Comparing Setup Methods

Use this page when you need a detailed side-by-side comparison of all available setup methods. For a quick recommendation, see the Install page.

Help You Choose

Answer these three questions to narrow down the best method for your environment:

1. What's your development environment?

   • Local VS Code (no devcontainer)
   • Local devcontainer (Docker Desktop)
   • GitHub Codespaces
   • Both local and Codespaces

2. Solo or team development?

   • Solo: just you, no version control of HVE Core needed
   • Team: multiple people, need reproducible setup

3. Update preference?

   • Auto: always get latest HVE Core
   • Controlled: pin to specific version, update explicitly

Decision Matrix

Environment	Team	Updates	Recommended Method
Any (simplest)	Any	Auto	VS Code Extension ⭐
Local (no container)	Solo	Manual	Peer Directory Clone
Local (no container)	Team	Controlled	Submodule
Local devcontainer	Solo	Auto	Git-Ignored Folder
Local devcontainer	Team	Controlled	Submodule
Codespaces only	Solo	Auto	GitHub Codespaces
Codespaces only	Team	Controlled	Submodule
Both local + Codespaces	Any	Any	Multi-Root Workspace
Advanced (shared install)	Solo	Auto	Mounted Directory
Any (CLI preferred)	Any	Manual	CLI Plugins

Quick Decision Tree

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                                 │
│  Want the simplest setup?                                       │
│  └─ Yes ──────────────────────────────► VS Code Extension ⭐   │
│                                                                 │
│  Need to customize HVE Core?                                    │
│  ├─ Local VS Code only ──────────────► Peer Directory Clone    │
│  ├─ Local devcontainer only ─────────► Git-Ignored Folder      │
│  ├─ Codespaces only ─────────────────► GitHub Codespaces       │
│  └─ Both local + Codespaces ─────────► Multi-Root Workspace    │
│                                                                 │
│  Working in a team?                                             │
│  └─ Yes, need version control ───────► Submodule               │
│                                                                 │
│  Prefer terminal/CLI workflows?                                 │
│  └─ Yes ──────────────────────────────► CLI Plugins            │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Installation Methods by Category

Simplest Method (Recommended for Most Users)

Method	Best For	Complexity
VS Code Extension ⭐	Anyone wanting zero-config setup	Minimal

Consumer Methods (Customization + Version Control)

These methods are for projects that want to use and potentially customize HVE Core components:

Method	Best For	Complexity
Multi-Root Workspace	Any environment, portable	Low
Submodule	Teams needing version control	Medium

Developer Methods

These methods are for HVE Core contributors or advanced scenarios:

Method	Best For	Complexity
Peer Directory Clone	Local VS Code, solo	Low
Git-Ignored Folder	Local devcontainer, solo	Low
Mounted Directory	Advanced devcontainer sharing	High
GitHub Codespaces	Codespaces-only projects	Medium
CLI Plugins	Terminal-based CLI workflows	Low

Still Not Sure?

Start with the Marketplace Install for the fastest path. If you outgrow it later, any clone-based method can be adopted alongside or instead of the extension.

For detailed documentation on each method, see the Setup Methods Overview.

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