I'm really interested in how teams are managing to standardize their development environments, especially in fast-paced settings with lots of microservices or various side projects. I'm facing some common issues such as inconsistent setup instructions, missing `.env.example` files, Dockerfiles that don't work on fresh machines, unclear or undocumented GitHub workflows, and onboarding processes that rely heavily on unwritten knowledge. It often feels like I have to 'ping the last person who touched this,' which just isn't scalable. I'm experimenting with a tool that auto-generates key onboarding files like `README`, `.env.example`, Dockerfiles, and GitHub Actions based on a repo's structure. I'm not promoting it here, but I really want to know what strategies, templates, or tools have been effective for you in reducing this chaos. Do you have any standards for ensuring that your repositories are ready for onboarding? I'd love to hear what has worked or failed for others!
3 Answers
I totally relate. Getting the team on board with the need for consistency is key. First, standardizing your internal development processes can help a ton. Whether it's trunk-based development or something like GitHub flow, just pick one and stick with it. Also, tools like Prettier for code formatting can take a huge load off—having clear standards reduces confusion.
I hear you on Prettier; it makes such a difference for maintaining a clean code base. And I totally agree—when you care about others needing to work with your code, everything tends to flow better.
One big issue here isn't just the tools, but the culture within your teams. It often boils down to how devs view these processes. You can set standards and templates, but if the team isn't motivated to follow through, it's tough. Maybe try creating a 'golden path' for onboarding, but keep in mind that these will get ignored unless enforced. To really combat this, create patterns for the common use cases and encourage the team to follow them. If they don’t, it’s their managers’ problem too.
Exactly! If the team isn’t incentivized to care about onboarding, no amount of fancy tools will help. What can work, though, is providing a solid foundation with some standard files so teams don’t constantly reinvent the wheel. It lowers the friction for those who genuinely want to do things right.
Right? It’s frustrating when teams can’t see the value of these practices. They should understand that it saves everyone time in the long run.
Using Infrastructure as Code and 'local as code' is my jam. I’m really into Nix flakes for environment standardization, even if the docs are lacking. When someone messes up, just do a post-mortem and create a policy document. Make it clear: if you don’t follow it, you deal with the fallout. Simple as that!
I’ve heard about Nix flakes but never used them. Looking into them now, thanks for the recommendation!
Love this approach! Holding people accountable helps keep everything smoother and more organized.
I’ve never tried trunk-based development before, but I’m curious about it. Does it really help with streamlining processes?