Development Containers

A collection of development container features and templates following the Dev Container specification.

Structure

├── features/              # Dev container features
│   ├── src/               # Feature source code
│   │   ├── antidote/      # Zsh plugin manager
│   │   ├── claude-code/   # Claude Code CLI
│   │   ├── codex/         # OpenAI Codex CLI
│   │   ├── gemini-cli/    # Google Gemini CLI
│   │   ├── gcloud-cli/    # Google Cloud CLI
│   │   ├── modern-cli/    # Modern Unix tools (bat, eza, fd, ripgrep, etc.)
│   │   ├── shell-dev/     # Shell development tools (shellcheck, tldr)
│   │   ├── http-tools/    # HTTP clients (xh)
│   │   ├── terminal-extras/  # Terminal utilities (tmux, btop, viddy)
│   │   └── jetbrains/     # JetBrains IDE support
│   └── test/              # Feature tests
└── templates/             # Dev container templates
    └── java/              # Java template

Quick Start

Use a Template

Copy a template to your project:

cp -r templates/java your-project/.devcontainer

Then open in VS Code/Cursor and use "Reopen in Container".

Features

Each feature in features/ can be used independently in any devcontainer.json:

{
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/<org>/devcontainer-features/modern-cli:1": {},
    "ghcr.io/<org>/devcontainer-features/claude-code:1": {
      "installStatusLine": true
    }
  }
}

Available Features

Feature	Description
antidote	Fast Zsh plugin manager
bun	Bun JavaScript runtime, bundler, test runner, and package manager
claude-code	Claude Code CLI with optional status line
codex	OpenAI Codex CLI
gcloud-cli	Google Cloud CLI with components
gemini-cli	Google Gemini CLI
http-tools	xh (modern curl/httpie)
jetbrains	JetBrains IDE dependencies
jmeter	Apache JMeter for load testing and performance measurement
locust	Python load testing framework
modern-cli	bat, eza, fd, ripgrep, zoxide, delta, fzf, yq
shell-dev	shellcheck, tldr
skaffold	Skaffold for local Kubernetes development
spring	Spring Boot tools (VS Code/IntelliJ extensions, optional Spring CLI)
terminal-extras	tmux, btop, viddy, ttyd
uv	Fast Python package and project manager (Astral)

Templates

Templates provide complete devcontainer configurations for specific use cases. Copy a template to your project's .devcontainer/ folder and open in VS Code/Cursor.

java

Full-featured Java development environment with Java (Temurin/Zulu), Maven/Gradle, modern CLI tools, AI coding assistants (Claude, Copilot, Gemini), and uv.

python

Python development environment with Python 3, uv, modern CLI tools, and AI coding assistants (Claude, Copilot, Gemini).

node

TypeScript/JavaScript development environment with Node.js LTS, Bun, modern CLI tools, and AI coding assistants (Claude, Copilot, Gemini).

Development

Creating a New Feature

1. Create features/src/<name>/devcontainer-feature.json:

{
  "id": "my-feature",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "name": "My Feature",
  "description": "Description of what it installs",
  "options": {}
}

2. Create features/src/<name>/install.sh:

#!/bin/bash
set -e
echo "Installing my feature..."
# Installation logic here

3. Create features/test/<name>/test.sh:

#!/bin/bash
set -e
echo "Testing my feature..."
# Verification logic here

Testing Features

Install the devcontainer CLI:

npm install -g @devcontainers/cli

Test a specific feature:

devcontainer features test -f claude-code -p features/

Test all features:

devcontainer features test -p features/

Test with a specific base image:

# Ubuntu (default)
devcontainer features test -p features/ -i mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:ubuntu

# Debian
devcontainer features test -p features/ -i mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:debian

# Alpine
devcontainer features test -p features/ -i mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:alpine

# Fedora
devcontainer features test -p features/ -i fedora:latest

Skip scenario tests (use only the base image you specify):

devcontainer features test -p features/ -i pp-devcontainer:latest --skip-scenarios

Test scenario variations (defined in features/test/<name>/scenarios.json):

# Run all scenarios for a feature
devcontainer features test -f modern-cli -p features/

# Scenarios test different options, base images, and configurations
# Example scenarios: debian, alpine, fedora, skip_install, with_ttyd, etc.

Testing Templates

For local template testing, copy the template files directly:

mkdir -p test-project/.devcontainer
cp templates/java/devcontainer.json test-project/.devcontainer/

Build and run the container:

cd test-project
devcontainer build --workspace-folder .
devcontainer up --workspace-folder .

Or test in VS Code/Cursor by opening test-project and using "Reopen in Container".

Testing in VS Code/Cursor

1. Copy templates/java/devcontainer.json to your project's .devcontainer/ folder
2. For local testing (before features are published), change feature references from ghcr.io/jasonchaffee/devcontainers/... to local paths:

   "features": {
     "../features/claude-code": { "install": true }
   }

3. Open in VS Code/Cursor → "Reopen in Container"

Testing in JetBrains IDEs

JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.) support dev containers via JetBrains Gateway:

1. Install JetBrains Gateway
2. Copy templates/java/devcontainer.json to your project's .devcontainer/ folder
3. Open JetBrains Gateway → "New Project" → "Dev Containers"
4. Select your project folder and the IDE to use
5. Gateway will build the container and connect your IDE

Alternatively, use the Dev Containers plugin directly in your JetBrains IDE:

1. Install the "Dev Containers" plugin from Settings → Plugins
2. Open your project with .devcontainer/devcontainer.json
3. Click the notification to "Reopen in Dev Container" or use File → Remote Development → Dev Containers

Creating a New Template

1. Create templates/<name>/devcontainer-template.json with metadata
2. Create templates/<name>/devcontainer.json with the template configuration

References

• Dev Container Specification
• Dev Container Features
• Dev Container Templates