VEM - A Multipass Utils (currently)

⚠️ WARNING: unfinished project - anytime, anywhen the source code may changes several times, currently unstable, tasks on roadmap currently implementing.

this is a very simple tool collection to help you get around your development environments with npm-like, pipenv-style operation.

usage: vem [commands] [options]

vem designed to have the responsibilities and obligations to record as much as possible as any operation from user to VM instance, to restore the development environment in different places as much as possible.

So vem shell or even vem exec is not recommended.

Installation

# 1. pull repo to local machine
git clone https://github.com/ljcucc/vem.git ~/.vem

# 2. add bin to path
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.vem/"' >> ~/.zshrc

# 3. refresh zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Get Started

vem stands for Virtualization Environment Manager

1. cd to your project workspace folder
2. launch a VM by using command: vem init

• if mpconfig.json exists, then vem will auto setup VM and install all packages
• if not, vem will ask to setup config (just like npm init)

3. if you want to stop current VM (maybe saving space on hard drive or abort VM), type vem rm to remove all stuff
4. copy your project to someone else, and run (1) to start your environment again

Roadmap (TODO)

• vem init: start up automation tool
  • generate mpconfig.json
  • auto create instance by using mpconfig.json
  • auto install packages when init from a exist mpconfig.json
  • auto mount Workspace folder to VM
• vem pkg: package and solution management tool for dependencies
  • vem pkg install: AKA apt-get install package to instance and add dependency to mpconfig.json
    • supprt apt-get install
    • support other PM and optional sudo
  • vem pkg uninstall: AKA apt-get uninstall package from instance and remove dependency to mpconfig.json
    • supprt apt-get uninstall
    • support other PM and optional sudo
  • vem pkg list: list all dependencies package
  • implements for other PM by using PMController
    • naming rules: [OS/distro][PM_Name]PM
    • Ubuntu apt-get: AptGetPM (default)
    • Debain apt-get: DebainPkgPM
    • Alpine pkg: AplinePkgPM
    • Arch(linux) pacman: ArchPkgPM
    • Cent OS rpm: CentRpmPM
• vem config: update, get, set config to a VM instance, everytime config updated, VM will be recreate.
  • vem config update: update mpconfig.json settings
  • vem config set: set VM config
  • vem config get: get VM config
• vem rm: remove current folder instance totally (delete + purge)
• vem exec [command]: execute command and recored it to config
• vem shell [command]: enter instance shell to execute command (not recommended to do that)

• Support other engine
  • docker: implement DockerController with InstanceController
  • QEMU (this is hard)
  • local environment (for environments that already virtualised)

• pause VM
  • vem start: restart paused instance
  • vem stop: pause or stop instance
• vem doctor: A command tool to help you setup and diagnosis vem
• vem build: build a docker image for current developement

Configuration design

mpconfig.json is the config file of vem, here's a template of a regular config file looks like:

{
  "version": 1,                      // current version
  "name": "aabbCC-helloworld",       // instance name
  "disk": "10G",                     // instance disk size
  "dir": "/Users/ITWolf/Workspace/", // dir path to workspace
  "packages": [                      // packages to install at the first time
    "nodejs",
    "build-essential"
  ]

}