DevContainer Setup

Core Principle

Environment as Code. Consistent, reproducible, and isolated.

Development environments should be defined in code, version controlled, and identical for all team members. This eliminates "works on my machine" issues and streamlines onboarding.

This skill defines the complete DevContainer setup. Follow it step by step. DO NOT add extensions, features, or configurations not explicitly listed in this skill.

If you identify something the project might need beyond this skill:

•STOP - Do not add it
•Ask the user: "I think you might benefit from [X] because [reason]. Would you like me to add it?"
•Wait for explicit user approval
•Proceed only after "yes" confirmation

Examples of things you must NOT add without asking:

•Extra VS Code extensions
•Different base images
•Additional features beyond what's specified
•Custom configurations

Trust the default. This skill covers the common cases.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

•Initializing a new project from scratch
•Adding DevContainer support to an existing project
•Standardizing tool versions (Python, Node, etc.) across the team
•Automating environment setup (extensions, dependencies)

Supplementary docs (same directory as this skill):

•
WEB_DEVELOPMENT.md — Port forwarding, Vite/React issues in devcontainer
- •Read this file if user has web dev networking issues

Step 0: Gather Requirements

First, ask the user:

"Do you want the default setup (recommended) or advanced (customize each option)?"

•Default → Record all variables as yes, skip to Step 1
•Advanced → Ask the detailed questions below

⛔ STOP - Wait for user response before proceeding to Step 1.

Default Setup (Recommended)

Sets all options to yes:

code

[DOCKER]=yes, [GH_CLI]=yes, [NODE_FEATURE]=yes, [ENV_MODULE]=yes, [POSTCREATE]=yes

This gives you: Docker CLI, GitHub CLI, Node.js tooling, .env secrets management, and post-create automation.

If user chose "Default": Execute Steps 1-7 immediately. DO NOT analyze the project, detect frameworks, or adapt the configuration. DO NOT read project files to customize. Follow the skill exactly as written.

Advanced Setup (Customize)

Only if user chose "Advanced", ask these questions:

"Do you need any of these additional tools?"

•Docker CLI (build/run containers inside the dev container) → Record [DOCKER]=yes
•GitHub CLI (gh) → Record [GH_CLI]=yes
•Node.js runtime (npm) with Python base → Record [NODE_FEATURE]=yes

"Do you want credential/secrets management via .env?"

•Yes → Record [ENV_MODULE]=yes
•No → Record [ENV_MODULE]=no

"Do you want post-create automation (install deps, run setup scripts)?"

•Yes → Record [POSTCREATE]=yes
•No → Record [POSTCREATE]=no

Step 1: Create Directory Structure

bash

mkdir -p .devcontainer

Step 2: Create Dockerfile

bash

cat > .devcontainer/Dockerfile << 'EOF'
ARG VARIANT="3.13-bookworm"
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:${VARIANT}

USER root
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir uv \
    && uv --version
USER vscode
EOF

Step 3: Create devcontainer.json

Base Configuration

Start with this minimal config:

bash

cat > .devcontainer/devcontainer.json << 'EOF'
{
  "name": "Dev Container",
  "build": {
    "dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
    "context": "..",
    "args": {}
  },
  "remoteEnv": {
    "PYTHONPATH": "${containerWorkspaceFolder}/src:${containerWorkspaceFolder}"
  },
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": [
        "ms-python.python",
        "ms-toolsai.jupyter",
        "bierner.markdown-mermaid"
      ],
      "settings": {
        "editor.formatOnSave": true,
        "editor.bracketPairColorization.enabled": true,
        "editor.guides.bracketPairs": "active",
        "debug.allowBreakpointsEverywhere": true
      }
    }
  }
}
EOF

Step 4: Add Features (If Needed)

If any of [GH_CLI], [DOCKER], [NODE_FEATURE] = yes:

Add a features block to devcontainer.json:

jsonc

{
  "features": {
    // Always include git:
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/git:1": {},
    
    // If [GH_CLI] = yes:
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {},
    
    // If [DOCKER] = yes:
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:2": {},
    
    // If [NODE_FEATURE] = yes (Python base + Node runtime):
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": { "version": "lts" }
  }
}

Note: The Python base image does NOT include Node.js. If the user needs npm for development scripts, you MUST add the Node feature.

Step 5: Add .env Module (If [ENV_MODULE] = yes)

Create .env.example:

bash

cat > .devcontainer/.env.example << 'EOF'
GITHUB_USER=
GITHUB_TOKEN=
INSTALL_AZURE_CLI=false
EOF

Create .gitignore for secrets:

bash

echo ".env" >> .devcontainer/.gitignore

Add to devcontainer.json:

Add these properties to the JSON:

jsonc

{
  "initializeCommand": "touch .devcontainer/.env",
  "runArgs": ["--env-file", ".devcontainer/.env"]
}

Step 6: Add postCreate Automation (If [POSTCREATE] = yes)

Create postCreate.sh:

bash

cat > .devcontainer/postCreate.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Configure GitHub credentials if provided
if [ -n "${GITHUB_USER:-}" ] && [ -n "${GITHUB_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
  echo "Configuring GitHub credentials..."
  printf 'https://%s:%s@github.com\n' "$GITHUB_USER" "$GITHUB_TOKEN" >> "$HOME/.git-credentials"
  chmod 600 "$HOME/.git-credentials" || true
  git config --global credential.helper store
  git config --global credential.useHttpPath true
fi

# Install Azure CLI (optional)
if [ "${INSTALL_AZURE_CLI:-false}" = "true" ]; then
  echo "Installing Azure CLI..."
  curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash || echo "Azure CLI installation failed (non-blocking)"
else
  echo "Skipping Azure CLI (set INSTALL_AZURE_CLI=true to enable)"
fi

echo "postCreate done"
EOF

Make executable:

bash

chmod +x .devcontainer/postCreate.sh

Add to devcontainer.json:

jsonc

{
  "postCreateCommand": "bash .devcontainer/postCreate.sh"
}

Step 7: Verify and Complete

Run verification:

bash

# Check files exist
ls -la .devcontainer/

# Validate JSON syntax
cat .devcontainer/devcontainer.json | python3 -m json.tool > /dev/null && echo "JSON OK"

# Check script is executable (if created)
test -x .devcontainer/postCreate.sh && echo "postCreate.sh executable" || true

Success criteria:

• .devcontainer/Dockerfile exists
• .devcontainer/devcontainer.json is valid JSON
• Extensions match the runtime
• Features added based on user requirements
• postCreate.sh is executable (if used)

Report to user: "DevContainer created. Run 'Reopen in Container' from VS Code command palette."

Quick Reference

code

Setup modes:
  Default (recommended): All options = yes
  Advanced:              Customize each option

Variables to capture:
  [DOCKER]        = yes | no
  [GH_CLI]        = yes | no
  [NODE_FEATURE]  = yes | no  (Node.js runtime: npm)
  [ENV_MODULE]    = yes | no
  [POSTCREATE]    = yes | no

Default setup (yes to all):
  .devcontainer/
  ├── Dockerfile
  ├── devcontainer.json   ← All features enabled
  ├── .env.example
  ├── .gitignore
  └── postCreate.sh

Minimal setup (advanced, all no):
  .devcontainer/
  ├── Dockerfile          ← Python base only
  └── devcontainer.json

Decision Tree

code

User says "I want a DevContainer"
│
├─► Ask: "Default or Advanced?"
│
├─► If Default: Set all = yes, execute Steps 1-7
│
└─► If Advanced:
    ├─► Ask: "Docker inside?" → [DOCKER]
    ├─► Ask: "GitHub CLI?" → [GH_CLI]
    ├─► Ask: "Need Node.js tooling?" → [NODE_FEATURE]
    ├─► Ask: "Secrets via .env?" → [ENV_MODULE]
    ├─► Ask: "Post-create scripts?" → [POSTCREATE]
    └─► Execute Steps 1-7 based on recorded values