Connect to Dev Container
A Development Container (dev container) is a Docker container that is configured to be used as fully functional development environment.
IntelliJ IDEA lets you use such container to edit, build, and run your projects.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure the following prerequisites are met:
You have a project that contains the
.devcontainerfolder with thedevcontainer.jsonfile that describes the actual dev container.You have access to GitHub.
Your have the Git 2.25 version or later installed on your machine.
You have Docker installed on the machine where a dev container will reside.
Your Docker resources meet the minimal system requirements for the backend.
You can start a dev container inside the IDE. You can also start it locally or remotely from either JetBrains Gateway or IntelliJ IDEA.
Start Dev Container inside the IDE
You can open a project that has the .devcontainer folder with the devcontainer.json file in the root inside IntelliJ IDEA and start a dev container from the IDE by using Docker.
Create Dev Container from the IDE
Open your project with the
devcontainer.jsonfile inside the IDE.You can open the project locally or remotely.
Open the
devcontainer.jsonfile in the editor.In the left gutter, click
and select Create Dev Container (mount sources).
After the dev container is created, click Continue.
The container is created and the project is opened in JetBrains Client.
Start Dev Container from the JetBrains Gateway welcome screen
You can start a dev container from JetBrains Gateway either locally or connect to a remote server using SSH.
Start Dev Container from JetBrains Gateway
Launch JetBrains Gateway.
Click
and from the context menu select Settings.Select Advanced Settings from the list of available options and from the options on the right, under the Dev Containers section, select Enable creating Dev Containers from the Gateway (Remote Development) welcome screen and click OK.
Restart JetBrains Gateway to make the Dev Containers option available on the welcome screen.
From the available options on the right, click Create Dev Container.
In the Git Repository field, specify the path to your project on GitHub.
The project to which you are referring should have a
devcontainer.jsonfile that contains the dev container configuration.If you want to build the dev container locally, click Build Container and Continue.
If you want to build the dev container on the remote machine, open the Connect via SSH section, specify the necessary configuration and then click Build Container and Continue.
After the dev container is built, click Continue to open the project with JetBrains Client.
At this point, you can work with your project further.
Start Dev Container from the IntelliJ IDEA welcome screen
You can start a dev contain right from IntelliJ IDEA either locally or remotely via SSH.
Start Dev Container from IntelliJ IDEA
Launch IntelliJ IDEA.
Press Control+Alt+S to open Settings.
Select Advanced Settings from the list of available options and from the options on the right, under the Dev Containers section, select Enable creating Dev Containers from the Gateway (Remote Development) welcome screen and click OK.
Restart IntelliJ IDEA to enable the Dev Containers option.
From the welcome screen, select Remote Development and click Create Dev Container.
In the Git Repository field, specify the path to your project on GitHub.
The project to which you are referring should have a
devcontainer.jsonfile that contains the dev container configuration.
If you want to build the dev container locally, click Build Container and Continue.
If you want to build the dev container on the remote machine, open the Connect via SSH section, specify the necessary configuration and then click Build Container and Continue.
After the dev container is built, click Continue to open the project with JetBrains Client.
At this point, you can work with your project further.
Recent projects
When you close your project, you can choose how to handle the dev container. You can close the project and keep the dev container active, or you can close the project and also stop running the dev container.
All the recent dev containers are displayed on the welcome screen under the Local node for local projects or under the remote server name. You can start and stop recent dev containers right from the welcome screen of JetBrains Gateway or IntelliJ IDEA.
