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DevContainer Features

Claude Code in DevContainers

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Claude Code is Anthropic’s AI coding assistant CLI. It can read and edit files, run terminal commands, search your codebase, create commits, and help with complex multi-step software engineering tasks — all from within your DevContainer.

Installation

Section titled “Installation”

Add the Claude Code feature to your devcontainer.json:

{
    "features": {
        "ghcr.io/infrashift/trusted-devcontainer-features/bun:latest": {},
        "ghcr.io/infrashift/trusted-devcontainer-features/claude-code:latest": {
            "target_version": "latest"
        }
    }
}

The Bun feature is required as a dependency — Claude Code is installed as a global npm package via Bun.

API Key Configuration

Section titled “API Key Configuration”

Claude Code requires an Anthropic API key. Pass it from your host environment:

{
    "containerEnv": {
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "${localEnv:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}"
    }
}

Alternatively, set the key in a .env file or configure it after container startup with claude config.

VS Code Extension

Section titled “VS Code Extension”

The feature automatically recommends the anthropics.claude-code VS Code extension, which provides:

  • Inline chat with Claude in the editor
  • Code suggestions and completions
  • Terminal integration for Claude Code CLI

CLI Usage

Section titled “CLI Usage”

Once inside your DevContainer, use Claude Code from the terminal:

Terminal window
# Start an interactive session
claude


# Ask a question
claude "explain the authentication flow in this codebase"


# Run in non-interactive mode
claude -p "add error handling to the API endpoint in server.ts"

Example Workflows

Section titled “Example Workflows”

Code Review

Section titled “Code Review”
Terminal window
claude "review the changes in my current git diff and suggest improvements"

Test Writing

Section titled “Test Writing”
Terminal window
claude "write unit tests for the UserService class"

Debugging

Section titled “Debugging”
Terminal window
claude "the /api/users endpoint returns 500 — investigate and fix"

Security Considerations

Section titled “Security Considerations”
  • API keys: Never commit API keys to version control. Use containerEnv with localEnv references or secrets management.
  • Egress filtering: Pair with the Egress Filter feature to restrict network access to only api.anthropic.com and other required domains.
  • Container isolation: Claude Code runs within the DevContainer boundary and cannot access your host filesystem beyond the mounted workspace.