devcontainer

Create and run a Dev Container

$ devcontainer up

$ devcontainer templates apply [[-t|--template-id]] [template_id] [[-a|--template-args]] [template_args] [[-w|--workspace-folder]] [path/to/workspace]

$ devcontainer exec [command]

$ devcontainer build [path/to/workspace]

$ devcontainer open [path/to/workspace]

$ devcontainer read-configuration

devcontainer [GLOBAL_OPTIONS] <COMMAND> [<ARGS>]

-w, --workspace-folder <DIR>
    Path to workspace folder (default: current directory)

--config <PATH>
    Path to devcontainer.json config file

--image-name <NAME>
    Custom name for built image

--container-name <NAME>
    Custom name for container

-n, --log-level <LEVEL>
    Logging level: debug|info|warn|error (default: info)

--verbose
    Enable verbose logging

--remove-on-stop
    Remove container on stop

--env-file <PATH>
    Load environment variables from file

--accept-defaults
    Accept all prompts with defaults

-h, --help
    Print help information

-v, --version
    Print version

The devcontainer command-line tool enables developers to build, run, and manage development containers defined via devcontainer.json configuration files. These containers provide reproducible, isolated development environments using Docker or compatible runtimes like Podman.

Key workflows include creating workspace-mounted containers (up), building custom images (build), executing commands (exec or run), stopping (stop or down), and viewing logs. It supports features like installing extensions, running tests, and using templates or features for quick setups.

Ideal for CI/CD, team onboarding, or local dev without VS Code GUI. Operates on workspace folders containing .devcontainer dirs, ensuring consistent tooling (languages, runtimes, extensions) across machines. Integrates with GitHub Codespaces and supports overrides for flexibility.

Requires Docker/Podman and Node.js. Not installed by default; global install via npm. Subcommands like up, build have additional options shown via devcontainer <COMMAND> --help. Config must be in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json.

up: Create/start container.
build: Build image.
exec: Run command in container.
down: Stop/delete.

npm install -g @devcontainers/cli
Or Docker: docker run -it --rm -v ${PWD}:/workdir mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/cli:0.XXX

Developed by Microsoft for VS Code Remote - Containers extension (2019). Standalone CLI (@devcontainers/cli) released 2022 via npm, supporting open Dev Container spec for cross-tool use.

docker(1), podman(1), code(1)