WPILib Dev Container

A pre-configured Development Container for FRC robot code development. This project automates the creation of a Docker image containing the specific version of the JDK, RoboRIO toolchain, and VS Code extensions required for WPILib.

The container is built automatically when new versions of WPILib are detected.

Features

• Base OS: Ubuntu 24.04 (via Microsoft Dev Containers base)
• Java: WPILib-specific JDK 17 (Eclipse Temurin)
• Compiler: RoboRIO Toolchain (GCC 12.1.0+)
• IDE Support: Pre-installed WPILib VS Code Extension
• Automation: Nightly checks against upstream WPILib repositories to ensure versions match the latest official release.

Usage

This image is designed to be used with Github Codespaces or the VS Code Dev Containers extension.

devcontainer.json Configuration

Add a .devcontainer/devcontainer.json file to your robot project with the following configuration. This sets up the environment variables and paths to use the pre-installed tools instead of downloading them locally.

{
    "name": "WPILib 2026",
    "image": "ghcr.io/npmanos/devcontainer_wpilib:2026",
    "customizations": {
        "vscode": {
            "settings": {
                "java.home": "/home/vscode/wpilib/2026/jdk",
                "java.import.gradle.java.home": "/home/vscode/wpilib/2026/jdk",
                "java.configuration.runtimes": [
                    {
                        "name": "JavaSE-17",
                        "path": "/home/vscode/wpilib/2026/jdk",
                        "default": true
                    }
                ],
                "terminal.integrated.env.linux": {
                    "JAVA_HOME": "/home/vscode/wpilib/2026/jdk"
                }
            },
            "extensions": [
                "vscjava.vscode-java-pack",
                "ms-vscode.cpptools-extension-pack"
            ]
        }
    },
    "postCreateCommand": "code --install-extension /home/vscode/wpilib/vscode-wpilib.vsix",
    "remoteUser": "vscode",
    "features": {
        "ghcr.io/stuartleeks/dev-container-features/shell-history:0": {}
    }
}

Note: Ensure the year in the paths (e.g., 2026) matches the WPILib year you are targeting.

Gradle Setup

The container includes the necessary compilers. Your build.gradle should function normally, as the JAVA_HOME environment variable is set globally within the container to point to the correct JDK.

Container Tags

Images are published to the GitHub Container Registry (ghcr.io).

Tag	Description	Example
latest	The most recent build of the current season.	ghcr.io/npmanos/devcontainer_wpilib:latest
YEAR	The latest build for a specific FRC season.	ghcr.io/npmanos/devcontainer_wpilib:2026
VERSION	A specific WPILib release version.	ghcr.io/npmanos/devcontainer_wpilib:2026.2.1

Automation & Versioning

This repository uses a Python script ([scripts/update_versions.py]) to scrape version metadata directly from the WPILib Installer Gradle configuration.

• Daily Check: A GitHub Action runs daily at 04:00 UTC.
• Auto-Update: If a version mismatch is found, the script updates the .versions file and commits the change.
• Auto-Publish: A commit to the .versions file triggers a build and publish of the new Docker image.

License

This project is released into the public domain under The Unlicense. See LICENSE for details.