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Active Application

Control which application context is used for dvs commands using the DVS_ACTIVE_APP environment variable.

Description​

The DVS_ACTIVE_APP environment variable determines which application's root directory (APP_ROOT) is mounted as /app in the container when running dvs commands. This allows you to run commands in a specific application context regardless of your current working directory.

When DVS_ACTIVE_APP is set, the active app name is also displayed in your shell prompt as (dvs:app-name) (unless disabled with DVS_PROMPT_DISABLE).

Usage​

Set the environment variable before running dvs commands:

export DVS_ACTIVE_APP=myapp
dvs start
dvs rebuild

To unset the active app:

unset DVS_ACTIVE_APP

How It Works​

When DVS_ACTIVE_APP is set to a valid app name:

  1. DVS validates that the app exists in your configuration
  2. All dvs commands execute in that application's context

If DVS_ACTIVE_APP is not set or set to an invalid app name, DVS uses your current working directory as the mount point.

Examples​

Activate an application for a session​

# Set the active app
export DVS_ACTIVE_APP=myapp

# Run commands in the app context
dvs start
dvs logs
dvs rebuild

# The prompt shows: (dvs:myapp) user@host:~/path$

Make it persistent in your shell​

Add to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish:

# Bash/Zsh
export DVS_ACTIVE_APP=myapp

# Fish
set -gx DVS_ACTIVE_APP myapp

Switch between applications​

# Work on app1
export DVS_ACTIVE_APP=app1
dvs start

# Switch to app2
export DVS_ACTIVE_APP=app2
dvs start

Unset to use current directory​

unset DVS_ACTIVE_APP
# Now dvs commands use your current working directory

Behavior​

  • Environment variable: DVS_ACTIVE_APP is read from your shell environment
  • Validation: DVS validates that the app exists and has a valid APP_ROOT before using it
  • Fallback: If validation fails, DVS falls back to using your current working directory
  • Prompt indicator: The active app name appears in your prompt as (dvs:app-name) when set

Notes​

  • The variable is session-specific by default. To make it persistent, add it to your shell configuration file
  • Only one app can be active at a time (the one set in DVS_ACTIVE_APP)
  • The app must exist in your DVS configuration
  • Use dvs app-folder <name> to get an app's folder path

See Also​

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