Skip to content

Getting Started

This guide walks you through installing Campers and launching your first remote development environment.

Prerequisites

Before using Campers, ensure you have:

  • Python 3.12+
  • AWS credentials configured via aws configure or environment variables
  • Mutagen for file synchronization
  • Ansible for playbook-based provisioning (optional)

Installing Mutagen

brew install mutagen-io/mutagen/mutagen

curl -fsSL https://github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen/releases/latest/download/mutagen_linux_amd64_v0.18.1.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv mutagen /usr/local/bin/

scoop install mutagen

Configuring AWS Credentials

aws configure

Or set environment variables:

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_key
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret
export AWS_REGION=us-east-1

Installation

Using pip

pip install campers

uv lets you run Campers without installation:

uvx campers run
uvx campers list

Or install it in a project:

uv add campers

Your First Camp

1. Generate Configuration

campers init

This creates a campers.yaml file with sensible defaults.

2. Review the Configuration

defaults:
  region: us-east-1
  instance_type: t3.medium
  disk_size: 50

camps:
  dev:
    command: bash

3. Launch Your Camp

campers run dev

Campers will:

  1. Create an EC2 instance in your AWS account
  2. Generate and configure SSH keys
  3. Start bidirectional file sync with Mutagen
  4. Connect you to a shell on the remote instance

4. Work Remotely

Your local directory is now synced with the remote instance. Any changes you make locally appear on the remote, and vice versa.

5. Exit

Press Ctrl+C or type exit. By default, the instance stops (preserving your data). You can resume later with:

campers start dev
campers run dev

Verifying Your Setup

Run the doctor command to check your AWS credentials and permissions:

campers doctor

This verifies:

  • AWS credentials are configured
  • Required IAM permissions are present
  • Mutagen is installed (if file sync is enabled)

Next Steps