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Devcontainer Setup

Set up your development environment using Docker devcontainers for a consistent, pre-configured experience.

Prerequisites: Complete the common setup steps first.

Overview

The devcontainer approach provides: - All tools pre-installed and configured - Consistent environment across all systems - Isolation from your host machine - Isolated credential storage (prevents conflicts with host Claude Code)

Available Profiles

Choose the profile that matches your workshop needs:

Profile Description Use Case
all-agents Claude Code, Opencode, Cline, Codex Recommended for workshop
claude-code Claude Code with firewall Secure single-agent setup, requires more manual tweaking once online
claude-code-standard Claude Code without firewall Standard single-agent setup
opencode OpenCode only Alternative agent testing

Setup Steps

1. Authentication Notes

The devcontainer attempts to map host credentials into the container on a best-effort basis. Effectiveness varies by host OS and agent. If credentials are not detected, you will need to authenticate from inside the container after setup.

2. Install Docker and VS Code Dev Containers Extension

Docker Desktop 

# Download and install from docker.com
# Verify installation
docker --version

VS Code Dev Containers Extension

Install the Dev Containers extension (ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers) in VS Code:

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Go to Extensions (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+X)
  3. Search for "Dev Containers"
  4. Install the extension by Microsoft

3. Launch Devcontainer

  1. Open VS Code in the repository root
  2. Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P)
  3. Select "Dev Containers: Reopen in Container"
  4. Choose your profile when prompted. The all-agents default is recommended for the workshop.

The container will: - Pull the base image - Build the container with all tools - Connect your host config to the sandbox - Configure the development environment - Open VS Code connected to the container

4. Authenticate and Verify

Once inside the container:

# Check versions (will prompt for authentication if credentials were not mapped)
claude --version  # or codex, cline, opencode, etc

# Start the sandbox application
make web

If host credentials were not mapped successfully, you will be prompted to authenticate on first run.

5. Access the Application

Open your browser to http://localhost:35806 to see the Raccoon Rocket Lab interface.

Working in the Devcontainer

Starting/Stopping Services

# Start the sandbox application
make web

# Stop the sandbox application
make web-down

Rebuilding the Container

If you need to rebuild from scratch:

  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P)
  2. Select "Dev Containers: Rebuild Container"

Or to rebuild without cache:

  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P)
  2. Select "Dev Containers: Rebuild Container Without Cache"

Troubleshooting

Docker Issues

Issue Fix
docker: command not found Install Docker Desktop from docker.com
Permission denied connecting to Docker Add user to docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER then logout/login
Cannot connect to Docker daemon Start Docker Desktop application
Docker Desktop not starting Check system requirements, restart computer

Next Steps

Once your devcontainer is set up:

  1. Return to setup overview
  2. Review the workshop overview
  3. Explore the concepts and tools documentation

Additional Resources