tiny42 - Keep coding with your portable 42

Inspired from the Dorker by Scarletsang

Overview

tiny42 is a Python-based tool that provides a consistent Docker environment for C/C++ development, particularly useful for 42 School projects. It allows developers to run Linux-specific tools (like valgrind and strace) on macOS through a seamless Docker interface.

Key Features

• Automatic Docker environment management
• Seamless command execution within containers
• Port forwarding support for web development
• Goinfre directory support for 42 School computers
• Built-in development tools (gcc, valgrind, strace, etc.)
• Workspace isolation and consistency

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/tiny42.git
cd tiny42

# Install tiny42
python3 install.py

# Restart your terminal or source your configuration
source ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bashrc

Configuration

The configuration file is located at ~/.config/tiny42/src/settings.py:

# Workspace configuration
TINY42_WORKSPACE = os.path.join(os.environ['HOME'], 'Projects/42berlin')
TINY42_ECHO_ON_STARTUP = True

# Port forwarding settings
TINY42_PORT_PUBLISHING = False
TINY42_PORT_PUBLISHING_HOST = 8080
TINY42_PORT_PUBLISHING_CONTAINER = 8080

Port Publishing

To enable port forwarding between your host machine and container:

1. Set TINY42_PORT_PUBLISHING = True
2. Configure ports:
   • TINY42_PORT_PUBLISHING_HOST: Host machine port
   • TINY42_PORT_PUBLISHING_CONTAINER: Container port

Usage

Basic Commands

# Execute commands in container
tiny42 [command] [args...]

# Examples
tiny42 make re
tiny42 valgrind --leak-check=full ./program
tiny42 gcc -Wall -Wextra -Werror main.c
tiny42 "cd ./webserv ; cat webserv.conf | grep location"

# Open shell in container
tiny42 bash

# Management commands
--init, -i             # Initialize the tiny42 container
--reload, -r           # Rebuild and restart the tiny42 container
--open-docker, -o      # Start Docker daemon if not running
--goinfre-docker, -g   # Setup Docker in goinfre directory (42 School specific)
--help, -h             # Show help message

# Examples with flags
tiny42 --init
tiny42 -r              # Short form for reload

Development Environment

The container includes:

• Build tools (gcc, make)
• Debugging tools (valgrind, strace)
• Git
• Additional utilities (bat, jq)
• readline development libraries

Warning

Docker enables you to code and compile your results.
But it CANNOT display graphical projects, such as fract-ol, FdF, so_long, cub3d, miniRT.

Project Structure

~/.config/tiny42/
├── src/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py    # Configuration
│   ├── docker.py      # Docker operations
│   ├── tiny42.py      # Core functionality
│   └── Dockerfile     # Container definition
└── ...

~/.local/bin/
└── tiny42            # Main executable

Uninstallation

# Move to the cloned directory
cd tiny42

# Execute install script with --uninstall flag
python3 install.py --uninstall

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• Docker
• Unix-like environment (macOS or Linux)

Technical Details

The codebase consists of several key components:

1. Core functionality (referenced in src/tiny42.py):
2. Docker management (referenced in src/docker.py):
3. Settings management (referenced in src/settings.py):

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

• Started by forking the repository from Dorker by Scarletsang
• Originally designed for 42 School's development environment needs
• Refactored from shell scripts to Python for improved maintainability

Tip

For advanced users who want more customizable and functional Docker usage, such as docker-compose and k8s, I personally recommend checking out OrbStack.

Backstory

I am a student of 42Berlin. I love the space and people. However, my biggest concern was the commute from my place to the cluster, which takes a total of 4 hours a day. On top of that, my working hours are irregular, so being at the 42Berlin cluster was and still is diffcult for me.

I installed Ubuntu on my machines but it wasn't smooth and didn't fit with my daily usage. Since I rely heavily on gdb and valgrind in my projects, I needed a solution to improve my setup.

Then I found the Dorker by Scarletsang (big thanks!) and used it for a while. I didn't have any problems using it by myself, but I did have some difficulties when collaborating on the webserv project with my peers.

So I forked the Dorker repository and started converting Bash scripts into Python3 code, and here we are. It still needs a lot of improvements and bug fixes. But I am really enjoying the process.

I hope tiny42 will help my peers who are experiencing the same issues as me.