You must have a debian package from the public review account you have created on Kiro.

Installing Necessary Dependencies

paru -S apparmor.d-git c libxcomposite libxdamage libxkbfile nspr nss

or if you’re still using the dinosaur yay,

yay -S apparmor.d-git c libxcomposite libxdamage libxkbfile nspr nss

Repackage .deb package to Arch Linux package

Once done installing the dependencies, you have to repack the deb package into an arch linux package, which can be done using debtap.

git clone https://github.com/helixarch/debtap
cd debtap
chmod +x ./debtap
./debtap -u

Next up, we’ll start the repackaging.

./debtap 202507152342-distro-linux-x64.deb

Then, just give the name Kiro for Packager name and license shall be left blank since the app is proprietary.

Once that is done than you’ll be prompted that the repackaging is complete and you’ll see a tar.zst file in the same directory you had the debian package.

Finally, install the kiro arch linux package using pacman,

sudo pacman -U kiro-0.1.6-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst

Conclusion

While the app is in preview, you must follow the same steps to install/update the app, which is until the team working on Kiro releases the app for commercial use.

SDKMAN! (Software Development Kit Manager) is indeed a powerful command-line tool designed for Unix-based systems, offering a streamlined way to manage development tools and SDKs. It functions similarly to fnm or nvm but is tailored for the Java and Spring Boot ecosystem, among others. SDKMAN! simplifies the installation and management of various programming languages, frameworks, and build tools, acting as a personal DevOps assistant to enhance productivity and consistency across development environments.

Why Choose SDKMAN?

• Simplified Version Management: Install and switch between different versions of Java, Kotlin, Gradle, and more

• Time-Saving Automation: Eliminate manual downloads and environment setup

• Project Consistency: Ensure all team members use identical tool versions

• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works seamlessly on Linux, macOS, and Unix-like systems

Key Features and Benefits

1. Effortless Installation

# One-line installation
curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash

# Install latest Java
sdk install java

# List available versions
sdk list java

2. Version Management Made Simple

# Switch Java versions instantly
sdk use java 17.0.9-tem

# Set default version
sdk default java 17.0.9-tem

3. Multi-tool Support

SDKMAN! manages essential development tools including:

• ☕ Java (OpenJDK, Eclipse Temurin, GraalVM)

• 🛠️ Build Tools (Maven, Gradle)

• 🚀 Frameworks (Spring Boot, Micronaut)

• 📜 Languages (Groovy, Kotlin, Scala)

Installation and Setup

Quick Start Guide

1. Install SDKMAN!

curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash
source "$HOME/.sdkman/bin/sdkman-init.sh"

📜 A note for fish shell users: While SDKMAN! is primarily designed for Bash/Zsh shells, you can make it work with Fish shell using a simple wrapper function, click here to know how.

2. Verify Installation

sdk version

3. Install Your First Tool

sdk install java

Project Configuration

Create a .sdkmanrc file for project-specific versions:

# .sdkmanrc
java=17.0.9-tem
gradle=8.4
kotlin=1.9.20

Common Use Cases

For Core Java Developers

# Install specific Java version (Eclipse Temurin in this case)
sdk install java 17.0.9-tem

# List installed versions
sdk list java installed

# Switch versions
sdk use java 17.0.9-tem

For Java Full-Stack Developers

# Install multiple tools
sdk install gradle
# or
sdk install maven
sdk install springboot

and many other developers who use several other tooling and sdks for development can use sdkman, please refer to the official documentation for your sdk support

Advanced Features

1. Environment Management

• Auto-switching between tool versions

• Isolated environments per project

• Parallel version installation

2. Update Management

# Update SDKMAN!
sdk update

# Upgrade all tools
sdk upgrade

Troubleshooting and Tips

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Installation Fails

   • Check internet connection

   • Verify system requirements

   • Ensure bash is installed

2. Version Switching Issues

   • Restart terminal

   • Verify PATH settings

   • Check .sdkmanrc syntax

Pro Tips

1. Speed Up Workflow

    # Create aliases
    alias sdki='sdk install'
    alias sdku='sdk use'
   

2. Project Management

    # Initialize project
    sdk env init
   
    # Load project config
    sdk env
   

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use SDKMAN! with Docker? A: Yes, SDKMAN! can be installed in Docker containers for consistent development environments.

Q: Does it work on Windows? A: SDKMAN! works on Windows through WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) or Git Bash.

Q: Can I install multiple Java distributions? A: Yes, SDKMAN! supports various Java distributions including OpenJDK, Eclipse Temurin, and GraalVM.

Resources and Further Reading

• Official SDKMAN! Documentation

• GitHub Repository

• SDKMAN! Community Discord

The Problem with SDKMAN! and Fish Shell

If you're a Fish shell user trying to use SDKMAN! (Software Development Kit Manager), you've probably encountered errors like:

~/.sdkman/etc/config (line 1): Unsupported use of '='. In fish, please use 'set sdkman_auto_answer false'.

This happens because SDKMAN!'s scripts are written in Bash/Zsh syntax, which isn't compatible with Fish shell's unique syntax.

The Quick Solution: A Fish Shell Wrapper

Instead of converting all of SDKMAN!'s scripts to Fish (which would be time-consuming and break with updates), we can create a simple wrapper function that lets Fish and SDKMAN! work together seamlessly.

Step 1: Install SDKMAN!

First, make sure you have SDKMAN! installed:

curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash

Step 2: Create the Wrapper Function Initialization Script

First, create a new file in your Fish config directory if it doesn't already exist:

mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/conf.d

Then, create a new file called sdkman-init.fish in the conf.d directory:

touch ~/.config/fish/conf.d/sdkman-init.fish

Finally, write the script in your favorite text editor, by following these steps:

1. Open your terminal and type the command to open the file in your preferred text editor. For example, using nvim:

    nvim ~/.config/fish/conf.d/sdkman-init.fish
   

2. Copy and paste the following script into the file:

    function sdk --description 'SDKMAN! wrapper for Fish shell'
        set -q SDKMAN_DIR; or set -gx SDKMAN_DIR "$HOME/.sdkman"
        set -q SDKMAN_CANDIDATES_API; or set -gx SDKMAN_CANDIDATES_API "https://api.sdkman.io/2"
   
        if test -f "$SDKMAN_DIR/var/platform"
            set -gx SDKMAN_PLATFORM (cat "$SDKMAN_DIR/var/platform")
        end
        command bash -c "source $SDKMAN_DIR/bin/sdkman-init.sh && sdk $argv"
   
        if contains -- "$argv[1]" "install" "uninstall" "use" "default" "env"
            set -l candidates (cat "$SDKMAN_DIR/var/candidates")
            for candidate in (string split ',' $candidates)
                set -l candidate_dir "$SDKMAN_DIR/candidates/$candidate/current"
                if test -L "$candidate_dir"; or test -d "$candidate_dir"
                    if not contains "$candidate_dir/bin" $PATH
                        set -gx PATH "$candidate_dir/bin" $PATH
                    end
                end
            end
        end
    end
   
    complete -c sdk -f
    complete -c sdk -a "install uninstall list use current upgrade version default home env clear help offline selfupdate update flush" -d "SDKMAN! command"
    complete -c sdk -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from install uninstall list use current upgrade version default home" -a "(cat $HOME/.sdkman/var/candidates | string split ',')" -d "SDK candidate"
   

3. Save the file and exit the text editor.

Step 3: Initialize fish shell with sdkman

source ~/.config/fish/conf.d/sdkman.fish

Get the complete file as a gist on my github.

How It Works

The wrapper function:

1. Sets up necessary SDKMAN! environment variables.

2. Uses Bash to execute SDKMAN! commands.

3. Updates Fish's PATH after installing or switching versions.

4. Provides command completion for common SDKMAN! operations.

Using SDKMAN! in Fish

Now you can use SDKMAN! commands just like in Bash:

# List available Java versions
sdk list java

# Install a specific Java version (Eclipse Temurin in this case)
sdk install java 17.0.2-tem

# Use a specific Java version
sdk use java 17.0.2-tem

Conclusion

This wrapper provides a practical solution for Fish shell users who want to use SDKMAN! without converting all its scripts or switching shells. It maintains compatibility with SDKMAN! updates while providing most of the functionality you need for day-to-day development.

FAQ

Q: Will this break when SDKMAN! updates? A: No, since we're using Bash to execute SDKMAN! commands, it should continue working with updates.

Q: Does this work on all operating systems? A: Yes, as long as you have both Fish and Bash installed.

Q: Can I contribute to making SDKMAN! work natively in Fish? A: Yes! The SDKMAN! project is open source and welcomes contributions.

To remove everything you don't need (make sure to stop unwanted containers first), run this command:

docker system prune --all

This command (note that it may take a while, especially in the last step) helps free up valuable disk space by removing not only the images, volumes, and containers mentioned above but also the build cache for the containers.

Moreover, if you want to just get rid of unwanted images, then run the following command,

docker image prune --all

if you want to just get rid of unwanted volumes, then run the following command,

docker volume prune --all

Moreover, if you want to just get rid of unwanted containers, then run the following command,

docker container prune --all

I reclaimed almost 74 GB of disk space. How much did you reclaim? Let me know in the comments below. hope this article helped you :)

Act Before You Push

I use act to test GitHub workflows all the time, and I can't count how many times it has saved me.

To get started, install act using brew,

brew install act

It helps you do many things, including:

• Running your GitHub workflow in a specific container allows you to simulate the exact environment your workflow will run in, ensuring consistency and reducing the chances of unexpected failures.

  •     act -P ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest
    

• Run a specific workflow to test individual parts of your GitHub Actions, ensuring each component works as expected before integrating them into the main workflow.

  •     act -P ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest push
    

• Pass secrets if required, ensuring that sensitive information is securely handled during the workflow execution.

  •     act -P ubuntu-latest=catthehacker/ubuntu:act-latest -s GITHUB_TOKEN=f4bhuj2gb5trhigbihfgbti4h2 push
    

You can learn more about the act CLI from the repository below:

Earlier today, I was exploring dev containers from Microsoft and trying to set up a Rust dev container using Distrobox on Docker. I got stuck at the 'user not in sudoers file' error. The typical solution is to add the user to the sudo group using:

usermod -aG sudo $USER

The problem with this command is that I had to be a member of the sudo group, but I wasn't. Later, I tried:

su

for which, again, I had to know the root password. This was still an unknown. At this point, I was thinking of other solutions until...

The Solution

I remembered that Docker has an exec command that allows executing commands as the root user on containers. Then I tried:

docker exec -it <container_name or container_id> sudo usermod -aG sudo $USER

for example in my case it was the rustbox container,

docker exec -it rustbox sudo usermod -aG sudo $USER

If this solution helped you, then leave a like or comment for anything I may be missing. Happy to help, happy coding! 🖥️

Let's get to the nitty gritty of the article.

The inception

I used to be like almost everyone, installing devtools and packages on my local machine back in the day, until I discovered Docker one day. Here's what I found during that time:

Docker can:

• Set up your development environment with a single file called the Dockerfile.

• Let you use any Linux distro you want without having to install it on bare metal.

• Make you focus only on the software you're building, not the environment.

But one Sunday evening, I was bored and wanted to further simplify my development environment setup beyond a Dockerfile.

The elaboration

There I found distrobox, which fascinated me in every single way, I was jumping in joy because of the simplicity it offered, for context, thanks to docker docs, this was the compose file, which I used to setup a nodejs dev environment:

services:
  server:
    build:
      context: .
      target: dev
    ports:
      - 3000:3000
      - 9229:9229
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: production
      POSTGRES_HOST: db
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD_FILE: /run/secrets/db-password
      POSTGRES_DB: example
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    secrets:
      - db-password
    volumes:
      - ./src:/usr/src/app/src
  db:
    image: postgres
    restart: always
    user: postgres
    secrets:
      - db-password
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=example
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/db-password
    expose:
      - 5432
    healthcheck:
      test: [ "CMD", "pg_isready" ]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
volumes:
  db-data:
secrets:
  db-password:
    file: db/password.txt

By the way, if you want to use this, please change the POSTGRES_DB name and other example values provided. Moving on, this was the distrobox file after I switched to distrobox. Once again, thanks to Microsoft devcontainers images for making this beautiful machine learning box image. I use the same box for all my development activities, ranging from developing Java APIs to creating ML apps.

[mlbox]
image=mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/anaconda:latest
additional_packages="nano git btop"
init_hooks="pip3 install huggingface_hub tokenizers transformers accelerate datasets wandb peft bitsandbytes fastcore fastprogress watermark torchmetrics deepspeed"
nvidia=true
pull=true
root=false
replace=false
home=/home/$USER/mlbox-home

As you can see from the above file, I have all the necessary packages for machine learning. The rest of the packages are installed using brew. Even my code editor, Vscodium, is installed on the same box. This not only separates concerns but also contributes to the immutability of my base operating system, which is Arch Linux (I use Arch btw).

The Conclusion

Distrobox changed the way I looked at Docker containers and further simplified my life by isolating my development environment from my local packages.

I will publish more blogs detailing my complete dev environment setup in parts over the upcoming days. Until then, stay tuned and happy coding! 🖥️