Netmaker
TailScale
ZeroTier
NetBird
Twingate
ClearVPN
WireGuard
Headscale
Codify CLI
NixOS
ASDF
Flox
Daytona
Codario
Ansible
Codis
Setting up a development environment has always been one of the most frustrating parts of being a developer. Whether you're joining a new team, setting up a fresh machine, or onboarding someone new, the process is almost always the same: a wall of documentation, hours of manual installs, config tweaks, and the inevitable "works on my machine" problem. Codify fixes that.
Codify is a CLI tool that brings the power of Infrastructure as Code to your local development machine. Just like Terraform lets you declare your cloud infrastructure in code, Codify lets you declare your entire developer environment in a simple codify.jsonc file. Run codify apply and your machine is set up exactly as defined, every time, without error.
See also: - Web editor: dashboard.codifycli.com the recommended way for creating Codify JSON files - Github: github.com/codifycli/codify open source under Apache 2.0 license
Netmaker Codify CLINo Codify CLI videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.
Netmaker's answer
Codify CLI's answer:
Declarative, not scripted Most teams rely on brittle shell scripts or lengthy wiki docs for onboarding. Codify replaces that with a single, readable codify.jsonc file that declares what you want, not how to get there. The result is something you can reproduce, review, and version-control.
Low barrier to entry Tools like Nix/nix-darwin are powerful but have a notoriously steep learning curve. Ansible is designed for server infrastructure, not laptops. Codify is built specifically for developer environments and uses plain JSON, so almost anyone on the team can read and edit it.
Visual dashboard + CLI Unlike pure CLI tools, Codify ships with a visual dashboard editor, pre-built templates, and cloud file management, making it usable for developers who prefer a GUI and for managers who own the onboarding process.
Open source and transparent Every action Codify takes on your machine is auditable. No black-box installers. The code is fully open and security-conscious, with sudo prompts, parameter escaping, and plugin verification.
Netmaker's answer
Netmaker is faster, more configurable, cheaper, and can be fully-self hosted. With Netmaker, you're in control.
Codify CLI's answer:
If your team is still using shell scripts or a setup wiki, Codify is a no-brainer upgrade. Setup docs go stale the moment someone installs a new tool and forgets to update the README. Shell scripts break in ways that are hard to debug and even harder to maintain. Codify gives you a single file that actually reflects what should be on the machine, and enforces it.
If you're using Homebrew Bundle, it's a decent start, but a Brewfile only covers what Homebrew manages. The moment you need to configure something outside of that, you're back to writing scripts. Codify handles the full picture.
If you've looked at Nix, you've probably also spent an afternoon trying to get it working and questioned your life choices. It's genuinely powerful, but the learning curve is brutal and most teams don't have someone willing to own it long-term. Codify gets you most of the same reproducibility benefits without needing to learn an entirely new language and mental model.
If you've tried Ansible, it's a great tool, but it's designed for managing servers, not developer laptops. Using it for local setup feels like using a sledgehammer to hang a picture frame. It works, but it's overkill, and someone still has to maintain those playbooks.
If you use chezmoi, it's solid for dotfiles but that's about it. It won't install your packages or manage your tool versions.
Netmaker's answer
IT admins, sysadmins, DevOps, InfraOps, platform engineers, and developers.
Netmaker's answer
WireGuard, Golang, and Docker.
Codify CLI's answer:
The CLI is written entirely in Typescript
Based on our record, Netmaker seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 63 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.
With Netmaker, you can have greater control and customization by assigning dedicated IP addresses to specific nodes within your network. I just stumble upon it yesterday, check it out. Source: about 3 years ago
These days, I'm trying to deploy full mesh VPN network with netmaker. It is really easy to use and manage. However there are something makes me confused. Source: about 3 years ago
If a TCP based protocol isn't an absolute must have, I'd ditch OpenVPN for Wireguard with some kind of management overlay. e.g netmaker. Source: over 3 years ago
Do the net maker https://github.com/gravitl/netmaker worth trying to use instead of Tailscale? Tailscale is good, but I can watch YouTube over Wi-Fi in another country, but when I try to use Jellyfin to watch movies itโs not loading well. Source: over 3 years ago
Very relatable! At first, I struggled for days trying to make Netmaker or Innernet functional for my personal home server (Raspberry Pi behind multiple routers). But then I stumbled upon ZeroTier, and everything worked seamlessly within a couple of hours. Tailscale was actually the next one on my list because I heard many positive things about it over at r/selfhosted (especially about headscale). However, I did... Source: over 3 years ago
TailScale - Private networks made easy Connect all your devices using WireGuard, without the hassle. Tailscale makes it as easy as installing an app and signing in.
NixOS - 25 Jun 2014 . All software components in NixOS are installed using the Nix package manager. Packages in Nix are defined using the nix language to create nix expressions.
ZeroTier - Extremely simple P2P Encrypted VPN
ASDF - Automated Spam Defense Force
NetBird - Connect your devices into a single secure private WireGuardยฎ-based mesh network with SSO/MFA and manage access with just a few clicks.
Flox - Manage and share development environments with all the frameworks and libraries you need, then publish artifacts anywhere. Harness the power of Nix.
