Devcontainer Setup Skill

Authorized Scope

Apply this engine only within the user's requested task and existing explicit authorization. Loading or delegating to it grants no additional authority. Preserve report-only restrictions and the caller's target, host, provider, and cost limits. Existing approval satisfies a gate only for the same actions and scope; obtain approval before expanding them. Forward these limits to delegates.

Contract

Inputs:

• Project runtime, existing container configuration, and requested development setup
• Approved directory mounts and optional tooling

Outputs:

• Dev Container configuration and startup instructions

Creates/Modifies:

• .devcontainer/ files within the authorized setup scope

External Side Effects:

• Image pulls, package installs, or container startup only when requested

Confirmation Required:

• Before overwriting existing configuration or mounting directories outside the selected project
• Before adding tooling or starting containers outside the approved setup

Delegates To:

• docker-expert for container configuration details

Information Gathering

Before creating the devcontainer, gather the following information from the user:

Required Information

1. Project Name: What is the project/container name? (e.g., my-project, shipshitdev-api)

2. Base Image: What runtime does this project use?

   • oven/bun:1.3.5 - Bun projects (recommended for speed)
   • node:20-slim - Node.js projects
   • node:20 - Node.js with more tools
   • Custom image path

3. Package Manager: Which package manager?

   • bun - Bun (default for Bun projects)
   • npm - npm
   • pnpm - pnpm
   • yarn - Yarn

4. Ports: What ports need to be forwarded? (comma-separated, e.g., 3000, 3001, 5432)

5. Port Labels (optional): Labels for each port (e.g., 3000=Web, 5432=Postgres)

6. Parent Directory Mount: Should the parent directory be mounted for cross-repo access?

   • Yes - Mount parent as /workspace (good for monorepos, shared libraries)
   • No - Only mount this project

7. Claude Code Support: Include Claude Code CLI setup?

   • Yes - Install Claude Code and fix symlinks for container use
   • No - Skip Claude Code setup

8. VS Code Extensions (optional): Additional extensions to install (comma-separated extension IDs)

9. Monorepo Structure (if applicable):

   • Is this a monorepo with nested package.json files?
   • What are the app/package directories? (e.g., apps/*, packages/*)

File Structure to Create

.devcontainer/
├── devcontainer.json      # VS Code dev container config
├── Dockerfile             # Container image definition
├── docker-compose.yml     # Docker compose config
├── setup.sh               # Post-create setup script
└── README.md              # Documentation

Templates

Generate all five files from the gathered information:

• devcontainer.json — build config, mounts, features, VS Code extensions/settings, forwarded ports, postCreateCommand
• Dockerfile — base image, workdir, dependency install (monorepo-aware), dev tools, exposed ports
• docker-compose.yml — service definition, volumes (parent mount + node_modules caching), ports, dev command
• setup.sh — installs dependencies; if Claude Code support is requested, also fixes host-to-container Claude config symlinks and prints API key setup instructions
• README.md — quick start, mount/port tables, directory structure, troubleshooting

See references/templates.md for the full fill-in-the-blank text of each file ({{PLACEHOLDER}} values come from the gathered information above).

Package Manager Reference

Implementation Steps

1. Ask the user the required questions above using AskUserQuestion
2. Create the .devcontainer directory
3. Generate each file with the gathered configuration
4. Make setup.sh executable
5. Provide summary of what was created and how to use it

Example Usage

User: "Set up devcontainer for my Next.js project"

1. Gather info: Project uses Bun, ports 3000, needs Claude Code support
2. Create all 5 files in .devcontainer/
3. Output: "Created devcontainer configuration. Open in VS Code and click 'Reopen in Container'."