diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de03baf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the
+// README at: https://github.com/devcontainers/templates/tree/main/src/python
+{
+	"name": "Python 3",
+	"image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:1-3.12-bookworm",
+	"features": {
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:2": {},
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/git:1": "latest",
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {},
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/python:1": "none",
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers-contrib/features/act:1": {},
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers-contrib/features/ruff:1": {}
+	},
+
+	// Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
+	// "forwardPorts": [],
+
+	// Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
+	// "postCreateCommand": "pip3 install --user -r requirements.txt",
+
+	"onCreateCommand": "bash .devcontainer/on_create_command.sh",
+
+	// Configure tool-specific properties.
+	// "customizations": {},
+	"customizations": {
+		// Configure properties specific to VS Code.
+		"vscode": {
+			// Add the IDs of extensions you want installed when the container is created.
+			"extensions": [
+				"ms-python.python",
+				"charliermarsh.ruff"
+			],
+			// Set *default* container specific settings.json values on container create.
+			"settings": {
+				"ruff.path": ["/usr/local/py-utils/bin/ruff"]
+			}
+		}
+	},
+
+	// Uncomment to connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/dev-containers-non-root.
+	// "remoteUser": "root"
+}
diff --git a/.devcontainer/on_create_command.sh b/.devcontainer/on_create_command.sh
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index 0000000..0193e48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/on_create_command.sh
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+# setup
+
+sudo pip install -U pip setuptools wheel setuptools_scm
+sudo pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
+
+# Install Transifex CLI tool
+# refer to Installation instructions https://github.com/transifex/cli#installation
+
+(cd `mktemp -d` && curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/transifex/cli/master/install.sh | bash && sudo mv ./tx /usr/local/bin )
diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f4ccf3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# https://docs.github.com/github/administering-a-repository/configuration-options-for-dependency-updates
+version: 2
+updates:
+  - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
+    directory: "/"
+    schedule:
+      interval: "monthly"
+    groups:
+       # Name for the group, which will be used in PR titles and branch names
+       all-github-actions:
+          # Group all updates together
+          patterns:
+            - "*"
+  - package-ecosystem: "devcontainers"
+    directory: "/"
+    schedule:
+      interval: "monthly"