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Development Environment Setup

OpenMetadata provides Dev Containers to streamline contributor onboarding. Instead of manually installing Java, Python, Node.js, Maven, ANTLR, and other dependencies, you can spin up a fully configured environment in minutes.

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Choose Your Dev Container

Two configurations are available under .devcontainer/ in the repository:

Development

Lightweight environment for iterative development. Includes all build tools (Java 21, Python 3.11, Node 22, Maven, ANTLR) without running backend services.Best for: Working on individual components — server code, ingestion framework, or UI.Forwarded ports:
  • 3000 — Frontend dev server

Full Stack

Complete environment with all build tools plus OpenMetadata services running in containers (MySQL, Elasticsearch, OpenMetadata Server).Best for: End-to-end testing, integration work, and verifying changes against a running instance.Forwarded ports:
  • 3000 — Frontend dev server
  • 8585 — OpenMetadata API
  • 8586 — OpenMetadata Admin
  • 9200 — Elasticsearch
  • 3306 — MySQL
Both configurations automatically install all prerequisites — no manual dependency setup required.

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VS Code

1

Install the Dev Containers extension

Install the Dev Containers extension from the VS Code marketplace.
2

Open the repository

Open the forked OpenMetadata repository in VS Code.
3

Reopen in container

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and select Dev Containers: Reopen in Container.VS Code will prompt you to choose between the two configurations:
  • Development — lightweight, no backend services
  • Full Stack — includes MySQL, Elasticsearch, and OpenMetadata Server
4

Wait for setup to complete

The container will build and run the post-create setup script automatically. This installs ANTLR, frontend dependencies, creates a Python virtual environment, and runs code generation.For the Full Stack configuration, the post-start script will additionally build the server, run database migrations, and start OpenMetadata services. This may take several minutes on the first run.
5

Start developing

Once setup completes, the integrated terminal is ready. Common commands:

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IntelliJ IDEA

Dev Container support in IntelliJ IDEA requires IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate. The Community edition does not support Dev Containers.
1

Open the repository

Open the cloned OpenMetadata repository in IntelliJ IDEA.
2

Create a Dev Container

Navigate to File > Remote Development > Dev Containers and click New Dev Container.Select the OpenMetadata project directory and choose either the Development or Full Stack configuration.
3

Wait for setup to complete

IntelliJ will build the container and run the setup scripts. Once complete, IntelliJ will open a remote IDE instance connected to the container.
4

Configure the project SDK

IntelliJ should auto-detect the Java 21 SDK inside the container. If not, go to File > Project Structure > SDKs and add the JDK installed in the container.
5

Start developing

Use the IntelliJ terminal or run configurations as usual. The container has all build tools pre-installed.

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GitHub Codespaces

GitHub Codespaces provides a cloud-hosted Dev Container — no local setup required.
1

Open a Codespace

From your forked OpenMetadata repository on GitHub, click the Code button and select the Codespaces tab. Click New codespace.
When creating the codespace, click Configure and create to select between the Development and Full Stack configurations in Dev container configuration.
2

Wait for the environment to build

GitHub will provision a cloud VM, build the container, and run the setup scripts. You can follow the progress in the Creation Log.
For the Full Stack configuration, we recommend selecting a machine type with at least 4 cores and 16 GB RAM to ensure all services run smoothly.
3

Start developing

Once the Codespace is ready, you’ll have a full VS Code editor in your browser (or you can connect from your local VS Code / IntelliJ via the Codespaces extension).All forwarded ports are automatically available. For the Full Stack configuration, access the OpenMetadata UI at the forwarded port 8585.

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What Gets Installed

The post-create setup script runs automatically in all environments and handles:
  1. ANTLR 4.9.2 — Downloaded and configured for parser generation
  2. Frontend dependencies — Installed via yarn install --frozen-lockfile
  3. Python virtual environment — Created with pip upgraded
  4. Python dev dependencies — Installed via make install_dev
  5. Code generation — ANTLR parsers and other generated artifacts via make generate
  6. Prerequisite validation — Runs make prerequisites to confirm everything is ready
For the Full Stack configuration, the post-start script additionally:
  1. Builds the OpenMetadata server distribution (mvn clean package -DskipTests)
  2. Runs database migrations against MySQL
  3. Starts the OpenMetadata server on ports 8585/8586

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Next Steps

Build Code and Run Tests

Learn how to build individual components and run the test suite.

Develop a New Connector

Step-by-step guide to creating a new metadata connector.