Quarto Codespaces

Setup to deploy GitHub Codespaces (Codespaces) or Development Containers (Dev Containers) with Quarto.

Overview

This repository provides a setup to deploy Codespaces or Dev Containers with Quarto, supporting R, Python, and Julia environments. It includes configuration files and scripts to initialise and manage these environments.

Using ghcr.io/mcanouil/quarto-codespaces:latest as a base image for a quick deployment (Ubuntu 22.04 - Jammy Jellyfish):

Using Codespaces default base image (ghcr.io/mcanouil/quarto-codespaces:release-universal) to mitigate GitHub storage usage (Ubuntu 20.04 - Focal Fossa):

Using as a Template

You can use this repository as a template for your own projects. To do so, click the "Use this template" button on the GitHub repository page. This will create a new repository with the same files and structure.

Using with Codespaces

This repository is configured to work with GitHub Codespaces. To use it, follow these steps:

1. Open the repository on GitHub.
2. Click the "Code" button and select "Open with Codespaces".
3. If you don't have a Codespace already, create a new one.
4. The Codespace will be set up automatically using the configuration provided in this repository.

Using Custom Configurations

By default, Codespaces uses the main configuration located at .devcontainer/devcontainer.json (Quarto stable release). However, this repository provides several pre-configured alternatives for different Quarto versions and setups:

Available Configurations

• Default: .devcontainer/devcontainer.json - Latest stable Quarto release
• Universal: .devcontainer/universal/devcontainer.json - Based on Microsoft's universal base image (Ubuntu 20.04)
• Specific Quarto versions:
  • .devcontainer/quarto-1.8/devcontainer.json - Quarto 1.8
  • .devcontainer/quarto-1.7/devcontainer.json - Quarto 1.7
  • .devcontainer/quarto-1.6/devcontainer.json - Quarto 1.6
  • .devcontainer/quarto-1.5/devcontainer.json - Quarto 1.5
  • And more versions available in the .devcontainer/ directory
• Prerelease: .devcontainer/quarto-prerelease/devcontainer.json - Latest Quarto prerelease

Selecting a Custom Configuration

To use a specific configuration when creating a Codespace:

1. Via URL: You can directly specify the configuration using URL parameters:

   https://codespaces.new/mcanouil/quarto-codespaces?devcontainer_path=.devcontainer%2Funiversal%2Fdevcontainer.json

2. Via Codespaces Interface:

   • When creating a new Codespace, click on the "Configure dev container" option.
   • Select the desired configuration from the dropdown menu.
   • Click "Create codespace".

3. For Template Users: If you're using this as a template for your own repository:

   • Copy the desired configuration to .devcontainer/devcontainer.json in your repository.
   • Modify the configuration as needed for your specific requirements.
   • Commit the changes to apply the custom configuration.

Creating Your Own Configuration

You can also create a completely custom configuration by:

1. Copying an existing configuration file as a starting point
2. Modifying the following sections as needed:
   • Base image: Change the image property or use build for custom Dockerfile.
   • Features: Add or remove Dev Container features.
   • Extensions: Customise VS Code extensions.
   • Settings: Adjust VS Code settings.
   • Environment variables: Add custom environment variables.

Example custom configuration structure:

{
  "name": "Custom Quarto Setup",
  "image": "ghcr.io/mcanouil/quarto-codespaces:latest",
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/rocker-org/devcontainer-features/quarto-cli:1": {
      "version": "1.8"
    }
  },
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": ["quarto.quarto"],
      "settings": {}
    }
  }
}

Dev Container Configuration

The Dev Container configuration is located in .github/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json. This file defines the development container settings, including the base image, user settings, and features to be installed.

Key Features

• Base Image: The container uses the buildpack-deps:jammy-curl image as the base.
• Remote User: The default user is set to vscode.
• Installed Features:
  • Common utilities with Zsh shell.
  • Git for version control.
  • R with renv support and rmarkdown.
  • Python with shared libraries, jupyter and uv.
  • Julia with the latest release channel and IJulia.
  • TinyTeX for LaTeX support.
  • Decktape for PDF generation from HTML presentations.
  • Quarto CLI for scientific and technical publishing.

Docker Image

The Dev Container configuration is used to build a Docker image that is available for use. You can pull the latest image (using Quarto stable release) using the following command:

docker pull ghcr.io/mcanouil/quarto-codespaces:latest

Available tags: ghcr.io/mcanouil/quarto-codespaces

Quarto Check Output

The following outputs show the quarto check results from the latest builds of the Docker images:

Release Image

Quarto 1.8.27

[✓] Checking environment information...
      Quarto cache location: /home/vscode/.cache/quarto

[✓] Checking versions of quarto binary dependencies...
      Pandoc version 3.6.3: OK
      Dart Sass version 1.87.0: OK
      Deno version 2.3.1: OK
      Typst version 0.13.0: OK

[✓] Checking versions of quarto dependencies......OK

[✓] Checking Quarto installation......OK
      Version: 1.8.27
      Path: /opt/quarto/bin


(|) Checking tools....................
[✓] Checking tools....................OK
      TinyTeX: (external install)
      Chromium: (not installed)


(|) Checking LaTeX....................
[✓] Checking LaTeX....................OK
      Using: Installation From Path
      Path: /usr/local/bin
      Version: 2025


[✓] Checking Chrome Headless....................OK
      Using: Chrome found on system
      Path: /usr/bin/google-chrome
      Source: PATH


(|) Checking basic markdown render....
[✓] Checking basic markdown render....OK


(|) Checking Python 3 installation....
[✓] Checking Python 3 installation....OK
      Version: 3.13.9
      Path: /usr/local/python/current/bin/python3
      Jupyter: 5.9.1
      Kernels: julia-1.12, python3


(|) Checking Jupyter engine render....
[✓] Checking Jupyter engine render....OK


(|) Checking R installation...........
[✓] Checking R installation...........OK
      Version: 4.5.2
      Path: /opt/R/4.5.2/lib/R
      LibPaths:
        - /home/vscode/R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.5
        - /opt/R/4.5.2/lib/R/library
      knitr: 1.51
      rmarkdown: 2.30


(|) Checking Knitr engine render......
[✓] Checking Knitr engine render......OK

View build log

Prerelease Image

Quarto 1.9.18

[✓] Checking environment information...
      Quarto cache location: /home/vscode/.cache/quarto

[✓] Checking versions of quarto binary dependencies...
      Pandoc version 3.8.3: OK
      Dart Sass version 1.87.0: OK
      Deno version 2.4.5: OK
      Typst version 0.14.2: OK

[✓] Checking versions of quarto dependencies......OK

[✓] Checking Quarto installation......OK
      Version: 1.9.18
      Path: /opt/quarto/bin


(|) Checking tools....................
[✓] Checking tools....................OK
      TinyTeX: (external install)
      Chromium: (not installed)
      VeraPDF: (not installed)


(|) Checking LaTeX....................
[✓] Checking LaTeX....................OK
      Using: Installation From Path
      Path: /usr/local/bin
      Version: 2025


[✓] Checking Chrome Headless....................OK
      Using: Chrome found on system
      Path: /usr/bin/google-chrome
      Source: PATH


(|) Checking basic markdown render....
[✓] Checking basic markdown render....OK


(|) Checking R installation...........
[✓] Checking R installation...........OK
      Version: 4.5.2
      Path: /opt/R/4.5.2/lib/R
      LibPaths:
        - /home/vscode/R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.5
        - /opt/R/4.5.2/lib/R/library
      knitr: 1.51
      rmarkdown: 2.30


(|) Checking Knitr engine render......
[✓] Checking Knitr engine render......OK


(|) Checking Python 3 installation....
[✓] Checking Python 3 installation....OK
      Version: 3.13.9
      Path: /usr/local/python/current/bin/python3
      Jupyter: 5.9.1
      Kernels: julia-1.12, python3


(|) Checking Jupyter engine render....
[✓] Checking Jupyter engine render....OK


(|) Checking Julia installation...
[✓] Checking Julia installation...

View build log

Initialisation Script

The initialisation script init.sh is used to set up the R, Python, and Julia environments. It supports initialising all environments or specific ones based on the provided options.

Usage

./init-env.sh [--what/-w all|r|python|julia] [--force/-f] [--help/-h]

Script Details

• Options:
  • --what/-w: Specify which environment(s) to initialise (all, r, python (uv), julia).
  • --force/-f: Force reinstallation of the specified environment(s).
  • --help/-h: Display help message and exit.
• Functionality: The script installs necessary dependencies for R, Python, and Julia, inside environments.
  • For R, it sets up renv and installs required packages.
  • For Python, it sets up uv and installs required libraries.
  • For Julia, it sets up an environment and installs required packages.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request for any improvements or bug fixes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.