Edit

Purpose: For developers, shows how to set up a complete development environment for openCenter-cli from scratch.

What You’ll Build

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have:

  • Complete development environment with all tools installed

  • Working openCenter-cli binary built from source

  • Tests passing locally

  • Editor configured for Go development

Time: 15-20 minutes

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • macOS, Linux, or WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

  • Git installed and configured

  • GitHub account with SSH key configured

  • Terminal access

  • Text editor or IDE (VS Code, GoLand, vim, etc.)

Step 1: Install Mise

Mise manages tool versions for the project (Go, kubectl, kind, helm).

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install mise

Linux:

curl https://mise.run | sh

Verify installation:

mise --version

Expected output: mise 2024.x.x or similar

Step 2: Clone Repository

Clone the openCenter-cli repository:

# Create workspace directory
mkdir -p ~/workspace
cd ~/workspace

# Clone repository
git clone git@github.com:opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli.git
cd openCenter-cli

If you’re contributing, fork first and clone your fork:

git clone git@github.com:YOUR-USERNAME/openCenter-cli.git
cd openCenter-cli
git remote add upstream git@github.com:opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli.git

Step 3: Install Development Tools

Mise reads .mise.toml and installs required tools:

# Install all tools (Go, kubectl, kind, helm)
mise install

This installs:

  • Go 1.26.3 - Primary language

  • kubectl - Kubernetes CLI

  • kind - Local Kubernetes clusters

  • helm - Kubernetes package manager

Verify tools:

mise list

Expected output shows installed versions:

go      1.26.3
kubectl latest
kind    latest
helm    latest

Step 4: Install Go Dependencies

Download all Go module dependencies:

# Download dependencies
go mod download

# Verify dependencies
go mod verify

Expected output: all modules verified

Step 5: Build the CLI

Build the opencenter binary:

# Build with version information
mise run build

Expected output:

Built opencenter 0.0.1 (abc1234)

Verify binary:

./bin/opencenter version

Expected output shows version, commit, branch, and build date.

Step 6: Run Tests

Verify your environment by running tests:

# Run unit tests
mise run test

Expected output: All tests pass (may take 1-2 minutes)

# Run BDD tests
mise run godog

Expected output: All scenarios pass (may take 2-3 minutes)

If tests fail, check:

  • Go version matches .mise.toml (1.26.3)

  • All dependencies downloaded (go mod download)

  • No local configuration conflicts (rm -rf testdata/config)

Step 7: Configure Editor

VS Code

Install recommended extensions:

  • Go (golang.go) - Go language support

  • YAML (redhat.vscode-yaml) - YAML validation

  • Cucumber (alexkrechik.cucumberautocomplete) - Gherkin syntax

Workspace settings (.vscode/settings.json):

{
  "go.useLanguageServer": true,
  "go.lintTool": "golangci-lint",
  "go.lintOnSave": "workspace",
  "go.formatTool": "gofmt",
  "go.formatOnSave": true,
  "go.testFlags": ["-v"],
  "go.testTimeout": "5m"
}

GoLand / IntelliJ IDEA

  1. Open project directory

  2. GoLand auto-detects Go module

  3. Enable File Watchers for gofmt:

    • Settings → Tools → File Watchers

    • Add → go fmt

    • Scope: Project Files

Vim / Neovim

Install vim-go plugin:

" Add to .vimrc or init.vim
Plug 'fatih/vim-go', { 'do': ':GoUpdateBinaries' }

" Configure
let g:go_fmt_command = "gofmt"
let g:go_auto_type_info = 1
let g:go_def_mapping_enabled = 1

Step 8: Set Up Shell Integration (Optional)

Enable shell completion and prompt integration:

# Install shell integration
mise run install-shell-integration

This adds:

  • Command completion (bash/zsh/fish)

  • Active cluster in prompt

  • Cluster switching shortcuts

Reload shell:

# Bash
source ~/.bashrc

# Zsh
source ~/.zshrc

# Fish
source ~/.config/fish/config.fish

Test completion:

opencenter cluster <TAB>

Expected: Shows available subcommands

Step 9: Create Test Cluster (Optional)

Verify end-to-end functionality with a local Kind cluster:

# Initialize test cluster configuration
./bin/opencenter cluster init test-dev --org my-org --type kind --kind-disable-default-cni

# Validate configuration
./bin/opencenter cluster validate test-dev

# Generate GitOps output
./bin/opencenter cluster generate test-dev

# Create the named Kind cluster (requires Docker or Podman)
./bin/opencenter cluster deploy test-dev

Expected: Kind cluster created for test-dev using the rendered kind-config.yaml

Clean up:

./bin/opencenter cluster destroy test-dev --force

Check Your Work

Verify your development environment:

# 1. Mise installed and tools available
mise list

# 2. Binary builds successfully
mise run build
./bin/opencenter version

# 3. Tests pass
mise run test
mise run godog

# 4. Code formatting works
mise run fmt

# 5. Dependencies are tidy
mise run tidy

All commands should complete without errors.

Troubleshooting

Mise not found

Problem: mise: command not found

Solution:

# Add to shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

# Reload shell
source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Go version mismatch

Problem: go: version "1.26.3" does not match go.mod

Solution:

# Let mise manage Go version
mise install go

# Verify
mise which go

Tests fail with "config directory not found"

Problem: Tests fail with configuration errors

Solution:

# Clean test artifacts
rm -rf testdata/config

# Re-run tests
mise run test

Build fails with "package not found"

Problem: package github.com/…​ not found

Solution:

# Download dependencies
go mod download

# Verify
go mod verify

# Rebuild
mise run build

Kind cluster creation fails

Problem: kind create cluster fails

Solution:

# Check Docker/Podman is running
docker ps  # or: podman ps

# If using Podman, set environment variable
export KIND_EXPERIMENTAL_PROVIDER=podman

# Retry
./bin/opencenter cluster deploy test-dev

Next Steps

Now that your environment is set up:

  1. Read the code structure - code-structure.md[Code Structure]

  2. Learn the build system - build-system.md[Build System]

  3. Write your first test - testing-guide.md[Testing Guide]

  4. Make your first contribution - contributing.md[Contributing]

Common Development Tasks

Build and test:

mise run build && mise run test && mise run godog

Format and tidy:

mise run fmt && mise run tidy

Schema changes:

mise run schema-verify

Clean build artifacts:

mise run clean

See all available tasks:

mise tasks

Evidence

This documentation is based on the following repository files:

  • Tool versions: .mise.toml:1-5 (tools section)

  • Build process: .mise.toml:23-47 (build task)

  • Test execution: .mise.toml:64-67 (test tasks)

  • Development guide: .kiro/steering/tech.md:1-149

  • Project structure: .kiro/steering/structure.md:1-128

  • Go dependencies: go.mod:1-77

  • Shell integration: .mise.toml (install-shell-integration task)

  • Kind cluster workflow: cmd/cluster_init.go, cmd/cluster_setup.go, cmd/cluster_bootstrap.go, cmd/cluster_destroy.go