A portable, containerized terminal-first development environment built on Rhel Family.
Start coding immediately without configuring a new machine.

NVIL

• Requirements
• Quick Start
• Features
• NVIL vs Dev Containers
• Architecture
• Usage
  • Environment Variables
  • Setup
  • Lifecycle Commands
• Build Your Own Flavor
• Available Tools in Full Flavor
• Project Structure
• Contributing
• License

Requirements

Tool	Description	Install
just	Command runner	brew install just / cargo install just / scoop install just
podman (or docker)	Container runtime	Install podman

Quick Start

cd /path/to/your-projects-workspace

# Download sample files
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomaschampagne/nvil/main/.nvil.yaml -o .nvil.yaml
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomaschampagne/nvil/main/justfile -o justfile
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomaschampagne/nvil/main/.env.sample -o .env

# Edit .env with your info and preferences
vi .env

# Launch
just connect

You're in a fully configured dev environment. See Usage for details.

Features

• Terminal-first workspace - ZSH, Zellij multiplexer, Helix/Neovim, Yazi file manager, and keyboard-driven tools out of the box
• Pre-built images - No waiting for container builds; pull ghcr.io/thomaschampagne/nvil-core or nvil-full and go
• Cross-project workspace - Mount your entire projects directory, not just one repo at a time
• Extensible via "feats" - Add languages, runtimes, and tools via dnf, mise, or Homebrew
• Editor agnostic - Works with any modal editor; connect your IDE via SSH to the container
• 95+ pre-configured tools - Git, ripgrep, fzf, kubectl, trivy, lazygit, btop, and more

NVIL vs Dev Containers

	Dev Containers	NVIL
Scope	Per-project (.devcontainer.json)	Per-project and cross-project, and personal environment
Editor	VS Code / JetBrains only	Any modal editor, or connect your IDE via SSH
Base image	Built from scratch each time	Pre-built, layered on Fedora
Workflow	Attach to container per project	Access all projects from your mounted workspace

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Your Host                     │
│  ┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────┐   │
│  │  Projects   │     │   .nvil.yaml +       │   │
│  │  Directory  │ --> │   .nvil.env          │   │
│  └─────────────┘     └──────────────────────┘   │
│         ▲                      │                │
│         |                      ▼                │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │       Container (Docker / Podman)        │   │
│  │  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐  │   │
│  │  │  Fedora Base (nvil-core)           │  │   │
│  │  │  ZSH · Zellij · Git · Core Tools   │  │   │
│  │  └────────────────────────────────────┘  │   │
│  │  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐  │   │
│  │  │  Flavor Layer (nvil-full)          │  │   │
│  │  │  Go · Node · Bun · k9s · Trivy ... │  │   │
│  │  └────────────────────────────────────┘  │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Component	Description
core/	Base Fedora image with shell, git, editors
feats/	Installable tool modules (languages, runtimes, tools, ...)
flavors/	Dockerfiles that layer feats onto core
nvil.img.make.sh	Build script for custom images

Usage

Environment Variables

Copy and edit the sample:

cp .env.sample .env

Variable	Default	Description
NVIL_CONTAINER_NAME	nvil	Container name and hostname
NVIL_IMAGE	ghcr.io/thomaschampagne/nvil-full:latest	Image to use
NVIL_WORKSPACE_HOST_PATH	.	Host path mounted as /workspace
NVIL_GIT_USER_NAME	Smith Black	Git user name
NVIL_GIT_USER_EMAIL	smith.black@dev.local	Git user email
NVIL_DEFAULT_EDITOR	hx	Default editor (hx, nvim, etc.)
TZ	Europe/Paris	Timezone

Setup

Create .nvil.yaml in your workspace directory (e.g., /home/user/Projects/.nvil.yaml):

# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/compose-spec/compose-go/master/schema/compose-spec.json
services:
  nvil:
    container_name: ${NVIL_CONTAINER_NAME:-nvil}
    image: ${NVIL_IMAGE:-ghcr.io/thomaschampagne/nvil-full:latest}
    hostname: ${NVIL_CONTAINER_NAME:-nvil}
    restart: unless-stopped
    env_file:
      - .env
    working_dir: /workspace
    volumes:
      - .:/workspace:delegated
    network_mode: host
    cap_add:
      - NET_RAW
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true

Lifecycle Commands

# Start and connect (auto-starts podman machine if needed)
just connect

# Stop (preserves container state)
just stop

# Destroy container
just delete

Build Your Own Flavor

Use flavors/full.Dockerfile as a blueprint. Pick the feats you want, then build:

sh nvil.img.make.sh \
  --docker-file=./flavors/my-flavor.Dockerfile \
  --image=nvil-my-flavor:latest \
  --gh-token=$GITHUB_TOKEN

Add feats by copying install scripts into feats/<category>/<name>/ and referencing them in your Dockerfile:

COPY --parents --chown=${NVIL_USER}:${NVIL_USER} ./feats/tools/my-tool /nvil/.tmp/

Run sh nvil.img.make.sh --help for all options.

Available Tools in Full Flavor

NVIL ships with many tools across core and pickable categories. View the full list inside a running container:

nvil --list

Scope	Category	Name	Version	Description	Licence	Repo	Manager
core	development	gcc	15.2.1	GNU compiler collection	GPL-3.0	https://gcc.gnu.org/	dnf
core	development	git	2.53.0	Distributed version control system	GPL-2.0	https://github.com/git/git	dnf
core	development	helix	25.07.1	Post-modern modal text editor	MPL-2.0	https://github.com/helix-editor/helix	mise
core	development	lazygit	0.60.0	Simple terminal UI for git commands	MIT	https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit	mise
core	development	nano	8.5	Text editor. An enhanced pico clone	GPL-3.0	https://www.nano-editor.org/	dnf
core	development	neovim	0.12.0	Ambitious Vim-fork focused on extensibility and agility	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/neovim/neovim	mise
core	development	vim-enhanced	9.2.280	Vi IMproved, a programmer's text editor with enhanced features	VIM	https://github.com/vim/vim	dnf
core	filesystem	yazi	26.1.22	Blazing fast terminal file manager written in Rust	MIT	https://github.com/sxyazi/yazi	mise
core	font	jetbrains-mono-fonts	2.304	Monospaced font designed for developers by JetBrains	OFL-1.1	https://github.com/JetBrains/JetBrainsMono	dnf
core	formatter	dprint	0.53.2	Pluggable and configurable code formatting platform written in Rust	MIT	https://github.com/dprint/dprint	mise
core	formatter	shfmt	3.13.0	Shell parser, formatter, and interpreter	BSD-3-Clause	https://github.com/mvdan/sh	mise
core	formatter	taplo	0.10.0	TOML toolkit written in Rust	MIT	https://github.com/tamasfe/taplo	mise
core	language-server	bash-language-server	5.6.0	Bash language server using tree-sitter for parsing	MIT	https://github.com/bash-lsp/bash-language-server	pnpm
core	language-server	emmet-ls	0.4.2	Emmet support for LSP-compatible editors	MIT	https://github.com/aca/emmet-ls	pnpm
core	language-server	marksman	2026-02-08	Language Server Protocol for Markdown	MIT	https://github.com/artempyanykh/marksman	mise
core	language-server	vscode-langservers-extracted	4.10.0	Extracted language servers from VSCode for HTML, CSS, and JSON	MIT	https://github.com/hrsh7th/vscode-langservers-extracted	pnpm
core	language-server	vscode-xml	0.29.0	XML language server from VSCode	EPL-2.0	https://github.com/redhat-developer/vscode-xml	mise
core	language-server	yaml-language-server	1.21.0	YAML language server with validation and completion	MIT	https://github.com/redhat-developer/yaml-language-server	pnpm
core	monitoring	btop	1.4.6	Resource monitor that shows CPU, memory, disks, network, and processes	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/aristocratos/btop	dnf
core	monitoring	fastfetch	2.60.0	Display information about your operating system, software, and hardware	MIT	https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch	dnf
core	monitoring	strace	6.19	Trace system calls and signals	LGPL-2.1	https://github.com/strace/strace	dnf
core	network	netcat	1.237	Utility for managing network connections	GPL-2.0	https://sourceforge.net/projects/netcat/	dnf
core	network	tcpdump	4.99.6	Dump traffic on a network	BSD-3-Clause	https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/tcpdump	dnf
core	network	traceroute	2.1.6	Trace the route IP packets take to a host	GPL-2.0	https://sourceforge.net/projects/traceroute/	dnf
core	network	wget2-wget	2.2.1	Non-interactive network downloader (wget2 variant)	GPL-3.0	https://gitlab.com/gnuwget/wget2	dnf
core	package-manager	npm	11.11.0	JavaScript and Node.js package manager	Artistic-2.0	https://github.com/npm/cli	npm
core	package-manager	pnpm	10.33.0	Fast, disk space efficient package manager	MIT	https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm	mise
core	runtimes	node	24.14.1	Open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment	MIT	https://github.com/nodejs/node	mise
core	security	nmap	7.92	Network exploration tool and security/port scanner	Nmap	https://github.com/nmap/nmap	dnf
core	security	openssl	3.5.4	OpenSSL cryptographic toolkit	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/openssl/openssl	dnf
core	shell	zellij	0.44.0	Pluggable terminal workspace, with terminal multiplexer as the base feature	MIT	https://github.com/zellij-org/zellij	mise
core	shell	zsh	5.9	Z SHell, a Bash-compatible command-line interpreter	MIT	https://www.zsh.org/	dnf
core	system	dos2unix	7.5.3	Convert text between DOS, UNIX, and Mac formats	BSD-2-Clause	https://waterlan.home.xs4all.nl/dos2unix.html	dnf
core	system	gzip	1.13	GNU compression utility	GPL-3.0	https://www.gnu.org/software/gzip/	dnf
core	system	jq	1.8.1	Lightweight and flexible command-line JSON processor	MIT	https://github.com/jqlang/jq	dnf
core	system	rsync	3.4.1	Fast incremental file transfer utility	GPL-3.0	https://github.com/WayneD/rsync	dnf
core	system	tree	2.2.1	Display directories as trees	GPL-2.0	https://gitlab.com/OldManProgrammer/unix-tree	dnf
core	system	unzip	6.0	Extract, test, and list ZIP files	Info-ZIP	https://sourceforge.net/projects/infozip/	dnf
core	system	wl-clipboard	2.2.1	Command-line copy/paste utilities for Wayland	GPL-3.0	https://github.com/bugaevc/wl-clipboard	dnf
core	system	xclip	0.13	Command line interface to X selections (clipboard)	GPL-2.0	https://github.com/astrand/xclip	dnf
core	system	xsel	1.2.1	Access X clipboard from the command line	GPL-2.0	https://github.com/kfish/xsel	dnf
core	system	yq	4.47.1	Lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor	MIT	https://github.com/mikefarah/yq	dnf
pick	ai	opencode	1.3.15	AI coding assistant for the terminal	MIT	https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode	mise
pick	backups	restic	0.18.1	Fast, secure, efficient backup program	BSD-2-Clause	https://github.com/restic/restic	mise
pick	development	delta	0.19.2	A syntax-highlighting pager for git, diff, grep, and blame output	MIT	https://github.com/dandavison/delta	mise
pick	development	hyperfine	1.20.0	A command-line benchmarking tool	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/sharkdp/hyperfine	mise
pick	development	just	1.49.0	Just a command runner	CC0-1.0	https://github.com/casey/just	mise
pick	development	miniserve	0.33.0	For when you really just want to serve some files over HTTP right now	MIT	https://github.com/svenstaro/miniserve	mise
pick	development	serpl	0.3.4	A simple terminal UI for search and replace, ala VS Code	MIT	https://github.com/yassinebridi/serpl	mise
pick	development	tokei	14.0.0	A program that displays statistics about your code	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/XAMPPRocky/tokei	brew
pick	devops	helm	4.1.3	The package manager for Kubernetes	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/helm/helm	mise
pick	devops	k9s	0.50.18	Kubernetes CLI to manage your clusters	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/derailed/k9s	mise
pick	devops	kubectl	1.35.3	Kubernetes command-line tool	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes	mise
pick	filesystem	7zip	26.00	File archiver with a high compression ratio	LGPL-2.1	https://github.com/ip7z/7zip	mise
pick	filesystem	bat	0.26.1	A cat clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/sharkdp/bat	mise
pick	filesystem	dua	2.34.0	A tool to conveniently learn about the disk usage of directories, fast	MIT	https://github.com/Byron/dua-cli	mise
pick	filesystem	duf	0.9.1	Disk Usage/Free Utility - a better df alternative	MIT	https://github.com/muesli/duf	mise
pick	filesystem	eza	0.23.4	A modern replacement for ls	EUPL-1.2	https://github.com/eza-community/eza	mise
pick	filesystem	jdupes	1.31.1	A powerful duplicate file finder and an enhanced fork of fdupes	MIT	https://github.com/jbruchon/jdupes	brew
pick	filesystem	rip2	0.9.6	A safer, ergonomic alternative to rm	GPL-3.0	https://github.com/MilesCranmer/rip2	mise
pick	filesystem	tre	0.4.0	A modern alternative to the tree command	MIT	https://github.com/dduan/tre	mise
pick	formatter	prettier	3.8.1	Opinionated code formatter for JavaScript, CSS, JSON, GraphQL, Markdown, YAML	MIT	https://github.com/prettier/prettier	pnpm
pick	language	go	1.26.1	Open source programming language to build simple/reliable/efficient software	BSD-3-Clause	https://github.com/golang/go	mise
pick	language	typescript	6.0.2	Typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript	pnpm
pick	language-server	dockerfile-language-server-nodejs	0.15.0	Dockerfile language server for syntax highlighting and validation	MIT	https://github.com/rcjsuen/dockerfile-language-server-nodejs	pnpm
pick	language-server	typescript-language-server	5.1.3	TypeScript/JavaScript language server using tsserver	MIT	https://github.com/typescript-language-server/typescript-language-server	pnpm
pick	monitoring	bandwhich	0.23.1	Terminal bandwidth utilization tool	MIT	https://github.com/imsnif/bandwhich	mise
pick	monitoring	procs	0.14.11	A modern replacement for ps written in Rust	MIT	https://github.com/dalance/procs	mise
pick	network	doggo	1.1.5	Modern DNS client for humans	GPL-3.0	https://github.com/mr-karan/doggo	mise
pick	network	gping	gping-v1.20.1	Ping, but with a graph	MIT	https://github.com/orf/gping	mise
pick	network	xh	0.25.3	Friendly and fast tool for sending HTTP requests	MIT	https://github.com/ducaale/xh	mise
pick	productivity	tlrc	1.13.0	Official tldr client written in Rust	MIT	https://github.com/tldr-pages/tlrc	mise
pick	productivity	xan	0.56.0	Terminal multiplexer with batteries included	Unlicense	https://github.com/medialab/xan	mise
pick	runtimes	bun	1.3.11	Fast all-in-one JavaScript runtime and toolkit	MIT	https://github.com/oven-sh/bun	mise
pick	search	fd	10.4.2	A simple, fast and user-friendly alternative to find	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/sharkdp/fd	mise
pick	search	fzf	0.71.0	A command-line fuzzy finder	MIT	https://github.com/junegunn/fzf	mise
pick	search	navi	2.24.0	An interactive cheatsheet tool for the command-line	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/denisidoro/navi	mise
pick	search	ripgrep	15.1.0	Recursively searches directories for a regex pattern while respecting your gitignore	Unlicense	https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep	mise
pick	search	sd	1.1.0	Intuitive find and replace CLI (sed alternative)	MIT	https://github.com/chmln/sd	mise
pick	security	age	1.3.1	Simple, modern, and secure encryption tool	BSD-3-Clause	https://github.com/FiloSottile/age	mise
pick	security	grype	0.110.0	Vulnerability scanner for container images and filesystems	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/anchore/grype	mise
pick	security	sops	3.12.2	Simple and flexible tool for managing secrets	MPL-2.0	https://github.com/getsops/sops	mise
pick	security	syft	1.42.3	Generate Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) from container images and filesystems	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/anchore/syft	mise
pick	security	trivy	0.69.3	Find and fix container misconfigurations, IaC issues, and vulnerabilities	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy	mise
pick	security	trufflehog	3.94.2	Find and verify credentials in your codebase	AGPL-3.0	https://github.com/trufflesecurity/trufflehog	mise
pick	shell	agg	1.7.0	Asciicast to GIF converter	GPL-3.0	https://github.com/asciinema/agg	mise
pick	shell	asciinema	3.2.0	Terminal session recorder, streamer and player	GPL-3.0	https://github.com/asciinema/asciinema	mise
pick	shell	chezmoi	2.70.0	Manage your dotfiles across multiple diverse machines, securely	MIT	https://github.com/twpayne/chezmoi	mise
pick	shell	glow	2.1.1	Render markdown on the CLI, with pizzazz	MIT	https://github.com/charmbracelet/glow	mise
pick	shell	lnav	0.13.2	Log file navigator with format detection and color-coded output	BSD-2-Clause	https://github.com/tstack/lnav	mise
pick	shell	oh-my-posh	29.9.2	The most customisable and low-latency cross platform/shell prompt renderer	MIT	https://github.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh	mise
pick	shell	watchexec	2.5.1	Execute commands when files change	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/watchexec/watchexec	mise
pick	shell	zoxide	0.9.9	A smarter cd command. Supports all major shells	MIT	https://github.com/ajeetdsouza/zoxide	mise
pick	system	hexyl	0.17.0	A command-line hex viewer	Apache-2.0	https://github.com/sharkdp/hexyl	mise

Total: 95 packages

Project Structure

├── core/                   # Base image: bootstrap, entrypoint, core tools
├── feats/                  # Installable feature modules
│   ├── tools/              # CLI utilities
│   ├── languages/          # Language support (LSP, formatters)
│   ├── runtimes/           # Runtimes (Node, Bun, etc.)
│   └── frameworks/         # Framework-specific tooling
├── flavors/                # Dockerfiles that compose core + feats
├── .github/workflows/      # CI for building and publishing images
├── justfile                # Task runner for lifecycle commands
├── nvil.img.make.sh        # Image build script
├── .env.sample             # Environment template
├── .nvil.yaml              # Compose template (create in your workspace)
└── .dev/                   # Local dev compose files

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. To add a new tool:

1. Create an install script under feats/<category>/<tool-name>/
2. Add a metadata.json with tool info
3. Reference it in a flavor Dockerfile
4. Test by building the image

See BACKLOG.md for planned work.

License

MIT. See LICENSE for details.