README.md

🚀 Litepod

A lightweight, open-source orchestrator to spin up ephemeral remote development environments in seconds using Docker. Work from anywhere on any device while maintaining full control of your infrastructure.

🎯 Why Litepod?

Modern development demands consistent, reproducible environments—yet cloud-based IDE services often come with hefty price tags and restrictive data policies. Litepod changes that.

Instead of expensive SaaS solutions, Litepod empowers developers to:

• 🏠 Host their own development pods on personal infrastructure (VPS, Raspberry Pi, local Linux machines)
• 🔐 Keep full control of their code, data, and resources
• 🌍 Work from anywhere with just a web browser
• 💰 Reduce costs dramatically compared to traditional cloud IDEs
• ⚡ Set up in seconds instead of hours

✨ Key Features

Feature	Benefit
One-Click Setup	Spin up a complete dev environment with a single CLI command
Persistent Storage	Your files and configurations remain safe between sessions
Custom Environments	Pre-configured Docker images for Go, Rust, Node.js, Python, and more
Browser-Ready IDE	Seamless VS Code integration via code-server
Lightweight	Uses resource-efficient Docker containers, not heavy VMs
Multi-User Ready	Host multiple development pods simultaneously
SSH Access	Direct terminal access for power users
Zero Setup Overhead	No complex configuration required to get started

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker (v20.10+)
• Docker Compose (v2.0+)
• Linux-based host (WSL2 on Windows, native on macOS with Lima)

Installation

Via Binary (Recommended)

# Download the latest release
curl -sSL https://github.com/Arnel-rah/litepod/releases/latest/download/litepod-linux-x86_64 \
  -o litepod && chmod +x litepod && sudo mv litepod /usr/local/bin/

Via Source

git clone https://github.com/Arnel-rah/litepod.git
cd litepod
make build
sudo mv ./dist/litepod /usr/local/bin/

Via Package Manager

# Homebrew (macOS)
brew tap Arnel-rah/litepod
brew install litepod

# Arch Linux
yay -S litepod

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install litepod

Spin Up Your First Environment

# Basic: Create a development pod from current directory
litepod up

# Advanced: Specify project path and custom image
litepod up ./my-project --image golang:latest

# List running pods
litepod list

# Connect via browser
open http://localhost:3000

# Stop a pod
litepod down pod-name

# Clean up all pods
litepod down --all

📋 Usage Examples

Node.js Project

litepod up ./my-app --image node:18-bullseye

Rust Development

litepod up ./rust-project --image rust:latest

Python Data Science

litepod up ./data-analysis --image python:3.11-slim --resources cpu=2,memory=4G

Full Configuration

litepod up ./project \
  --name my-dev-env \
  --image ubuntu:22.04 \
  --port 3000 \
  --volume /home/user/projects:/workspace \
  --env NODE_ENV=development \
  --resources cpu=4,memory=8G

🛠️ Configuration

Create a .litepod.yml in your project root for persistent settings:

name: my-project
image: node:18-bullseye
port: 3000

volume:
  - /home/user/projects:/workspace

environment:
  NODE_ENV: development
  DEBUG: true

resources:
  cpu: 2
  memory: 4G

persistence:
  enabled: true
  path: /var/lib/litepod/volumes

📚 Documentation

• Installation Guide
• Configuration Reference
• Custom Docker Images
• Networking & Security
• Troubleshooting
• API Reference
• CLI Reference

🌟 Comparison

Feature	Litepod	Cloud IDE	Local Dev
Cost	🟢 Free	🔴 $$$/month	🟢 Free
Data Privacy	🟢 Full Control	🔴 Third-party	🟢 Local
Setup Time	🟢 <30 seconds	🟢 <1 minute	🔴 Hours
Device Flexibility	🟢 Browser-based	🟢 Browser-based	🔴 Fixed machine
Resource Control	🟢 Full	🔴 Limited	🟢 Full
Collaboration	🟡 Partial	🟢 Built-in	🔴 Complex
Infrastructure	🟢 Self-hosted	🔴 Vendor-locked	🟢 Local

🎓 Supported Languages & Frameworks

Litepod works with any Docker image, but comes with optimized templates for:

• Go - Go 1.21+
• Rust - Latest stable
• Node.js - 16, 18, 20
• Python - 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12
• Java - OpenJDK 17, 21
• PHP - 8.1, 8.2, 8.3
• Ruby - 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
• C/C++ - GCC, Clang

View all templates →

🔒 Security & Privacy

• Isolated Containers: Each pod runs in its own isolated Docker container
• Network Segmentation: Pods are isolated by default
• User Authentication: Built-in authentication layer
• Encrypted Communication: TLS/SSL support
• No Data Sharing: Your code never leaves your infrastructure

Security documentation →

📊 Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Your Server/Machine                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Litepod Daemon                             │
│  ├── Pod Manager                            │
│  ├── Docker Integration                     │
│  ├── Volume Manager                         │
│  └── Network Manager                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Docker Containers (Dev Pods)               │
│  ├── Pod 1 (code-server + tools)           │
│  ├── Pod 2 (code-server + tools)           │
│  └── Pod N (code-server + tools)           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↑
    Browser Access (HTTP/HTTPS)
         ↑
    Your Laptop, Tablet, Phone

🤝 Contributing

We love contributions! Here's how to get started:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Make your changes and add tests
4. Commit with clear messages (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
5. Push to your fork (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
6. Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/Arnel-rah/litepod.git
cd litepod
make dev          # Install dependencies and build
make test         # Run test suite
make fmt          # Format code
make lint         # Run linter

Code Standards

• Follow existing code style
• Write tests for new features
• Update documentation accordingly
• Ensure all tests pass before submitting PR

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

🐛 Issues & Roadmap

• Report bugs: GitHub Issues
• View roadmap: Roadmap
• Request features: Discussions

Planned Features

• Kubernetes integration
• Web-based file manager
• Built-in collaboration tools
• Automated backups
• Health monitoring dashboard
• Multi-region support
• GPU support for ML workloads

🧪 Testing

# Run all tests
make test

# Run specific test
make test TEST=TestPodCreation

# Run with coverage
make test-coverage

📝 License

Litepod is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

This means you can freely use, modify, and distribute Litepod for any purpose, including commercial projects.

💬 Community

• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
• GitHub Discussions: Ask questions & share ideas
• Discord: Join our community (Coming soon)
• Twitter: @litepod_dev (Coming soon)

📖 Getting Help

• 🎯 First time? Start with the Quick Start
• ❓ Have questions? Check FAQ
• 🐛 Found a bug? Open an issue
• 💡 Have ideas? Start a discussion

🙏 Acknowledgments

Litepod is inspired by the amazing work of:

• code-server - VS Code in the browser
• Docker - Container platform
• Devpod - Developer environments as code
• Podman - Container engine

📊 Project Statistics

🚀 Performance Benchmarks

• Container startup time: < 5 seconds
• IDE responsiveness: < 100ms latency
• Memory footprint: ~300MB per pod
• Disk usage: ~2GB per pod (base image)

View detailed benchmarks →

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Made with ❤️ by the Litepod community

Start contributing today: GitHub