This solution deploys a complete browser-based development environment with VS Code, version control, and automated deployments using Terraform.

Note: Looking for the CloudFormation version? Check the main branch.

.
├── dev/                           # Development workspace
│   └── README.md                  # Development guide
├── release/                       # Sample Terraform application
│   ├── main.tf                    # Core infrastructure
│   ├── outputs.tf                 # Stack outputs
│   ├── provider.tf                # AWS provider configuration
│   ├── terraform.tfvars           # Variable defaults
│   ├── variables.tf               # Input variables
│   ├── versions.tf                # Provider versions and backend
│   └── website.tf                 # Sample static website
└── terraform/                     # Core Terraform configuration
├── modules/                       # Reusable modules
│   ├── git-bucket/                # S3 git remote module
│   │   ├── main.tf                # Bucket and policy configuration
│   │   ├── outputs.tf             # Module outputs
│   │   └── variables.tf           # Module variables
│   └── git-pipeline/              # Pipeline module
│       ├── main.tf                # Pipeline configuration
│       └── variables.tf           # Module variables
├── buildspec/                     # CodeBuild buildspecs
│   └── sample_application/
│       ├── build.yml              # Build pipeline spec
│       └── destroy.yml            # Destroy pipeline spec
├── developer_workstation.tf       # Core workstation infrastructure
├── iam_developer_role.tf          # Developer profile IAM roles and policies
├── instance_user_data.sh          # EC2 user data script
├── optional_deploy_pipeline.tf    # Optional pipeline resources
├── optional_rotate_secret.tf      # Optional secret rotation
├── outputs.tf                     # Stack outputs
├── provider.tf                    # AWS provider configuration
├── terraform.tfvars               # Variable values
├── variables.tf                   # Input variables
└── versions.tf                    # Provider versions

• Browser-based VS Code using code-server accessed through Amazon CloudFront
• Git version control using git-remote-s3 with Amazon S3 storage
• Automated deployments using AWS CodePipeline and AWS CodeBuild
• Password rotation using AWS Secrets Manager (30-day automatic rotation)
• Pre-configured AWS development environment:
  • AWS Toolkit for VS Code
  • Terraform infrastructure deployment
  • Docker support
  • Git integration

1. Navigate to the terraform directory
2. Configure your variables in terraform.tfvars:
   • Provide a GitHub repository URL in github_repo parameter, OR
   • Provide S3 bucket name s3_asset_bucket and s3_asset_prefix parameters
3. Initialize and apply Terraform:

   terraform init
   terraform apply
   

4. Access VS Code through the Terraform output URL provided
5. Get your password from AWS Secrets Manager (link in outputs)
6. Click File > Open Folder and navigate to /home/ec2-user/my-workspace. This is the git/S3 initialized project directory
7. Test code in dev, copy to release, commit and push to trigger deployment

The environment is configured with two IAM roles:

1. EC2 instance role - Basic permissions for the instance
2. Developer role - Elevated permissions for AWS operations

The developer role has the permissions needed to deploy the sample application. To view or modify these permissions, edit iam_developer_role.tf.

This separation ensures the EC2 instance runs with minimal permissions by default, while allowing controlled elevation of privileges when needed.

ℹ️ Tip: Run echo 'export AWS_PROFILE=developer' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc to make the developer profile default for all terminal sessions.

If you wish to have elevated AWS permissions automatically enabled in all new terminal sessions without requiring manual profile switching, set auto_set_developer_profile to true. While convenient, this bypasses the security practice of explicit privilege elevation.

The environment runs in a private subnet with CloudFront access, using S3 for git storage and CodePipeline for automated deployments.

ℹ️ Note: The sample application is only available when using the default value for GitHubRepo. If you specify either a custom GitHubRepo or S3AssetBucket, you will need to provide your own Terraform application code.

The repository includes a Terraform application that deploys:

• Static website hosted on Amazon S3
• Amazon CloudFront distribution with AWS WAF protection
• Security headers and AWS KMS encryption
• Amazon CloudWatch logging

The application deploys automatically when you set the CloudFormation parameter DeployPipeline to true. Once deployment completes, you can locate the website URL in the final output of the CodeBuild job.

⚠️ WARNING: If using CodePipeline (DeployPipeline=true), before removing the CloudFormation stack:

1. Run the 'terraform-destroy' pipeline in CodePipeline
2. Approve the manual approval step when prompted
3. Wait for pipeline completion

Failing to run and approve the destroy pipeline will leave orphaned infrastructure resources in your AWS account that were created by Terraform and will need to be cleaned up manually.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: This sample uses HTTP for internal traffic between the Application Load Balancer and code-server Amazon EC2 instance. While external traffic is secured through CloudFront HTTPS, it is strongly recommended to:

• Configure end-to-end HTTPS using custom SSL certificates on the ALB
• Update ALB listener and target group to use HTTPS/443
• Use a custom domain name with AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates

See CONTRIBUTING for more information.

This library is licensed under the MIT-0 License. See the LICENSE file.

This repository is intended for demonstration and learning purposes only. It is not intended for production use. The code provided here is for educational purposes and should not be used in a live environment without proper testing, validation, and modifications. Use at your own risk. The authors are not responsible for any issues, damages, or losses that may result from using this code in production.