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Start in GitHub Codespaces

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub (top-right Fork button). Keep it public so Argo CD can read it without credentials.
  2. In your fork, click Code → Codespaces → ⋯ → New with options.
  3. Choose:
    • Branch: main (or the branch your facilitator gave you)
    • Machine type: 4-core, 16 GB RAM. The dev container asks for this minimum; smaller machines won't be offered.
  4. Click Create codespace. VS Code opens in the browser.

  5. Open the Terminal panel. The first thing you'll see is the log of .devcontainer/bootstrap.sh. Wait for:

    === Bootstrap complete - Argo CD is now deploying the TRE (allow 5-10 minutes) ===

    If you closed it, the full log is in /tmp/kid-bootstrap.log.

  6. Open the Ports tab. Port 80 is labelled TRE ingress. Click the globe icon to open it in a new browser tab. The URL looks like https://<codespace-name>-80.app.github.dev/.

Keep the port private

Leave the port's visibility as Private. GitHub then only lets you reach it, which suits a TRE. Private ports need your GitHub login cookie, so open the links from the same browser.

Stopping and resuming

Codespaces stop after 30 minutes of inactivity by default. When you resume, the k3s container restarts on its own and the cluster comes back with its data (it lives in a Docker volume). Give it a couple of minutes, then run tre status.

If you rebuild the container, the bootstrap runs again. That's safe.

Costs

A 4-core codespace uses 4 core-hours of your monthly allowance per hour. Delete the codespace after the workshop (github.com/codespaces → ⋯ → Delete) so it doesn't use up storage.

Next: First steps.