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Script Categories Reference

This document lists all valid script categories for the devcontainer toolbox.

Purpose​

Categories organize installation scripts in the menu system and documentation. When creating new install scripts, you must use one of these predefined categories in the SCRIPT_CATEGORY field.

Valid Categories​

LANGUAGE_DEV - Development Tools​

Display Name: Development Tools

Description: Programming language development environments and tools (Python, TypeScript, Go, Rust, C#, Java, PHP)

Examples:

  • install-dev-python.sh
  • install-dev-typescript.sh
  • install-dev-golang.sh
  • install-dev-rust.sh
  • install-dev-csharp.sh

AI_TOOLS - AI & Machine Learning Tools​

Display Name: AI & Machine Learning Tools

Description: AI and machine learning development tools (Claude Code, etc.)

Examples:

  • install-dev-ai-claudecode.sh

CLOUD_TOOLS - Cloud & Infrastructure Tools​

Display Name: Cloud & Infrastructure Tools

Description: Cloud platform tools and SDKs (Azure, AWS, GCP)

Examples:

  • install-tool-azure.sh

DATA_ANALYTICS - Data & Analytics Tools​

Display Name: Data & Analytics Tools

Description: Data analysis, visualization, and data engineering tools (Jupyter, pandas, DBT)

Examples:

  • install-tool-dataanalytics.sh

INFRA_CONFIG - Infrastructure & Configuration​

Display Name: Infrastructure & Configuration

Description: Infrastructure as Code, configuration management, and DevOps tools (Ansible, Kubernetes, Terraform)

Examples:

  • install-dev-powershell.sh
  • install-srv-nginx.sh
  • install-srv-otel-monitoring.sh
  • install-tool-iac.sh
  • install-tool-kubernetes.sh

Using Categories in Your Script​

When creating a new install script, set the SCRIPT_CATEGORY variable in the configuration section:

#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# CONFIGURATION - Modify this section for each new script
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Script metadata
SCRIPT_NAME="Your Tool Name"
SCRIPT_ID="your-tool"
SCRIPT_DESCRIPTION="Brief description of what this installs"
SCRIPT_CATEGORY="LANGUAGE_DEV"  # Use one of the valid categories above
CHECK_INSTALLED_COMMAND="command -v your-tool >/dev/null 2>&1"

Adding a New Category​

If you need a new category:

  1. Edit .devcontainer/additions/lib/categories.sh
  2. Add a new line to the CATEGORY_TABLE with format: 
    SORT_ORDER|CATEGORY_ID|DISPLAY_NAME|SHORT_DESCRIPTION|LONG_DESCRIPTION
    Example: 
    6|NEW_CATEGORY|New Category Name|Short desc|Longer detailed description
  3. Optionally add a constant (e.g., readonly CATEGORY_NEW_CATEGORY="NEW_CATEGORY")
  4. Update this reference document

Viewing Categories Programmatically​

You can view all categories from the command line:

cd .devcontainer/additions
source lib/categories.sh

# Show detailed information
show_all_categories

# Show as a table
show_categories_table

# List just IDs and names
list_categories_simple

# Get machine-readable format
list_categories

Implementation Details​

Table Structure​

Categories are defined in a simple table format in .devcontainer/additions/lib/categories.sh:

readonly CATEGORY_TABLE="
SORT_ORDER|CATEGORY_ID|DISPLAY_NAME|SHORT_DESCRIPTION|LONG_DESCRIPTION
1|LANGUAGE_DEV|Development Tools|Development tools (Python, TypeScript, Go, etc.)|Programming language development environments and tools...
2|AI_TOOLS|AI & Machine Learning Tools|AI and ML tools (Claude Code, etc.)|AI and machine learning development tools...
"

Format: Pipe-delimited with 5 fields:

  1. SORT_ORDER - Controls display order (1, 2, 3, ...)
  2. CATEGORY_ID - Unique identifier (UPPERCASE_UNDERSCORE)
  3. DISPLAY_NAME - Human-readable name
  4. SHORT_DESCRIPTION - Brief description for help text (< 60 chars)
  5. LONG_DESCRIPTION - Detailed description for documentation

Benefits of Table Structure​

  • Easy to maintain - One line per category
  • Simple to add - Just append a new line
  • Self-documenting - Table format is clear and readable
  • Sortable - SORT_ORDER field controls display order
  • No code duplication - All helper functions parse the same table