nodejs

Node.js Dev Container

Quick, automated development environment with Node.js 22, modern tools, and VS Code integration.

⚡ Quick Start

Option A: No SSH (3-5 min)

Ctrl+Shift+P → "Dev Containers: Rebuild and Reopen in Container"
# Wait for build... Done!

Option B: With SSH (4-6 min)

cp .devcontainer/.ssh-keys-template.example .devcontainer/.ssh-keys-template
# Edit template with your SSH keys from ~/.ssh/id_rsa and ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
.devcontainer/setup-ssh-dotenv.sh   # generates ./.env at the workspace root
Ctrl+Shift+P → "Dev Containers: Rebuild Container"

Start Coding

git clone <repo_url>    # Clone your project
npm install <package>   # Install dependencies
npm start               # Start your app

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📦 What's Included

Node.js 22 LTS, npm, yarn, pnpm, NVM, Fish shell with plugins (z, fzf, autopair), git tools (delta, lazygit, GitHub CLI), Docker client, ESLint, Prettier, Vim, VS Code extensions (Prettier, ESLint, GitLens, Copilot).

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📖 Common Commands

# Node versions
nvm list                    # Show installed versions
nvm install 20              # Install version 20
nvm use 20                  # Switch version

# Git
git clone <repo>
gloo                        # Pretty log
lg                          # Open lazygit UI
gh pr create                # Create PR
gapa                        # alia of `git add --patch`
ggp                         # alias of `git push $(git_current_branch)`
ggl                         # alias of `git pull origin $(git_current_branch)`
tig                         # Interactive git commit browser

# Package managers
npm install <pkg>
yarn add <pkg>
pnpm add <pkg>

# Search & navigation
fzf                         # Find files
z <dir>                     # Jump to directory

# Docker
docker build -t my-img .
docker ps

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⚙️ Environment Configuration

Option 1: Using .env file at workspace root (recommended)

Create ./.env for git identity and npm tokens:

GIT_USER_NAME="Your Name"
GIT_USER_EMAIL="[email protected]"
NPM_TOKEN="your_npm_token"

The .env file is:

• Automatically loaded by container
• Git-ignored (safe to store secrets)
• Read by post-create-setup.sh script

Note: SSH keys are NOT added here. Use the SSH Setup process below.

Option 2: Using host environment variables (advanced)

Only variables explicitly mapped in devcontainer.json are forwarded (e.g., NPM_TOKEN). Git identity (GIT_USER_NAME, GIT_USER_EMAIL) is not forwarded by default; prefer the ./.env file. If you still want host env, add mappings in containerEnv.

You can also export values in your shell, but they will not be visible in the container unless mapped:

export GIT_USER_NAME="Your Name"
export GIT_USER_EMAIL="[email protected]"
export NPM_TOKEN="your_npm_token"

Note: SSH keys are NOT set this way. Use the SSH Setup process below.

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🔐 SSH Setup (Only via Script)

SSH keys MUST be set up using the automatic setup process:

Automatic SSH Setup (Recommended)

# 1. Copy template
cp .devcontainer/.ssh-keys-template.example .devcontainer/.ssh-keys-template

# 2. Edit with your SSH keys
# ~/.ssh/id_rsa → PRIVATE_KEY
# ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub → PUBLIC_KEY

# 3. Run script (creates .env, deletes template)
.devcontainer/setup-ssh-dotenv.sh

# 4. Rebuild container
Ctrl+Shift+P → "Dev Containers: Rebuild Container"

This script:

• Reads SSH keys from template file
• Base64-encodes them automatically
• Writes SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 and SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_B64 to ./.env
• Deletes template file (security)
• post-create-setup.sh decodes and sets up SSH automatically

Do NOT manually add SSH keys to .env - use the script!

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🆘 Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Build fails	Docker Desktop running? 4GB+ disk space free? Try rebuild without cache: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Dev Containers: Rebuild Container (No Cache)"
SSH not working	Did you use setup-ssh-dotenv.sh? Rebuild container, verify: ssh-add -l
Extensions missing	Verify connected to container (green indicator, bottom-left), reload: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window"
Docker fails	Docker Desktop running? Test: docker ps. Check Docker Settings → Advanced → "Expose daemon on tcp://localhost:2375 without TLS"
Git user not set	Did you create .env or set host variables? Check GIT_USER_NAME and GIT_USER_EMAIL
NPM auth fails	Did you set NPM_TOKEN in .env or host environment?

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📁 Shared Workspaces (Optional)

Files in /home/node/workspaces persist across rebuilds:

cd ~/workspaces
# Clone repos or projects here to keep them safe

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🧱 Build Args (optional)

Pin or override tool versions used during image build by adding build args in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json:

{
	"build": {
		"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
		"args": {
			"DELTA_VERSION": "0.16.5",
			"LAZYGIT_VERSION": "0.41.0"
		}
	}
}

Then rebuild:

Ctrl+Shift+P → "Dev Containers: Rebuild Container"

Notes:

• Node 22 and NVM come from the base image; the post-create script does not install Node.
• Fish configuration (including NVM integration) is provided by the image.

🔗 More Help

• Dev Containers: https://containers.dev/
• Node.js: node --version
• Fish shell: fish_help (inside container)
• GitHub CLI: gh help