Skillintermediate

Devcontainer Setup Plugin

Create pre-configured devcontainers with Claude Code and language-specific tooling.

Claude Code Knowledge Pack7/10/2026

Overview

Devcontainer Setup Plugin

Create pre-configured devcontainers with Claude Code and language-specific tooling.

Features

Claude Code pre-installed with bypassPermissions auto-configured and marketplace plugins
Multi-language support: Python 3.13, Node 22, Rust, Go
Modern CLI tools: ripgrep, fd, fzf, tmux, git-delta, ast-grep
Session persistence: command history, GitHub CLI auth, Claude config survive rebuilds
Network isolation: iptables/ipset with NET_ADMIN capability for restricting outbound traffic
Tailscale integration: Secure networking via devcontainer feature

Usage

Tell Claude to "set up a devcontainer" or "add devcontainer support" in your project.

The skill will:

Detect your project's language stack
Generate .devcontainer/ configuration files
Provide instructions for starting the container

Generated Files

File	Purpose
`Dockerfile`	Container build instructions with Claude Code and dev tools
`devcontainer.json`	VS Code/devcontainer configuration
`post_install.py`	Post-creation setup (permissions, tmux, git config)
`.zshrc`	Shell configuration with history persistence
`install.sh`	CLI helper (`devc` command) for managing containers

CLI Helper Commands

After generating, run .devcontainer/install.sh self-install to add the devc command:

devc .              Install template + start container in current directory
devc up             Start the devcontainer
devc rebuild        Rebuild container (preserves persistent volumes)
devc down           Stop the container
devc shell          Open zsh shell in container

Supported Languages

Language	Detection	Configuration
Python	`pyproject.toml`, `*.py`	Python 3.13 via uv (in Dockerfile)
Node/TypeScript	`package.json`, `tsconfig.json`	Node 22 via fnm (in Dockerfile)
Rust	`Cargo.toml`	Devcontainer feature
Go	`go.mod`	Devcontainer feature

Multi-language projects automatically get all detected configurations merged.

Security Model

The devcontainer provides filesystem isolation with network isolation capabilities:

Container filesystem is isolated from host
Your ~/.gitconfig is mounted read-only
Persistent volumes preserve auth across rebuilds
iptables/ipset with NET_ADMIN/NET_RAW capabilities for restricting network access
NPM security settings: scripts disabled, 24-hour package release delay

Reference Material

references/dockerfile-best-practices.md - Docker optimization tips
references/features-vs-dockerfile.md - When to use features vs Dockerfile