chore: add dev container support for simplicity

.devcontainer/Dockerfile

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+FROM ubuntu:24.04
+
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+# netplan dependencies
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    bash-completion \
+    build-essential \
+    cmake \
+    gcovr \
+    libcmocka-dev \
+    libglib2.0-dev \
+    libsystemd-dev \
+    libyaml-dev \
+    meson \
+    network-manager \
+    pandoc \
+    pkg-config \
+    pycodestyle \
+    pyflakes3 \
+    python3-cffi \
+    python3-coverage \
+    python3-dev \
+    python3-pytest \
+    python3-pytest-cov \
+    python3-yaml \
+    systemd \
+    udev \
+    uuid-dev \
+    && apt-get clean \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# devcontainer dependencies
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    git \
+    sudo \
+    && apt-get clean \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+RUN echo "ubuntu ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/ubuntu \
+    && chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/ubuntu
+
+WORKDIR /workspace
+
+USER ubuntu

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "name": "Netplan Development",
+  "build": {
+      "dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
+      "context": ".."
+    },
+  "remoteUser": "ubuntu"
+}

README.md

@@ -39,32 +39,29 @@ To contribute documentation, these steps should get you started:
 
 If you face issues, refer to our [comprehensive contribution guide](https://netplan.readthedocs.io/en/stable/contribute-docs/).
 
-# Build dependencies
+# Development Container
+
+A Docker-based development environment is available via `.devcontainer/` for consistent builds across machines.
+
+## Using the Dev Container
+
+### With VS Code
 
-Install the required build and test dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian):
+1. Install the [Dev Containers extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers)
+2. Open the workspace in a container: Open the Command Palette and run "Dev Containers: Reopen in Container"
+3. The container automatically installs all dependencies and configures the `ubuntu` user
+
+### Manual Docker Build
 
 ```sh
-sudo apt install \
-    build-essential \
-    pkg-config \
-    meson \
-    libglib2.0-dev \
-    libyaml-dev \
-    libsystemd-dev \
-    uuid-dev \
-    bash-completion \
-    python3-dev \
-    python3-cffi \
-    python3-coverage \
-    python3-pytest \
-    python3-pytest-cov \
-    pyflakes3 \
-    pycodestyle \
-    libcmocka-dev \
-    gcovr \
-    pandoc
+$ docker build -t netplan-dev -f .devcontainer/Dockerfile .
+$ docker run -it --rm -v $(pwd):/workspace --name netplan-dev netplan-dev bash
 ```
 
+# Build dependencies
+
+For a manual setup without containers, install the required build and test dependencies. The full list of dependencies is defined in [`.devcontainer/Dockerfile`](.devcontainer/Dockerfile#L6) under the `# netplan dependencies` section.
+
 # Build using Meson
 
 A Makefile wrapper is also provided for simplified usage. For that approach, please refer to the [Build using Makefile](#build-using-makefile) section below.