Try Out Development Containers: .NET Core

This is a sample project that lets you try out the VS Code Remote - Containers extension in a few easy steps.

Note: If you're following the quick start, you can jump to the Things to try section.

Setting up the development container

Follow these steps to open this sample in a container:

1. If this is your first time using a development container, please follow the getting started steps.

2. To use this repository, you can either open the repository in an isolated Docker volume:

   • Press F1 and select the Remote-Containers: Try a Sample... command.
   • Choose the ".NET Core" sample, wait for the container to start and try things out!

     Note: Under the hood, this will use Remote-Containers: Open Repository in Container... command to clone the source code in a Docker volume instead of the local filesystem.

   Or open a locally cloned copy of the code:

   • Clone this repository to your local filesystem.
   • Press F1 and select the Remote-Containers: Open Folder in Container... command.
   • Select the cloned copy of this folder, wait for the container to start, and try things out!

3. If you want to enable HTTPS, see enabling HTTPS to reuse your local development cert in the container.

Things to try

One you have this sample opened in a container, you'll be able to work with it like you would locally.

Note: This container runs as a non-root user with sudo access by default. Comment out "remoteUser": "vscode" in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json if you'd prefer to run as root.

Some things to try:

1. Restore Packages: When notified by the C# extension to install packages, click Restore to trigger the process from inside the container!

2. Edit:

   • Open Program.cs
   • Try adding some code and check out the language features.

3. Terminal: Press ctrl+shift+` and type dotnet --version and other Linux commands from the terminal window.

4. Build, Run, and Debug:

   • Open Program.cs
   • Add a breakpoint (e.g. on line 21).
   • Press F5 to launch the app in the container.
   • Once the breakpoint is hit, try hovering over variables, examining locals, and more.
   • Continue, then open a local browser and go to http://localhost:5000 and note you can connect to the server in the container.

5. Forward another port:

   • Stop debugging and remove the breakpoint.
   • Open appsettings.Development.json
   • Update "Url": "http://localhost:5000" to "Url": "http://localhost:9000".
   • Press F5 to launch the app in the container.
   • Press F1 and run the Forward a Port command.
   • Select port 9000.
   • Click "Open Browser" in the notification that appears to access the web app on this new port.

Enabling HTTPS

To enable HTTPS for this sample, you can mount an exported copy of a locally generated dev certificate. Note that these instructions assume you already have the dotnet CLI installed on your local operating system.

1. Enable HTTPS in the sample by updating the env property in .vscode/launch.json as follows:

   "env": {
         "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "HttpsDevelopment"
   }
   

2. Now, locally export the HTTPS certificate using the following command:

   Windows PowerShell

   dotnet dev-certs https --trust; dotnet dev-certs https -ep "$env:USERPROFILE/.aspnet/https/aspnetapp.pfx" -p "SecurePwdGoesHere"
   

   macOS/Linux terminal

   dotnet dev-certs https --trust; dotnet dev-certs https -ep "${HOME}/.aspnet/https/aspnetapp.pfx" -p "SecurePwdGoesHere"
   

3. Next, update the following properties in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json:

"mounts": [
    "source=${env:HOME}${env:USERPROFILE}/.aspnet/https,target=/home/vscode/.aspnet/https,type=bind"
],
"remoteEnv": {
    "ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Password": "SecurePwdGoesHere",
    "ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Path": "/home/vscode/.aspnet/https/aspnetapp.pfx"
}

Note: See here for an alternative when using an extension version below v0.98.0 as the forwardPorts property is not available.

4. Finally, rebuild the container using the Remote-Containers: Rebuild Container command from the Command Palette (F1) if you've already opened your folder in a container so the settings take effect.

Next time you debug using VS Code (F5), you'll be able to use HTTPS! Note that you will need to specifically navigate to https://localhost:5001 to get the certificate to work (not https://127.0.0.1:5001).

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA-bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., label, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repos using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact opencode@microsoft.com with any additional questions or comments.

License

Copyright © Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved.
Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE in the project root for license information.