Manim Workspace Template

For manim animators who doesn't want to install package managers and dependencies (e.g. FFmpeg, LaTeX) in their local machine to have a working manim environment.

This workspace utilizes Dev Containers that handle manim installation, dependencies, and updates. The container uses manim Docker image.

With this template, you only need to install VS Code and Docker (if working locally) to use manim

This Dev Container also comes with FFmpeg and LaTeX for rendering Math text and Manim Sideview VS Code Extension. For details on using the extension, visit the extension page.

You can also use this container to run manim on JupyterLab. For details, see Using the Workspace - Jupyter Lab

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Setup :gear:

GitHub Codespaces

If you want to immediately start working on a project on a cloud environment using only your installed VS Code, try going through these steps below.

1. Open this repository in a codespace:

2. Create a manim Scene, and enjoy working on your environment

[!NOTE] Using Codespaces would consume Codespace Credits on your accounts. To learn more about Codespaces, visit What are GitHub Codespaces - Billing for Codespaces

[!TIP] To re-open your existing codespace when you launch VS Code again, open a Command Palette (F1 / Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P), search for Codespaces: Connect to Codespace..., and select your existing codespace

Dev Containers

If you wanted to work on a project locally without consuming credits, you can go through these steps to have an isolated local environment.

[!IMPORTANT] You must have Docker and Visual Studio Code with Dev Containers extension installed

1. Create your own repository from this template.

2. Clone or Download your created repository.

   git clone https://github.com/{YOUR_GH_USERNAME}/{YOUR_REPO_NAME}.git
   

3. In VS Code, Open the Command Palette (F1 / Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P)

4. Search and select Dev Containers: Open Folder in Container...

5. Select the folder that was cloned or downloaded to your computer.

6. When the setup if finished, create a manim Scene and enjoy working on your environment.

[!NOTE] If you've downloaded the repository, make sure to extract the contents in your .zip file before opening in the container.

[!TIP] To re-open the container when you launch VS Code again, follow Steps 3-6

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Using the Container :desktop_computer:

You can use one (or both) methods to create and render animations in manim, depending on your preference.

Manim Sideview

1. Open up a Scene in your Dev Container Environment.

2. Open the Command Palette (F1 / Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P) and look for "Manim: Render a New Scene"

3. Select the scene from your current file that you wanted to render.

4. The output file would be autoplayed on the right side of your VS Code window.

[!TIP] You can modify your settings in VS Code to automatically render the current scene on saving the .py file.

[!TIP] For more details on how to use Manim Sideview, visit Manim Sideview repository

Jupyter Lab

1. In your Dev Container environment, open a terminal (Ctrl + `).

2. Run the command jupyter lab.

3. Open one of the http:// URLs given in the terminal to your browser.

4. From the Jupyter Lab environment, create a notebook and enjoy creating animations from here.

[!TIP] To shutdown your current Jupyter Lab server, press Ctrl + C on the same terminal, or go to File -> Shut Down in Jupyter Lab window. To view currently running servers, run jupyter server list on a terminal.

[!TIP] For more examples using manim on notebooks, visit: https://github.com/ManimCommunity/jupyter_examples