Package: remote-docker-aws
Remote Docker on AWS for local developmentUse docker to develop services, but without the overhead of running docker on your machine! This is a development tool that you should use if your machine is low performance, or if you are running many docker services.Why is this useful?Frees up your local machine for useful tasks
such as running your code editor, browser, and email, leaving running Docker to a dedicated server instance.
The result is that your local machine functions faster, uses up less disk space, and consumes less power.
MacOS users will also see noticeable speed improvements since Docker on Linux (which is
what the remote hosts runs) is much more performant.The downsides:SSH tunnel communication is slower than local communication. However using an AWS region with low ping makes the latency unnoticeable. Find the region fastest for you usingthis siteSome more setup required to get everything configured properly and running (tunneling ports, syncing file changes)Running the ec2 instance incurs an additional cost over running locally, although a t3.medium instance in Canada only costs just under 5 cents/hourHow it works: two processes are run, a sync and a tunnel process.The sync process keeps local and remote files in sync so that the docker process run remotely can use docker volumes transparentlyThe tunnel process forwards ports needed so your local system can communicate with docker, plus additional ports as required, such as port 443 for browser communicationSetupFirst login to your AWS account andcreate access keys to access AWS through the CLIYou will need the following IAM policies:AmazonEC2FullAccessAWSCloudFormationFullAccessAnd now in your terminal:# Replace josh with your name# You will need to setup an AWS account if you don't have one# and create access key credentialsawsconfigure--profilejoshexportAWS_PROFILE=joshInstall pre-requisitesHaveHomebrew(Available on both macOS and Linux now!)Havepipxpipxinstallremote-docker-aws
pipxinstallunison-gitignore# Install unison sync utilitybrewinstallunison# Install file-watcher driver for unison# On MacOS:brewinstallautozimu/homebrew-formulas/unison-fsmonitor# Or, on Linux since the above formula doesn't work:brewinstalleugenmayer/dockersync/unoxGenerate and upload a keypair to AWS# Note: bash users can use `rd` instead of `remote-docker-aws`. zsh users cannot since zsh aliases `rd` to `rmdir` (!)remote-docker-awscreate-keypairCreate the ec2 instanceremote-docker-awscreateDaily RunningStart the remote-docker ec2 instanceremote-docker-awsstartThis will automatically switch the docker context for you. If you want to switch
back to the default agent rundocker context use defaultIn one terminal start the tunnel so that the ports you need to connect to are exposedremote-docker-awstunnel# Usually it's preferable just to forward the ports to same port# so eg. with mysql on docker exposing port 3306 and nginx on docker exposing port 80:remote-docker-awstunnel-l80:80-l3306:3306# You can forward remote ports as needed with the "-r" option:# which can be used so the docker instance can access services running locally (eg. webpack)remote-docker-awstunnel-r8080:8080In another terminal sync file changes to the remote instance:# Add any more paths you need to sync here, or add them to the config file# You will need to sync directories that are mounted as volumes by dockerremote-docker-awssync~/blog# If watched directories are supplied in ~/.remote-docker.config.json# then simply call:remote-docker-awssyncDevelop and code! All services should be accessible and usable as usual (eg:docker ps,docker-compose up, etc.)
as long as you are runningremote-docker-aws tunneland are forwarding the ports you needWhen you're done for the day don't forget to stop the instance to save money:remote-docker-awsstopConfig FileLooks for a config file at the path~/.remote-docker.config.jsonby default,
which can be overriden by passing--config-path. The config file is not necessary
and CLI usage is possible without it as long as AWS_PROFILE and AWS_REGION environment variables are setAn example.remote-docker.config.jsonfile:{"key_path":"~/.ssh/id_rsa_remote_docker","sync_ignore_patterns_git":["**/*.idea/","**/*.git/","**/*~","**/*.sw[pon]"],"profiles":{"blog":{"sync_ignore_patterns_git":["**/notes/"],"remote_port_forwards":{"local-webpack-app":{"8080":"8080"}},"local_port_forwards":{"blog_app":{"443":"443","80":"8000"},"blog_db":{"3306":"3306"}},"watched_directories":["~/.aws","~/blog"]}},"default_profile":"blog"}Usage:remote-docker-aws[OPTIONS]COMMAND[ARGS]...

Options:--profileTEXTNameoftheremote-docker-awsprofiletouse--config-pathTEXTPathoftheremote-docker-awsJSONconfigThe current configurable values are:aws_region(takes precedence overAWS_REGIONand.aws/config)The region to create the instance ininstance_typeType of ec2 instance, defaults to:t3.mediumkey_pathdefaults to:~/.ssh/id_rsa_remote_dockerlocal_port_forwardsdefaults to:{}Object containing label -> port mapping objects for opening the ports on the remote host.
A mapping of"local_port_forwards": {"my_app": {"80": "8080"}}will open port 80 on your local machine
and point it to port 8080 of the remote-docker instance (which ostensibly a container is listening on).
The name doesn't do anything except help legibility.remote_port_forwardsdefaults to:{}Similar tolocal_port_forwardsexcept will open the port on the remote instance.This is useful to have frontend webpack apps accessible on the remote hostsync_ignore_patterns_gitdefaults to:[]use.gitignoresyntax, and make sure to use the directory wildcard as neededuser_iddefaults toNoneUsed to uniquely identify the instance, this is useful if multiple remote-docker agents
will be created in the same AWS accountwatched_directoriesdefaults to:[]list of paths to watch byremote-docker-aws syncvolume_sizedefaults to:30(GB)Size of the ec2 volume.Profiles are a way to organize and override settings for different projects.
Values nested in a profile override the values defined outside a profile,
except for lists and dictionaries which are merged with the values outside the profileCostA t3.medium instance on ca-central-1 currently costs $0.046 /hour.See current pricesNothing else used should incur any cost with reasonable usageNotesSeeremote-docker-aws --helpfor more information on the commands availableThe unison version running on the server and running locally have to
match. If one of them updates to a newer version, you should update the other.
This can be done locally viabrew upgrade unison, and to update the remote unison version:rd sshthenbrew upgrade unison