Dev Containers for Coder
Dev Containers' everyday flow for Coder workspaces built by
devcontainer-builder:
- clone a repository into a workspace;
- add a configuration when there's none;
- rebuild when the configuration changes.
Coder: Clone Repository in Workspace… (local window)
The Coder counterpart of Clone Repository in Container Volume….
- Run Coder: Clone Repository in Workspace… in a local VS Code window.
- Pick the repository in VS Code's own picker, the one Git: Clone uses. If you're signed
in to GitHub in VS Code, its GitHub source lists and filters the repositories you can
see, then their branches. Recent repositories and a typed URL work too; for a URL, the
branches come from
git ls-remote, the default first.
- If you already have a workspace on that repository and branch, you can open it. Otherwise
a new
<repo>-<branch> workspace is created from devcontainer-builder's Coder template.
- Progress shows until the workspace is ready. Then VS Code Desktop opens on the cloned
folder, through the Coder extension.
Logging in:
- If you've run
coder login with the Coder CLI, that session is used.
- Otherwise the command asks once for your Coder URL and a session token from its
/cli-auth page, and keeps the token in VS Code's secret storage.
Settings:
devcontainerBuilder.coderUrl picks the deployment;devcontainerBuilder.template picks the template when several ask for a repository.
Install it locally from the Extensions view (Dev Containers for Coder in K8S). Inside
workspaces, the template installs it for you.
Rebuild available (in a workspace)
A workspace's image is built once, from origin/<branch>. A change can reach
origin/<branch> in .devcontainer/, in .devcontainer.json, or in the Dockerfile and build
context devcontainer.json points at. When it does, the status bar shows Rebuild
available and a notification offers:
- Rebuild: increases the workspace's Rebuild parameter. The workspace restarts on a
new image, and the repo folder and home are kept.
- Later: no more prompts until the window reloads.
- Ignore This Commit: no more prompts until
origin/<branch> moves again.
Clicking Rebuild available brings these choices back. Dev Container: Rebuild
Workspace rebuilds directly.
A rebuild only ever builds what's pushed (Commit Your Code). Dev Container changes that
exist only in the workspace show Push Dev Container changes.
One-click Rebuild needs coder login <your Coder URL> once in the workspace. Without it,
Rebuild opens the workspace's settings page.
Add Dev Container config (in a workspace)
A repository without a devcontainer.json runs on the service's fallback image. The status bar
then shows Add Dev Container config, and a notification offers Add Configuration. Both
run the Dev Containers extension's Add Dev Container Configuration Files… (VS Code
Desktop), with its templates, options and Features. Commit and push what it adds, and
Rebuild available follows.
Commands and settings
- Coder: Clone Repository in Workspace…
- Dev Container: Check for Rebuild fetches the branch and checks now (in a workspace).
- Dev Container: Rebuild Workspace (in a workspace)
devcontainerBuilder.checkIntervalMinutes sets how often to fetch the branch (default 5;
0 turns it off).
The Dev Container Rebuild output channel logs what the extension does.
