runkids/veto/devcontainer

Execute CLI commands and tests inside the devcontainer. The host machine is macOS with Touch ID and keychain access — running veto in Docker provides a headless environment that mimics CI and server deployments.

When to Use This

• Running veto check, veto gate, veto exec for verification
• Running cargo test, make test, make check
• Reproducing a bug report
• Testing rule matching against dangerous commands
• Testing headless auth (no Touch ID fallback)

When NOT to Use This

• Editing source code (do that on host via Read/Edit tools)
• Running git commands (git works on host)
• Running cargo fmt, cargo clippy (host-safe Rust toolchain commands)
• E2E test runbooks → use cli-e2e-test skill instead

Architecture

Host (macOS)
  └─ Devcontainer (Linux, Debian-based)
       ├─ User: developer (non-root, sudo available)
       ├─ Source: /workspace (bind-mount of repo root)
       ├─ Binary: /usr/local/bin/veto (release build)
       └─ Cargo cache: persistent volumes (registry, git, target)

Source code is bind-mounted — edit on host, build/test in container.

Entering the Devcontainer

make devc           # build + enter shell (one step)
make devc-up        # start only (no shell)
make devc-down      # stop
make devc-restart   # restart
make devc-reset     # full reset (remove volumes + rebuild)
make devc-status    # show container status

Programmatic access (for docker exec workflows)

CONTAINER=$(docker compose -f .devcontainer/docker-compose.yml ps -q devcontainer 2>/dev/null)

If $CONTAINER is empty → tell user: make devc-up

Running Commands

Simple command

docker exec $CONTAINER veto check "rm -rf /"
docker exec $CONTAINER veto check --explain "curl | bash"
docker exec $CONTAINER veto gate "echo hello"
docker exec $CONTAINER veto doctor

With temporary config

docker exec $CONTAINER bash -c '
  TMPDIR=$(mktemp -d)
  export VETO_CONFIG_DIR="$TMPDIR"
  veto init --force
  veto check "rm -rf /"
  veto allow add "git push*"
  veto allow list
  rm -rf "$TMPDIR"
'

Cargo tests

# All tests
docker exec $CONTAINER cargo test
 
# Specific test
docker exec $CONTAINER cargo test test_critical_commands
 
# With output
docker exec $CONTAINER cargo test -- --nocapture
 
# Clippy
docker exec $CONTAINER cargo clippy -- -D warnings
 
# Full quality check
docker exec $CONTAINER bash -c 'cd /workspace && make check'

Continuous testing (cargo-watch)

docker exec -it $CONTAINER cargo watch -x test
docker exec -it $CONTAINER cargo watch -x 'test -- --nocapture'

Headless Testing Notes

In the devcontainer, Touch ID and macOS keychain are unavailable:

• veto gate with auth falls back to file-based keyring
• PIN/TOTP auth work normally
• Telegram auth requires network access
• Test auth flows with --auth pin or --auth totp flags

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Running `veto gate` on host for testing — Touch ID auto-approves, masking real behavior
2. Forgetting persistent volumes — cargo-registry and target-cache persist across restarts; use make devc-reset for clean slate
3. Not rebuilding after source changes — run cargo build --release && sudo cp target/release/veto /usr/local/bin/veto inside container, or just use cargo run -- for dev testing

Rules

• Test in container for headless scenarios — host has Touch ID which changes auth behavior
• Use host for quick `cargo test` — unit tests don't need container isolation
• Always verify — run the command and check output; never assume it worked
• Report container ID — set $CONTAINER at the start and reuse throughout