Local Dev Experience Evaluator

Name: local-dev-evaluator
Rating: 92
Author: bnayae

Evaluate and recommend the best local development approach for any stack.

Standalone Usage

Can be invoked directly:

•"How do I run this stack locally?"
•"Should I use docker-compose or local k8s?"
•"Evaluate local dev experience for Next.js + Supabase"

Assumptions

•Docker Desktop is available
•Local Kubernetes is available (Docker Desktop K8s, minikube, kind, or k3s)

Available Approaches

Approach	When to Use	Complexity
docker-compose	Simple apps, all deps containerized	Low
local-k8s	K8s-native apps, need K8s features	Medium
hybrid	Complex apps: deps in compose, services in k8s	Medium-High
aspire	.NET distributed apps	Medium
native	Simple apps, few deps	Very Low

When to Use Each

docker-compose:

•Web app + database + cache
•Microservices with < 5 services
•No K8s-specific features needed
•Team familiar with Docker

local-k8s:

•Using K8s-specific features (ConfigMaps, Services, Ingress)
•Deploying to K8s in production
•Need to test K8s manifests locally
•Using Helm charts

hybrid:

•Complex microservices architecture
•Heavy stateful deps (databases) in compose
•Stateless services in K8s
•Need both simplicity and K8s testing

aspire:

•.NET distributed applications
•Need unified observability dashboard
•Code-first infrastructure definition
•Multiple .NET services

native:

•Single service with minimal deps
•Using local SQLite or in-memory
•Frontend-only development
•Rapid iteration priority

Evaluation Criteria

Time to First Run

Rating	Time	Description
Excellent	< 5 min	`git clone && docker-compose up`
Good	5-15 min	Multiple steps, some build time
Fair	15-30 min	Complex setup, many deps
Poor	> 30 min	Manual steps, external deps

Dependency Complexity

Level	Containers	Description
Low	1-3	Standard images (postgres, redis)
Medium	4-6	Some custom config
High	7+	Complex networking, custom builds

Production Parity

Area	Full	Partial	None
Auth	Same provider	Mock/simplified	Disabled
Data	Same DB + migrations	Same DB + seed	Different DB
Async	Same queue/events	Local queue	Sync only
Config	Same config system	.env files	Hardcoded

Output Contract

yaml

local_dev_evaluation:
  stack: "<stack description>"

  recommended_approach: "<docker-compose|local-k8s|hybrid|aspire|native>"

  time_to_first_run: "<excellent|good|fair|poor>"
  estimated_minutes: <N>

  dependency_complexity: "<low|medium|high>"
  container_count: <N>

  prod_parity:
    auth: "<full|partial|none>"
    data: "<full|partial|none>"
    async: "<full|partial|none>"
    config: "<full|partial|none>"
    overall: "<high|medium|low>"

  debugging_support: "<excellent|good|fair|poor>"
  dev_observability: "<excellent|good|fair|poor>"

  dx_score: <1-5>

  setup_steps:
    - step: "<step name>"
      command: "<command>"

  files_needed:
    - "<file 1>"
    - "<file 2>"

  notes:
    - "<important consideration>"

  recommendations:
    - "<recommendation>"

Example: Next.js + Supabase

yaml

local_dev_evaluation:
  stack: "Next.js + Supabase"

  recommended_approach: "native"

  time_to_first_run: "excellent"
  estimated_minutes: 3

  dependency_complexity: "low"
  container_count: 1  # Supabase CLI runs all-in-one

  prod_parity:
    auth: "full"
    data: "full"
    async: "full"
    config: "partial"
    overall: "high"

  debugging_support: "excellent"
  dev_observability: "good"

  dx_score: 5

  setup_steps:
    - step: "Install Supabase CLI"
      command: "brew install supabase/tap/supabase"
    - step: "Start local Supabase"
      command: "supabase start"
    - step: "Start Next.js"
      command: "npm run dev"

  notes:
    - "Supabase CLI includes: PostgreSQL, Auth, Storage, Edge Functions"
    - "Studio UI available at localhost:54323"

Example: EKS + Aurora

yaml

local_dev_evaluation:
  stack: "React + Node.js API + Aurora PostgreSQL"

  recommended_approach: "docker-compose"

  time_to_first_run: "good"
  estimated_minutes: 10

  dependency_complexity: "medium"
  container_count: 4  # frontend, api, postgres, redis

  prod_parity:
    auth: "partial"  # Local JWT vs Cognito
    data: "full"     # Same PostgreSQL
    async: "partial" # Local Redis vs ElastiCache
    config: "partial"
    overall: "medium"

  dx_score: 4

  setup_steps:
    - step: "Copy environment"
      command: "cp .env.example .env.local"
    - step: "Start services"
      command: "docker-compose up -d"
    - step: "Run migrations"
      command: "npm run db:migrate"
    - step: "Start dev server"
      command: "npm run dev"

  files_needed:
    - "docker-compose.yml"
    - ".env.example"
    - "docker-compose.override.yml (optional)"

Scoring Guide

DX Score	Criteria
5	< 5 min, low complexity, high parity, excellent debugging
4	5-15 min, low-medium complexity, good parity
3	15-30 min, medium complexity, partial parity
2	> 30 min, high complexity, limited parity
1	Complex manual setup, poor parity, difficult debugging