perf: Switch to Alpine Linux and simplify to PDM-only setup

**Major changes:**
- Use Alpine Linux base image (much smaller and faster)
- Create proper vscode user (non-root)
- Install only minimal dependencies (bash, git, build-base, python3, nodejs, jq)
- PDM manages entire Python environment (venv auto-created)
- Auto-activate PDM venv in .bashrc

**Benefits:**
- Smaller image size (~100MB vs ~1GB)
- Faster container startup
- Simpler dependency management (PDM handles everything)
- User runs 'chipflow' directly (no 'pdm run' needed)

**Updates:**
- VS Code tasks: 'chipflow sim build' instead of 'pdm chipflow sim build'
- Launch configs: direct chipflow commands
- Venv persisted in volume for fast restarts

The venv is auto-activated on shell start, so users can run chipflow
commands directly without manual activation.

Author: robtaylor

.devcontainer/Dockerfile

@@ -1,39 +1,35 @@
-FROM mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:1-3.11-bookworm
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base-alpine:latest
 
-# Install system dependencies in the image build (cached in prebuild)
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
-    build-essential \
+# Install minimal dependencies - PDM will handle Python environment
+RUN apk add --no-cache \
+    bash \
+    git \
     curl \
-    wget \
-    make \
-    cmake \
-    pkg-config \
-    libffi-dev \
-    libssl-dev \
-    zlib1g-dev \
-    libbz2-dev \
-    libreadline-dev \
-    libsqlite3-dev \
-    libncurses5-dev \
-    libgdbm-dev \
-    libnss3-dev \
-    liblzma-dev \
+    build-base \
+    python3 \
+    python3-dev \
+    py3-pip \
+    nodejs \
+    npm \
     jq \
-    && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+    sudo \
+    shadow
 
-# Install ripgrep and fd
-RUN curl -sSLO https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/releases/download/13.0.0/ripgrep_13.0.0_amd64.deb && \
-    curl -sSLO https://github.com/sharkdp/fd/releases/download/v8.7.0/fd_8.7.0_amd64.deb && \
-    dpkg -i ripgrep_13.0.0_amd64.deb fd_8.7.0_amd64.deb && \
-    rm -f *.deb
+# Create vscode user with sudo access
+RUN addgroup -g 1000 vscode && \
+    adduser -D -u 1000 -G vscode -s /bin/bash vscode && \
+    echo "vscode ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/vscode && \
+    chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/vscode
 
-# Install PDM globally in the image
-RUN curl -sSL https://pdm-project.org/install-pdm.py | python3 - && \
-    echo 'export PATH="/root/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> /etc/bash.bashrc
-
-# Switch to vscode user and install PDM for them too
+# Switch to vscode user
 USER vscode
+WORKDIR /home/vscode
+
+# Install PDM for vscode user
 RUN curl -sSL https://pdm-project.org/install-pdm.py | python3 - && \
-    echo 'export PATH="/home/vscode/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
+    echo 'export PATH="/home/vscode/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc && \
+    echo 'eval "$(pdm venv activate in-project 2>/dev/null || true)"' >> ~/.bashrc
 
-USER root
+# Set PDM to use in-project venv by default
+ENV PDM_VENV_IN_PROJECT=1
+ENV PATH="/home/vscode/.local/bin:$PATH"

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

@@ -4,19 +4,9 @@
     "dockerfile": "Dockerfile"
   },
 
-  // Features to install (optimized)
+  // Features to install
   "features": {
-    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/git:1": {},
-    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {},
-    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": {
-      "version": "20",
-      "nvmVersion": "latest"
-    },
-    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/common-utils:2": {
-      "installZsh": false,
-      "installOhMyZsh": false,
-      "upgradePackages": false
-    }
+    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {}
   },
 
   // Configure tool-specific properties
@@ -59,13 +49,14 @@
   // Container optimizations
   "containerEnv": {
     "PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1",
-    "PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE": "1"
+    "PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE": "1",
+    "PDM_VENV_IN_PROJECT": "1"
   },
 
-  // Mount optimizations
+  // Mount optimizations - persist venv and extensions
   "mounts": [
     "source=chipflow-vscode-extensions,target=/home/vscode/.vscode-server/extensions,type=volume",
-    "source=chipflow-node-modules,target=${containerWorkspaceFolder}/node_modules,type=volume"
+    "source=chipflow-venv,target=${containerWorkspaceFolder}/.venv,type=volume"
   ],
 
   // Set container user

.devcontainer/install-deps.sh

@@ -4,29 +4,21 @@ set -e
 
 echo "📦 Installing ChipFlow dependencies (runs during prebuild)..."
 
-# Ensure PDM is in PATH
-export PATH="/home/vscode/.local/bin:$PATH"
-
 # Verify PDM is available
-if ! command -v pdm &> /dev/null; then
-    echo "⚠️  PDM not found, attempting to install..."
-    curl -sSL https://pdm-project.org/install-pdm.py | python3 -
-    export PATH="/home/vscode/.local/bin:$PATH"
-fi
-
 pdm --version
 
 # Install project dependencies if pyproject.toml exists
 if [ -f "pyproject.toml" ]; then
-    echo "📚 Installing Python dependencies with PDM..."
+    echo "📚 Installing Python dependencies with PDM (creates venv)..."
     pdm install --dev
-    echo "✅ Dependencies installed successfully"
+    echo "✅ Dependencies installed in $(pdm venv list)"
 else
     echo "⚠️  No pyproject.toml found, skipping dependency installation"
 fi
 
 # Set up git configuration (minimal)
 git config --global init.defaultBranch main
 git config --global pull.rebase false
+git config --global --add safe.directory '*'
 
 echo "✅ Prebuild setup complete!"

.devcontainer/post-create.sh

@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ set -e
 
 echo "🚀 ChipFlow codespace starting..."
 
-# Ensure PDM is in PATH
+# Ensure PDM is in PATH and venv auto-activation is configured
 export PATH="/home/vscode/.local/bin:$PATH"
+eval "$(pdm venv activate in-project 2>/dev/null || true)"
 
 # Check if design configuration was passed from configurator
 if [ -n "$CHIPFLOW_DESIGN_CONFIG" ]; then
@@ -72,19 +73,15 @@ else
     echo "ℹ️  No design configuration provided - using template defaults"
 fi
 
-# Create activation script
-cat > activate_env.sh << 'EOF'
-#!/bin/bash
-eval $(pdm info --env)
-echo "✅ ChipFlow environment activated!"
-echo "📋 Run 'pdm run --list' to see available commands"
-EOF
-chmod +x activate_env.sh
-
 echo ""
 echo "🎉 ChipFlow codespace is ready!"
 echo ""
+if [ -f ".venv/bin/activate" ]; then
+    echo "✅ PDM virtual environment is active"
+    echo ""
+fi
 echo "Quick commands:"
 echo "  • F5 or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+B - Build and run simulation"
-echo "  • pdm chipflow --help - ChipFlow CLI help"
+echo "  • chipflow --help - ChipFlow CLI help"
+echo "  • pdm run --list - See all available commands"
 echo ""

.vscode/launch.json

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
       "name": "ChipFlow: Build and Run Simulation",
       "type": "node-terminal",
       "request": "launch",
-      "command": "pdm chipflow sim build && pdm chipflow sim run",
+      "command": "chipflow sim build && chipflow sim run",
       "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
       "presentation": {
         "hidden": false,
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
       "name": "ChipFlow: Run Simulation (skip build)",
       "type": "node-terminal",
       "request": "launch",
-      "command": "pdm chipflow sim run",
+      "command": "chipflow sim run",
       "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
       "presentation": {
         "hidden": false,
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
       "name": "ChipFlow: Build Simulation Only",
       "type": "node-terminal",
       "request": "launch",
-      "command": "pdm chipflow sim build",
+      "command": "chipflow sim build",
       "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
       "presentation": {
         "hidden": false,
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
       "name": "ChipFlow: Generate Verilog",
       "type": "node-terminal",
       "request": "launch",
-      "command": "pdm chipflow build",
+      "command": "chipflow build",
       "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
       "presentation": {
         "hidden": false,

.vscode/tasks.json

@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
     {
       "label": "ChipFlow: Build Simulation",
       "type": "shell",
-      "command": "pdm",
-      "args": ["chipflow", "sim", "build"],
+      "command": "chipflow",
+      "args": ["sim", "build"],
       "group": {
         "kind": "build",
         "isDefault": true
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@
         "clear": false
       },
       "problemMatcher": [],
-      "detail": "Build the ChipFlow simulation (pdm chipflow sim build)"
+      "detail": "Build the ChipFlow simulation"
     },
     {
       "label": "ChipFlow: Run Simulation",
       "type": "shell",
-      "command": "pdm",
-      "args": ["chipflow", "sim", "run"],
+      "command": "chipflow",
+      "args": ["sim", "run"],
       "group": {
         "kind": "test",
         "isDefault": true
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
         "clear": false
       },
       "problemMatcher": [],
-      "detail": "Run the ChipFlow simulation (pdm chipflow sim run)",
+      "detail": "Run the ChipFlow simulation",
       "dependsOn": ["ChipFlow: Build Simulation"]
     },
     {
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@
     {
       "label": "ChipFlow: Generate Verilog",
       "type": "shell",
-      "command": "pdm",
-      "args": ["chipflow", "build"],
+      "command": "chipflow",
+      "args": ["build"],
       "group": "build",
       "presentation": {
         "reveal": "always",
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         "clear": false
       },
       "problemMatcher": [],
-      "detail": "Generate Verilog from design (pdm chipflow build)"
+      "detail": "Generate Verilog from design"
     },
     {
       "label": "ChipFlow: Clean",