It is a tool so helpful that I no longer remember how I worked without it.

What Is GitHub Codespaces

GitHub Codespaces is a cloud-hosted development environment: GitHub runs it in a Docker container on a virtual machine, and you connect from your browser, VS Code, or the terminal. You configure it with [.devcontainer files][4] added to the repository — skip them, and GitHub falls back to a default Ubuntu image with a broad set of languages and tools already installed. If you’re on a personal GitHub Free or Pro plan, there’s nothing to switch on: everyone gets a [monthly free quota of Codespaces usage][5] automatically. Organisation owners are the exception — they may need to [turn Codespaces access on][6] for the org’s private repositories first. Either way, you create a codespace for any branch by pressing the green <> Code button in the GitHub web UI and choosing from the default or advanced options. For the full configuration reference, see the [GitHub Codespaces documentation][1].

Installing GitHub CLI with Homebrew for SSH Access

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Final Thoughts

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