Late in November, I attended a webinar titled Leveraging Project IDX for Development, which was organized as part of the preparations for the upcoming GDG Pwani DevFest 2024. The session was really insightful, providing an in-depth walkthrough of Project IDX whose main aim is to supercharge full stack development.
So is IDX just another web editor? Well … not quite.While it is primarily a web-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) built on VS Code OSS, it delivers some additional features that set it apart.Here are some of those key features:
Cloud-Based Workspaces: Project IDX provides a fully functional workspace running on a Linux virtual machine (VM) allowing you to tap into a powerful environment tailored for development.
Templates and GitHub Integration: Developers can quickly create new workspaces using templates from over 20 examples or clone repositories directly from GitHub.
Package Management with Nix: It is built on the cross-platform package manager, Nix, to handle dependencies efficiently.
Previews for Web and Mobile Applications: Applications run on a preview server hosted on the workspace VM, enabling smooth previews for both web and mobile apps without the need for additional runtime configurations, emulators, or dependencies.
AI Assistance: The IDE features AI-powered code completions to speed up development.
Show us the code ! 🥴
So with childish glee I spun up a Node.js template and coded out a Node.js api that performs CRUD operations on MongoDB. (You can access it here btw).
Here are my main takeaways from this :
Intuitive and Easy to Use: I enjoyed coding on IDX. The interface feels familiar and user-centered.
Potential for productivity Boost: The pre-built templates can come in handy. I also doscovered some integrations to Google technologies like Firebase and Cloud Run. All of this can make development more efficient.
Device Independence: The ability to code on any device, regardless of runtime availability, is a game-changer.
Is there a but ?
Unfortunately there is. Here are some cons to consider.
API Testing Restrictions
- Extensions like Thunder Client are unavailable on the free tier. This means you’ll need to rely on external tools like Postman or cURL for API testing.If using tools like Postman, you’ll need to authenticate via Google or generate an access token to interact with the IDX workspace
Premium Features:
- Certain capabilities, such as the REST API Client Extension, require upgrading to the paid tier. The pricing is flexible, starting at $3 per month per user. However these features are free on options like VS Code.
Security Concerns
- Coding in the cloud introduces potential security risks, including concerns about the ownership of AI-generated code.
Internet Dependence
- A slow or unstable connection can hinder development productivity.
Verdict
Despite its impressive capabilities, I’ll continue using Visual Studio Code for now.
For developers seeking a modern, AI-powered, cloud-native IDE, Project IDX has a lot to offer. While it may not completely replace traditional tools yet, it certainly adds an exciting new dimension to the development landscape.
All in all, to the IDX Team:
As I go back to VS Code 😅