**IMPORTANT NOTE: Dev containers have a new, expanded home in the [dev containers GitHub org](https://github.com/devcontainers)! We're so excited to connect with you there. To learn more, you can check out our [migration announcement](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-dev-containers/issues/1762).**
**This repository is no longer active and was archived in November 2023. We've migrated most of the contents of this repo to the [devcontainers GitHub org](https://github.com/devcontainers), as part of the work on the [open Dev Container specification](https://containers.dev).**
- **Features managed by the Dev Container spec maintainers (such as the VS Code team) are now in [devcontainers/features](https://github.com/devcontainers/features).**
- **Definitions/Templates managed by the Dev Container spec maintainers are now in [devcontainers/templates](https://github.com/devcontainers/templates).**
- **`mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers` and `mcr.microsoft.com/vscode/devcontainers` images are now published from [devcontainers/images](https://github.com/devcontainers/images).**
**For new Templates/Features, you can now self-publish and optionally make them visible in-tool by following the steps one of the quick start repositories: [Templates quick start](https://github.com/devcontainers/template-starter), [Features quick start](https://github.com/devcontainers/feature-starter). No need to submit a PR here anymore.**
**For more details, you can review the [announcement issue](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-dev-containers/issues/1589) and latest [archiving announcement](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-dev-containers/issues/1762).**
A **development container** is a running [Docker](https://www.docker.com) container with a well-defined tool/runtime stack and its prerequisites. The [VS Code Dev Containers](https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/download/containers) extension and [GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/features/codespaces) allow you to open or clone code in a local or cloud-hosted Dev Container and take advantage of VS Code's full development feature set.
This repository contains a set of **Dev Container definition templates** to help get you up and running with a containerized environment. The definitions describe the appropriate container image, runtime arguments for starting the container, and VS Code extensions that should be installed. Each provides a container configuration file (`devcontainer.json`) and other needed files that you can drop into any existing folder as a starting point for containerizing your project. You can use the **Add Development Container Configuration Files...** command to add one to your project or codespace.
The [vscode-remote-try-*](https://github.com/search?q=org%3Amicrosoft+vscode-remote-try-&type=Repositories) repositories may also be of interest if you are looking for complete sample projects.
1. Either [create a codespace for your repository](https://aka.ms/ghcs-open-codespace) or [set up your local machine](https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/containers/getting-started) for use with the Dev Containers extension, start VS Code, and open your project folder.
3. Pick one of the recommended definitions from the list or select **Show All Definitions...** to see all of them. You may need to choose the **From a predefined container configuration definition...** option if your project has an existing Dockerfile or Docker Compose file. Answer any questions that appear.
Anyone who then opens a local copy of your repo in VS Code will be prompted to reopen the folder in a container, provided they have the [Dev Containers](https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/download/containers) extension installed. Additionally, this will be used whenever someone creates a codespace in [GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/features/codespaces) for the repository.
Your team now has a consistent environment and tool-chain and new contributors or team members can be productive quickly. First-time contributors will require less guidance and there will be fewer issues related to environment setup.
- [`container-templates`](container-templates) - Contains templates for creating your own container definitions or to [contribute back](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-dev-container-definitions).
Yes! If you have a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file in your project/repository, follow the [same steps to add a definition](#adding) and you'll be prompted to select a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file and customize from there. If you then commit these files to a Git repository, you can use it with [GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/features/codespaces) as well. If you prefer, you can also start up the container manually and [attach to it](https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/containers/attach). However, note that many images will be missing things like `git` that you will want to use. There are scripts in the [script-library](script-library) like the [common script](script-library/docs/common.md) that can help adding these to your existing Dockerfile or image.
A `devcontainer.json` file is similar to `launch.json` for debugging, but designed to launch (or attach to) a development container instead. At its simplest, all you need is a `.devcontainer/devcontainer.json` file in your project that references an image, `Dockerfile`, or `docker-compose.yml`, and a few properties. You can [adapt it for use](https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/containers/folder-setup) in a wide variety of situations.
We've migrated most of the contents of this repo to the [devcontainers GitHub org](https://github.com/devcontainers), as part of the work on the [open Dev Container specification](https://containers.dev).
- Features managed by the Dev Container spec maintainers are now in [devcontainers/features](https://github.com/devcontainers/features).
- Definitions/Templates managed by the Dev Container spec maintainers are now in [devcontainers/templates](https://github.com/devcontainers/templates).
-`mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers` and `mcr.microsoft.com/vscode/devcontainers` images are now published from [devcontainers/images](https://github.com/devcontainers/images).
As a result, this repository only used for community definitions that have not been migrated elsewhere by their owners. If you are a community owner and want us to remove an existing definition here, feel free to submit a PR to do so!
For new Templates/Features, you can now self-publish and optionally make them visible in-tool by following the steps one of the quick start repositories: [Templates quick start](https://github.com/devcontainers/template-starter), [Features quick start](https://github.com/devcontainers/feature-starter).
- Provide feedback for the [VS Code Dev Containers](https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode-remote-release/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) extension or [GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/github/feedback/discussions/categories/codespaces).
- Discuss the [Dev Container spec](https://github.com/orgs/devcontainers/discussions) or [join the Slack channel](https://github.com/orgs/devcontainers/discussions/3)
For images generated from this repository, see [LICENSE](https://github.com/microsoft/containerregistry/blob/main/legal/Container-Images-Legal-Notice.md) and [NOTICE.txt](NOTICE.txt).
