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+# cuSpatial Development Containers
+
+This directory contains [devcontainer configurations](https://containers.dev/implementors/json_reference/) for using VSCode to [develop in a container](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/devcontainers/containers) via the `Remote Containers` [extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers) or [GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/codespaces).
+
+This container is a turnkey development environment for building and testing the cuSpatial C++ and Python libraries.
+
+## Table of Contents
+
+* [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
+* [Host bind mounts](#host-bind-mounts)
+* [Launch a Dev Container](#launch-a-dev-container)
+  * [via VSCode](#via-vscode)
+  * [via `launch.sh`](#via-launchsh)
+    * [Single mode](#single-mode)
+    * [Unified mode](#unified-mode)
+    * [Isolated mode](#isolated-mode)
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+* [VSCode](https://code.visualstudio.com/download)
+* [VSCode Remote Containers extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers)
+
+## Host bind mounts
+
+By default, the following directories are bind-mounted into the devcontainer:
+
+* `${repo}:/home/coder/cuspatial`
+* `${repo}/../.aws:/home/coder/.aws`
+* `${repo}/../.local:/home/coder/.local`
+* `${repo}/../.cache:/home/coder/.cache`
+* `${repo}/../.conda:/home/coder/.conda`
+* `${repo}/../.config:/home/coder/.config`
+
+This ensures caches, configurations, dependencies, and your commits are persisted on the host across container runs.
+
+## Launch a Dev Container
+
+A devcontainer can be launched directly by VSCode, or via a custom `launch.sh` shell script.
+
+### via VSCode
+
+To launch a devcontainer from VSCode, open the cuSpatial repo and select the "Reopen in Container" button in the bottom right:<br/><img src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/178183/221771999-97ab29d5-e718-4e5f-b32f-2cdd51bba25c.png"/>
+
+Alternatively, open the VSCode command palette (typically `cmd/ctrl + shift + P`) and run the "Rebuild and Reopen in Container" command.
+
+### via `launch.sh`
+
+Use the `.devcontainer/launch.sh` script to start a new instance of the development container and launch a fresh VSCode window connected to it.
+
+VSCode extends its [single-window-per-folder](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/2686) process model to devcontainers. Opening the same devcontainer in separate windows doesn't create two separate containers -- instead you have two VSCode windows each connected to the same running container.
+
+`launch.sh` takes two arguments, a `mode` and a `package manager`.
+
+* The `mode` argument determines how the devcontainer interacts with the files on the host.
+* The `package manager` argument can be either `conda`, or `pip`. This determines whether the devcontainer uses `conda` or `pip` to install the dependencies (the default is `conda`). `pip` is experimental/not working for normal dev, and is currently meant to aid in pip packaging work.
+
+#### Single mode
+
+`.devcontainer/launch.sh single` launches the devcontainer with the [default bind mounts](#host-bind-mounts). RMM and cuDF are installed via the package manager.
+
+Example:
+```bash
+# Launch a devcontainer that only mounts cuspatial and installs dependencies via conda
+$ .devcontainer/launch.sh single conda
+
+# or installs dependencies via pip
+$ .devcontainer/launch.sh single pip
+```
+
+#### Unified mode
+
+`.devcontainer/launch.sh unified` launches the devcontainer with the [default bind mounts](#host-bind-mounts), as well as additional `rmm` and `cudf` bind mounts (assumes RMM and cuDF are siblings to the cuspatial repository):
+
+* `${repo}/../.rmm:/home/coder/rmm`
+* `${repo}/../.cudf:/home/coder/cudf`
+
+In this mode, RMM and cuDF will not be installed, but the devcontainer will install the dependencies necessary to build all three.
+
+Example:
+```bash
+# Launch a devcontainer that mounts rmm, cudf, and cuspatial from the host and installs dependencies via conda
+$ .devcontainer/launch.sh unified conda
+
+# or installs dependencies via pip
+$ .devcontainer/launch.sh unified pip
+```
+
+#### Isolated mode
+
+`.devcontainer/launch.sh isolated` launches the devcontainer without the deps/repo bind mounts, and instead contains a unique copy of the `cuspatial` source in the container's file system.
+
+Use this mode to launch multiple isolated development containers that can be checked out to separate branches of `cuspatial`.
+
+**Be sure to push any commits you want to persist. Once this container is removed, any unpushed changes will be lost!**
+
+Examples:
+```bash
+# Launch a devcontainer that is isolated from changes on the host and installs dependencies via conda
+$ .devcontainer/launch.sh isolated conda
+
+# or installs dependencies via pip
+$ .devcontainer/launch.sh isolated pip
+```