feat: add devcontainer for VS Code and GitHub Codespaces by dlevy-msft-sql · Pull Request #317 · microsoft/go-mssqldb

dlevy-msft-sql · 2026-02-02T05:12:59Z

feat: Add devcontainer for VS Code and GitHub Codespaces

Summary

This PR adds a comprehensive development container that makes it easy for anyone to contribute to go-mssqldb. Just open the repo and start coding - SQL Server is ready!

What's Included

Component	Details
Go	1.24 with gopls, delve debugger, staticcheck, golangci-lint
SQL Server	2025 Developer Edition with health checks
SQL Tools	go-sqlcmd - uses this driver (dogfooding! 🐕)
VS Code Extensions	Go, MSSQL, Docker, GitHub Copilot, GitLens
Features	Docker-in-Docker, GitHub CLI
Testing	Environment variables pre-configured for integration tests

How to Use

🖥️ VS Code

Install the Dev Containers extension
Open this repo and click "Reopen in Container"
Run go test ./... — SQL Server is ready!

☁️ GitHub Codespaces

Click the Code button → Codespaces → Create codespace
Wait for the environment to start
Run go test ./...

Helpful Aliases

Once inside the container, these aliases are available:

gtest        # Run all tests
gtest-unit   # Run unit tests only (no SQL Server required)
gtest-short  # Run short tests
gbuild       # Build all packages
gfmt         # Format code
gvet         # Run go vet
glint        # Run golangci-lint
sql          # Connect to SQL Server (go-sqlcmd)
test-db      # Test database connection

Discoverability

✅ Added "Open in Dev Containers" badge to README
✅ Added Development section to README with quick start guide
✅ GitHub automatically shows Codespaces button when .devcontainer exists

Files Added

.devcontainer/
├── devcontainer.json      # Main VS Code configuration
├── docker-compose.yml     # Go + SQL Server 2025 containers
├── Dockerfile             # Go dev environment with tools
├── post-create.sh         # Setup script with aliases
├── README.md              # Detailed documentation
└── mssql/
    └── setup.sql          # Database initialization (creates GoDriverTest)

.dockerignore              # Build optimization

Screenshots

After opening in Dev Container, developers see:

=== go-mssqldb Development Container Setup ===

📦 Downloading Go dependencies...
🔨 Verifying build...
🔄 Verifying SQL Server connection using go-sqlcmd (uses this driver!)...
✅ SQL Server is ready!
📋 Running setup.sql...

=== Setup Complete! ===

🔧 go-sqlcmd is installed and uses THIS driver (dogfooding!)

🔗 SQL Server Connection:
   Server: localhost,1433
   User: sa
   Database: master

🧪 Environment variables are pre-configured for tests.
   Run 'go test ./...' to execute the full test suite.

Why This Matters

Lowers barrier to entry for new contributors
Consistent environment across all developers
No manual SQL Server setup required
Works on any OS with Docker support
Instant productivity - clone and code

Copilot

Pull request overview

This pull request adds comprehensive development container support for VS Code and GitHub Codespaces, making it easier for contributors to set up a complete development environment with Go and SQL Server pre-configured.

Changes:

Adds devcontainer configuration with Go 1.24, SQL Server, and pre-installed development tools
Includes automated setup scripts, helpful aliases, and pre-configured environment variables for integration tests
Updates README with a Development section explaining how to use the devcontainer
Adds .dockerignore for optimized container builds

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`.devcontainer/devcontainer.json`	Main devcontainer configuration with VS Code extensions, settings, and environment variables
`.devcontainer/docker-compose.yml`	Orchestrates Go development container with SQL Server 2025 sidecar
`.devcontainer/Dockerfile`	Defines Go 1.24 development image with tools (go-sqlcmd, golangci-lint, delve, etc.)
`.devcontainer/post-create.sh`	Post-creation setup script that downloads dependencies, waits for SQL Server, and creates helpful aliases
`.devcontainer/mssql/setup.sql`	SQL initialization script that creates test database and sample tables
`.devcontainer/README.md`	Comprehensive documentation for using and customizing the devcontainer
`.dockerignore`	Excludes unnecessary files from Docker build context
`README.md`	Adds Development section with quick start guide for devcontainers

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 13 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 10 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

Dockerfile: - Fix image tag format: 1.24-bookworm (not 1-1.24-bookworm) docker-compose.yml: - Add both SA_PASSWORD and MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD for CI compatibility (different SQL Server images use different env vars) post-create.sh: - Add dynamic workspace detection with robust fallback - Handles different clone names (go-sqlcmd, fork names, etc.) setup.sql: - Add TRY/CATCH error handling for contained database operations - Prevents script failure on unsupported SQL Server configurations .dockerignore: - Add .devcontainer/ to reduce build context size Reference: microsoft/go-mssqldb#317

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

- Add .devcontainer with Go 1.25, SQL Server 2025 sidecar, and pre-configured VS Code extensions (Go, MSSQL, Docker, Copilot, GitLens) legacy ODBC sqlcmd available via sql-odbc alias or full path - Add .dockerignore, post-create setup script, and mssql/setup.sql - Add helpful shell aliases: gtest, gtest-unit, sql, sql-odbc, etc. - Pre-configure environment variables for integration tests (HOST, SQLUSER, SQLPASSWORD, DATABASE, SQLSERVER_DSN) - Add devcontainer README with quick start, troubleshooting, and customization - Update main README with devcontainer quick start section - Fix namedpipe build for non-Windows platforms; add ARM64 npipe support - Fix minor test and type issues for broader compatibility

- Replace bash aliases (sql, sql-odbc, test-db) with executable scripts in ~/bin/ so they work in any terminal type, not just interactive bash - Set up a go-sqlcmd context (devcontainer) during post-create so sqlcmd auto-connects to the local SQL Server without -S/-U/-P flags - Make sql a plain pass-through to go-sqlcmd so all subcommands work (sql query, sql create, sql --version, etc.) - Update devcontainer README to reflect scripts vs aliases and context-based connection

Hardcode the development SA password in mssql.connections and go.testEnvVars. The MSSQL extension strips passwords set via variable substitution (${env:}, ${containerEnv:}), so the password must be a literal value in settings.

dlevy-msft-sql requested a review from Copilot February 2, 2026 05:15

dlevy-msft-sql self-assigned this Feb 2, 2026

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of dlevy-msft-sql February 2, 2026 05:15 View session

dlevy-msft-sql added enhancement New feature or request Size: S Small issue (less than one week effort, less than 250 lines of code) in-review labels Feb 2, 2026