Add Playground Apps Manager - Web-based devcontainer app deployment system #294

pantherman594 · 2026-01-13T17:09:00Z

Summary

Introduces the Playground Apps Manager - a web-based system for creating, managing, and deploying custom devcontainer-based applications with real-time monitoring and build log streaming.

Overview

The Playground Apps Manager provides a self-service interface for users to create and manage containerized applications using devcontainer configurations. Apps are built with the devcontainer CLI and run as isolated containers with reverse-proxy routing through Caddy.

Key Features

App Management

Web UI: Full-featured interface for CRUD operations on apps
Dynamic Routing: Automatic Caddy configuration for reverse-proxy routing to each app
Container Lifecycle: Start, stop, and monitor container status
Real-time Status: Live updates for app and container states

Build System

Devcontainer-based: Uses devcontainer CLI for building and starting containers
Live Build Logs: Real-time streaming of build output to playground logs
Platform Support: Builds as linux/amd64 for maximum compatibility
Async Building: Apps build in background with status tracking

Optional Features

Built-in support for common feature sets:

Workbench CLI (wb): Java 17, AWS CLI, gcloud CLI, startup scripts (~4 min build)
Workbench Tools (workbench-tools): Bioinformatics toolkit including bcftools, bedtools, plink, plink2, samtools, VEP, REGENIE (~8 min build)

Features are automatically installed during devcontainer build with proper configuration.

Example Apps

Quick-start templates for common use cases:

ttyd: Web-based terminal access
JupyterLab: Interactive notebook environment

Monitoring & Debugging

Container Logs: View logs for individual app containers
Playground Logs: System-level logs for build processes
Auto-refresh: Toggle auto-refresh (3s interval) for real-time log monitoring
Smart Scrolling: Maintains scroll position during log updates

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Pull request overview

This PR introduces the Playground Apps Manager, a web-based system enabling users to create, manage, and deploy custom devcontainer-based applications with real-time monitoring and build log streaming.

Changes:

Full-stack web application with Go backend and vanilla JavaScript frontend for CRUD operations on containerized apps
Integration with Docker and Caddy for container lifecycle management and reverse-proxy routing
PostgreSQL database for persistent app storage with automatic Caddy route synchronization on startup

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 18 out of 19 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/playground/playground/main.go	Application entry point configuring database, Docker, Caddy clients and HTTP routing
src/playground/playground/handlers.go	HTTP handlers for app CRUD operations, container control, and log viewing
src/playground/playground/models.go	Data structures for apps, requests, and responses
src/playground/playground/validation.go	Input validation for app creation including name format and port range checks
src/playground/playground/database.go	PostgreSQL database layer with schema initialization and CRUD operations
src/playground/playground/docker.go	Docker client for container operations via devcontainer CLI
src/playground/playground/docker_service.go	Service layer orchestrating Docker operations and database updates
src/playground/playground/caddy.go	Caddy Admin API client for dynamic route management
src/playground/playground/caddy_service.go	Service layer for Caddy route synchronization with status updates
src/playground/playground/constants.go	Configuration constants and templates for devcontainer generation
src/playground/playground/static/index.html	Frontend UI for app management with real-time status updates
src/playground/playground/go.mod	Go module definition with PostgreSQL driver dependency
src/playground/playground/Dockerfile	Multi-stage build with devcontainer CLI and ttyd installation
src/playground/docker-compose.yaml	Service definitions for Caddy, playground app, and PostgreSQL
src/playground/.devcontainer.json	Devcontainer configuration for the playground manager itself
src/playground/caddy/Caddyfile	Caddy configuration with admin API enabled

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src/playground/playground/static/index.html

yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T18:36:52Z

src/playground/playground/docker_service.go

+type DockerService struct {
+	docker          *DockerClient
+	db              *DB
+	cancelFuncsLock sync.RWMutex


nit: no need for RWMutex. afaict, you are not using RLock.

yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T18:38:43Z

src/playground/playground/docker_service.go

+	// Cancel previous build if one exists
+	if oldCancel, exists := s.cancelFuncs[appID]; exists {
+		log.Printf("Cancelling previous build for app %d", appID)
+		oldCancel()


we can get the func, clear the map. release the lock and do oldCancel outside the lock?

yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T18:39:35Z

src/playground/playground/docker_service.go

+}
+
+// RemoveCancelFunc removes the cancel function after build completes or fails
+func (s *DockerService) RemoveCancelFunc(appID int) {


yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T18:40:55Z

src/playground/playground/docker.go

+}
+
+// GetPlaygroundLogs retrieves logs from the playground container
+func (d *DockerClient) GetPlaygroundLogs(ctx context.Context, tail int) (string, error) {


yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T19:41:11Z

src/playground/playground/database.go

+	var app App
+	var featuresStr string
+
+	err = db.conn.QueryRowContext(ctx, query,


nit: if err :=

yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T20:06:19Z

src/playground/playground/docker.go

+	output, err := inspectCmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		// Container doesn't exist
+		return "not_found", nil


yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T20:10:32Z

src/playground/playground/handlers.go

+// If a build is already in progress for this app, it will be cancelled
+func setupContainer(app *App, db *DB, dockerService *DockerService, caddyService *CaddyService) {
+	// Create context with 30 minute timeout
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), DockerBuildTimeout)


should we pass in the ctx for cancellation propagation

yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T20:13:06Z

src/playground/playground/database.go

@@ -0,0 +1,318 @@
+package main


nit: can we move db, caddy and docker to internal for readibility?

yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T20:14:47Z

src/playground/playground/validation.go

+	hasDockerfile := strings.TrimSpace(req.Dockerfile) != ""
+	hasDockerImage := strings.TrimSpace(req.DockerImage) != ""
+
+	if !hasDockerfile && !hasDockerImage {


iirc, the ui you showed doesn't allow pass in dockerImage?

yuhuyoyo · 2026-01-16T20:15:45Z

src/playground/playground/validation.go

+// isValidAppName checks if app name contains only valid characters
+func isValidAppName(name string) bool {
+	for _, char := range name {
+		if !((char >= 'a' && char <= 'z') ||


unicode.IsLetter() and unicode.isDigit()

pantherman594 changed the title ~~Playground app~~ Add Playground Apps Manager - Web-based devcontainer app deployment system Jan 13, 2026

pantherman594 force-pushed the playground branch from 024e4b6 to 9767e9c Compare January 13, 2026 20:15

Create playground app

c6c7056

pantherman594 force-pushed the playground branch from 9767e9c to c6c7056 Compare January 13, 2026 20:24

pantherman594 requested a review from Copilot January 13, 2026 20:25

Copilot AI reviewed Jan 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

src/playground/playground/static/index.html Show resolved Hide resolved

pantherman594 added 5 commits January 13, 2026 15:27

Fix PR workflow with no changed apps

416527b

Add strip prefix option

806ab61

Add rstudio sample app

aa78394

Template caddyfile and dockerfile

d1675fe

Cleanup

d1f3d8f

pantherman594 requested review from june-hua and yuhuyoyo January 16, 2026 17:22

Update rstudio example, don't close modal when click outside

12ae299

yuhuyoyo approved these changes Jan 16, 2026

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Add Playground Apps Manager - Web-based devcontainer app deployment system #294

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pantherman594 commented Jan 13, 2026 •

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pantherman594 commented Jan 13, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Summary

Overview

Key Features

App Management

Build System

Optional Features

Example Apps

Monitoring & Debugging

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pantherman594 commented Jan 13, 2026 •

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