Environment setup#

Configure Your Development Environment

Set up your local machine for SKAO development. Choose container-based development (recommended) or local installation.

Choose Your Setup Path#

Your development environment depends on the type of work you do. Container-based development is recommended when possible, but you may need to develop locally or remotely over SSH.

Two main approaches:

  1. Local development — Install tools directly on Ubuntu 22.04

  2. Container development — Use Docker for isolated, reproducible environments (recommended)

Local Development Setup#

Install Base System Packages#

Install python3 venv, Git, and build tools on Ubuntu 22.04:

sudo apt install git python3-venv build-essential

Configure Git#

Set your global Git configuration:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "Your Institutional Email"

Set Python 3 as Default#

sudo apt install python-is-python3

Install Poetry#

Poetry manages Python dependencies. Install with:

curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 -

Check the Poetry official documentation for details.

Install Docker#

Follow the Official Docker documentation for Ubuntu installation. Complete the linux post-install instructions to run Docker without sudo.

Configure VS Code#

VS Code is the recommended IDE. Install these required extensions:

Recommended extensions:

  • GitLens

  • Jupyter

  • Makefile Tools

  • YAML

Note

PyCharm is also used by SKAO developers, but some features for remote and container development require the paid version.

Container Development Setup#

Container-based development manages dependencies and versioning inside the project. Use Docker or Podman to run containers (Docker is more mature and better tested).

Prerequisites#

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • Docker installed (see Install Docker above)

  • VS Code installed with extensions

  • Basic familiarity with VS Code — complete the First Steps tutorials if needed

Clone and Open the Project#

  1. Clone the ska-tango-examples repository:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://gitlab.com/ska-telescope/ska-tango-examples.git

  1. Open VS Code from inside the project folder:

cd ska-tango-examples && code .

Build the Application Image (Optional)#

Start a terminal session in VS Code (Terminal → New Terminal), then build:

make oci-build

This step is optional — the make interactive command below handles it automatically if needed.

Start the Container and Debug#

Start the container interactively:

make interactive

Debug a file using the vscode-debug.sh utility:

./vscode-debug.sh powersupply/powersupply.py

The terminal displays “Waiting for debugger attachment.” Press F5 or click the debug button in VS Code to attach.

Troubleshooting#

make interactive fails

If docker containers remain running in the background after improper disconnection:

docker ps                    # Check running containers
docker kill CONTAINER_NAME   # Kill background containers

Tango Development Environment#

Many SKAO teams work on Tango devices and device servers.

Using Minikube#

For Kubernetes-based development:

  1. Deploy minikube on your local machine

  2. Follow the Tango Examples Project instructions

Your system will have a Minikube Kubernetes deployment running the Tango operator with examples you can modify.

Local Installation with Poetry#

For simpler local development, use a virtual environment:

poetry new my-tango-project
poetry add pytango
poetry shell

Check the PyTango documentation for more information.