A portable, containerized terminal-first development environment built on Rhel Family.
Start coding immediately without configuring a new machine.

NVIL

• NVIL
  • Requirements
  • Quick Start
  • Features
  • NVIL vs Dev Containers
  • Architecture
  • Usage
    • Environment Variables
    • Setup
    • Lifecycle Commands
  • Build Your Own Flavor
  • Available Tools in Full Flavor
  • Project Structure
  • Contributing
  • License

Requirements

Tool	Description	Install
just	Command runner	brew install just / cargo install just / scoop install just
podman (or docker)	Container runtime	Install podman

Quick Start

cd /path/to/your-projects-workspace

# Download sample files
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomaschampagne/nvil/main/.nvil.yaml -o .nvil.yaml
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomaschampagne/nvil/main/justfile -o justfile
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomaschampagne/nvil/main/.env.sample -o .env

# Edit .env with your info and preferences
vi .env

# Launch
just connect

You're in a fully configured dev environment. See Usage for details.

Features

• Terminal-first workspace - ZSH, Zellij multiplexer, Helix/Neovim, Yazi file manager, and keyboard-driven tools out of the box
• Pre-built images - No waiting for container builds; pull ghcr.io/thomaschampagne/nvil-core or nvil-full and go
• Cross-project workspace - Mount your entire projects directory, not just one repo at a time
• Extensible via "feats" - Add languages, runtimes, and tools via dnf, mise, or Homebrew
• Editor agnostic - Works with any modal editor; connect your IDE via SSH to the container
• 95+ pre-configured tools - Git, ripgrep, fzf, kubectl, trivy, lazygit, btop, and more

NVIL vs Dev Containers

	Dev Containers	NVIL
Scope	Per-project (.devcontainer.json)	Per-project and cross-project, and personal environment
Editor	VS Code / JetBrains only	Any modal editor, or connect your IDE via SSH
Base image	Built from scratch each time	Pre-built, layered on Fedora
Workflow	Attach to container per project	Access all projects from your mounted workspace

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Your Host                     │
│  ┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────┐   │
│  │  Projects   │     │   .nvil.yaml +       │   │
│  │  Directory  │ --> │   .nvil.env          │   │
│  └─────────────┘     └──────────────────────┘   │
│         ▲                      │                │
│         |                      ▼                │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │       Container (Docker / Podman)        │   │
│  │  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐  │   │
│  │  │  Fedora Base (nvil-core)           │  │   │
│  │  │  ZSH · Zellij · Git · Core Tools   │  │   │
│  │  └────────────────────────────────────┘  │   │
│  │  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐  │   │
│  │  │  Flavor Layer (nvil-full)          │  │   │
│  │  │  Go · Node · Bun · k9s · Trivy ... │  │   │
│  │  └────────────────────────────────────┘  │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Component	Description
core/	Base Fedora image with shell, git, editors
feats/	Installable tool modules (languages, runtimes, tools, ...)
flavors/	Dockerfiles that layer feats onto core
nvil.img.make.sh	Build script for custom images

Usage

Environment Variables

Copy and edit the sample:

cp .env.sample .env

Variable	Default	Description
NVIL_CONTAINER_NAME	nvil	Container name and hostname
NVIL_IMAGE	ghcr.io/thomaschampagne/nvil-full:latest	Image to use
NVIL_WORKSPACE_HOST_PATH	.	Host path mounted as /home/${NVIL_USER}/workspace
NVIL_GIT_USER_NAME	Smith Black	Git user name
NVIL_GIT_USER_EMAIL	smith.black@dev.local	Git user email
NVIL_DEFAULT_EDITOR	hx	Default editor (hx, nvim, etc.)
TZ	Europe/Paris	Timezone

Setup

Create .nvil.yaml in your workspace directory (e.g., /home/user/Projects/.nvil.yaml):

Lifecycle Commands

# Start and connect (auto-starts podman machine if needed)
just connect

# Stop (preserves container state)
just stop

# Destroy container
just delete

Build Your Own Flavor

Use flavors/full.Dockerfile as a blueprint. Pick the feats you want, then build:

sh nvil.img.make.sh \
  --docker-file=./flavors/my-flavor.Dockerfile \
  --image=nvil-my-flavor:latest \
  --gh-token=$GITHUB_TOKEN

Add feats by copying install scripts into feats/<category>/<name>/ and referencing them in your Dockerfile:

COPY --parents --chown=${NVIL_USER}:${NVIL_USER} ./feats/tools/my-tool /nvil/.tmp/

Run sh nvil.img.make.sh --help for all options.

Available Tools in Full Flavor

NVIL ships with many tools across core and pickable categories. View the full list inside a running container:

nvil --list

Scope	Category	Name	Version	Description	Licence	Manager
core	development	gcc	16.1.1	GNU compiler collection	GPL-3.0	dnf
core	development	git	2.55.0	Distributed version control system	GPL-2.0	dnf
core	development	helix	25.07.1	Post-modern modal text editor	MPL-2.0	mise
core	development	lazygit	0.62.2	Simple terminal UI for git commands	MIT	mise
core	development	nano	8.7.1	Text editor. An enhanced pico clone	GPL-3.0	dnf
core	development	neovim	0.12.3	Ambitious Vim-fork focused on extensibility and agility	Apache-2.0	mise
core	development	vim-enhanced	9.2.725	Vi IMproved, a programmer's text editor with enhanced features	VIM	dnf
core	filesystem	yazi	26.5.6	Blazing fast terminal file manager written in Rust	MIT	mise
core	font	jetbrains-mono-fonts	2.304	Monospaced font designed for developers by JetBrains	OFL-1.1	dnf
core	formatter	dprint	0.55.1	Pluggable and configurable code formatting platform written in Rust	MIT	mise
core	formatter	shfmt	3.13.1	Shell parser, formatter, and interpreter	BSD-3-Clause	mise
core	formatter	taplo	0.10.0	TOML toolkit written in Rust	MIT	mise
core	language-server	bash-language-server	5.6.0	Bash language server using tree-sitter for parsing	MIT	npm
core	language-server	emmet-ls	0.4.2	Emmet support for LSP-compatible editors	MIT	npm
core	language-server	marksman	2026-02-08	Language Server Protocol for Markdown	MIT	mise
core	language-server	vscode-langservers-extracted	4.10.0	Extracted language servers from VSCode for HTML, CSS, and JSON	MIT	npm
core	language-server	vscode-xml	0.29.3	XML language server from VSCode	EPL-2.0	mise
core	language-server	yaml-language-server	1.23.0	YAML language server with validation and completion	MIT	npm
core	monitoring	btop	1.4.7	Resource monitor that shows CPU, memory, disks, network, and processes	Apache-2.0	dnf
core	monitoring	fastfetch	2.63.1	Display information about your operating system, software, and hardware	MIT	dnf
core	monitoring	strace	7.1	Trace system calls and signals	LGPL-2.1	dnf
core	network	netcat	1.238	Utility for managing network connections	GPL-2.0	dnf
core	network	tcpdump	4.99.6	Dump traffic on a network	BSD-3-Clause	dnf
core	network	traceroute	2.1.6	Trace the route IP packets take to a host	GPL-2.0	dnf
core	network	wget2-wget	2.2.1	Non-interactive network downloader (wget2 variant)	GPL-3.0	dnf
core	package-manager	npm	11.18.0	JavaScript and Node.js package manager	Artistic-2.0	npm
core	runtimes	node	24.18.0	Open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment	MIT	mise
core	security	nmap	7.92	Network exploration tool and security/port scanner	Nmap	dnf
core	security	openssl	3.5.7	OpenSSL cryptographic toolkit	Apache-2.0	dnf
core	shell	zellij	0.44.3	Pluggable terminal workspace, with terminal multiplexer as the base feature	MIT	mise
core	shell	zsh	5.9	Z SHell, a Bash-compatible command-line interpreter	MIT	dnf
core	system	dos2unix	7.5.5	Convert text between DOS, UNIX, and Mac formats	BSD-2-Clause	dnf
core	system	gzip	1.14	GNU compression utility	GPL-3.0	dnf
core	system	jq	1.8.1	Lightweight and flexible command-line JSON processor	MIT	dnf
core	system	rsync	3.4.1	Fast incremental file transfer utility	GPL-3.0	dnf
core	system	tree	2.2.1	Display directories as trees	GPL-2.0	dnf
core	system	unzip	6.0	Extract, test, and list ZIP files	Info-ZIP	dnf
core	system	wl-clipboard	2.2.1^git20251124.e808203	Command-line copy/paste utilities for Wayland	GPL-3.0	dnf
core	system	xclip	0.13	Command line interface to X selections (clipboard)	GPL-2.0	dnf
core	system	xsel	1.2.1	Access X clipboard from the command line	GPL-2.0	dnf
core	system	yq	4.47.1	Lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor	MIT	dnf
pick	ai	opencode	1.17.12	AI coding assistant for the terminal	MIT	mise
pick	backups	restic	0.19.0	Fast, secure, efficient backup program	BSD-2-Clause	mise
pick	development	delta	0.19.2	A syntax-highlighting pager for git, diff, grep, and blame output	MIT	mise
pick	development	hyperfine	1.20.0	A command-line benchmarking tool	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	development	just	1.55.1	Just a command runner	CC0-1.0	mise
pick	development	miniserve	0.35.0	For when you really just want to serve some files over HTTP right now	MIT	mise
pick	development	serpl	0.3.6	A simple terminal UI for search and replace, ala VS Code	MIT	mise
pick	development	tokei	14.0.0	A program that displays statistics about your code	Apache-2.0	brew
pick	development	tuicr	0.18.0	Terminal UI for code review with vim keybindings and GitHub PR integration	MIT	mise
pick	devops	helm	4.2.2	The package manager for Kubernetes	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	devops	k9s	0.51.0	Kubernetes CLI to manage your clusters	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	devops	kubectl	1.36.2	Kubernetes command-line tool	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	filesystem	7zip	26.02	File archiver with a high compression ratio	LGPL-2.1	mise
pick	filesystem	bat	0.26.1	A cat clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	filesystem	dua	2.37.1	A tool to conveniently learn about the disk usage of directories, fast	MIT	mise
pick	filesystem	duf	0.9.1	Disk Usage/Free Utility - a better df alternative	MIT	mise
pick	filesystem	eza	0.23.4	A modern replacement for ls	EUPL-1.2	mise
pick	filesystem	jdupes	1.31.1	A powerful duplicate file finder and an enhanced fork of fdupes	MIT	brew
pick	filesystem	rip2	0.9.6	A safer, ergonomic alternative to rm	GPL-3.0	mise
pick	filesystem	tre	0.4.0	A modern alternative to the tree command	MIT	mise
pick	formatter	prettier	3.9.4	Opinionated code formatter for JavaScript, CSS, JSON, GraphQL, Markdown, YAML	MIT	npm
pick	language	go	1.26.4	Open source programming language to build simple/reliable/efficient software	BSD-3-Clause	mise
pick	language	typescript	6.0.3	Typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript	Apache-2.0	npm
pick	language-server	dockerfile-language-server-nodejs	0.15.0	Dockerfile language server for syntax highlighting and validation	MIT	npm
pick	language-server	typescript-language-server	5.3.0	TypeScript/JavaScript language server using tsserver	MIT	npm
pick	monitoring	bandwhich	0.23.1	Terminal bandwidth utilization tool	MIT	mise
pick	monitoring	procs	0.14.12	A modern replacement for ps written in Rust	MIT	mise
pick	network	doggo	1.2.0	Modern DNS client for humans	GPL-3.0	mise
pick	network	gping	gping-v1.20.4	Ping, but with a graph	MIT	mise
pick	network	xh	0.26.1	Friendly and fast tool for sending HTTP requests	MIT	mise
pick	productivity	tlrc	1.13.1	Official tldr client written in Rust	MIT	mise
pick	productivity	xan	0.59.0	Terminal multiplexer with batteries included	Unlicense	mise
pick	runtimes	bun	1.3.14	Fast all-in-one JavaScript runtime and toolkit	MIT	mise
pick	search	fd	10.4.2	A simple, fast and user-friendly alternative to find	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	search	fzf	0.73.1	A command-line fuzzy finder	MIT	mise
pick	search	navi	2.24.0	An interactive cheatsheet tool for the command-line	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	search	ripgrep	15.1.0	Recursively searches directories for a regex pattern while respecting your gitignore	Unlicense	mise
pick	search	sd	1.1.0	Intuitive find and replace CLI (sed alternative)	MIT	mise
pick	security	age	1.3.1	Simple, modern, and secure encryption tool	BSD-3-Clause	mise
pick	security	grype	0.115.0	Vulnerability scanner for container images and filesystems	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	security	sops	3.13.2	Simple and flexible tool for managing secrets	MPL-2.0	mise
pick	security	syft	1.46.0	Generate Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) from container images and filesystems	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	security	trivy	0.72.0	Find and fix container misconfigurations, IaC issues, and vulnerabilities	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	security	trufflehog	3.95.7	Find and verify credentials in your codebase	AGPL-3.0	mise
pick	shell	agg	1.9.0	Asciicast to GIF converter	GPL-3.0	mise
pick	shell	asciinema	3.2.1	Terminal session recorder, streamer and player	GPL-3.0	mise
pick	shell	chezmoi	2.70.5	Manage your dotfiles across multiple diverse machines, securely	MIT	mise
pick	shell	glow	2.1.2	Render markdown on the CLI, with pizzazz	MIT	mise
pick	shell	grex	1.4.6	A command-line tool for generating regular expressions from test cases	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	shell	lnav	0.14.0	Log file navigator with format detection and color-coded output	BSD-2-Clause	mise
pick	shell	oh-my-posh	29.19.1	The most customisable and low-latency cross platform/shell prompt renderer	MIT	mise
pick	shell	watchexec	2.5.1	Execute commands when files change	Apache-2.0	mise
pick	shell	zoxide	0.9.9	A smarter cd command. Supports all major shells	MIT	mise
pick	system	hexyl	0.17.0	A command-line hex viewer	Apache-2.0	mise
productivity	productivity	pomo	1.2.1	Terminal Pomodoro timer with TUI, ASCII art, notifications, statistics	MIT	mise

Total: 98 packages

Project Structure

├── core/                   # Base image: bootstrap, entrypoint, core tools
├── feats/                  # Installable feature modules
│   ├── tools/              # CLI utilities
│   ├── languages/          # Language support (LSP, formatters)
│   ├── runtimes/           # Runtimes (Node, Bun, etc.)
│   └── frameworks/         # Framework-specific tooling
├── flavors/                # Dockerfiles that compose core + feats
├── .github/workflows/      # CI for building and publishing images
├── justfile                # Task runner for lifecycle commands
├── nvil.img.make.sh        # Image build script
├── .env.sample             # Environment template
├── .nvil.yaml              # Compose template (create in your workspace)
└── .dev/                   # Local dev compose files

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. To add a new tool:

1. Create an install script under feats/<category>/<tool-name>/
2. Add a metadata.json with tool info
3. Reference it in a flavor Dockerfile
4. Test by building the image

See BACKLOG.md for planned work.

License

MIT. See LICENSE for details.