Skip to content

VS Code Extension

Open a CropsCode container in Visual Studio Code to browse files, edit code, and use the integrated terminal as if working locally.

  • VS Code (or VS Code Insiders) installed
  • Dev Containers extension installed
  • A running CropsCode container

Install the extension:

Terminal window
code --install-extension ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers

VS Code defaults to Docker. If your worker uses Podman, tell VS Code where to find the socket.

  1. Find your Podman socket:
Terminal window
podman machine inspect --format '{{.ConnectionInfo.PodmanSocket.Path}}'
  1. Add to VS Code settings.json:
{
"dev.containers.dockerPath": "podman",
"dev.containers.dockerSocketPath": "<your-socket-path>"
}
  1. Ensure the Podman machine is running:
Terminal window
podman machine start
  1. Find your pipe path:
Terminal window
podman machine inspect --format '{{.ConnectionInfo.PodmanPipe.Path}}'
  1. Add to VS Code settings.json:
{
"dev.containers.dockerPath": "podman",
"dev.containers.dockerSocketPath": "<your-pipe-path>"
}

No configuration needed — VS Code detects Docker automatically.

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS) → Dev Containers: Attach to Running Container…
  3. Select your container (e.g. claude-code-terminal-github-...)
  4. A new window opens connected to the container
  5. Ctrl+O (or Cmd+O) to open a folder inside the container

macOS/Linux:

Terminal window
code --folder-uri "vscode-remote://attached-container+$(printf '<container-id>' | xxd -p)/workspace"

Windows (PowerShell):

Terminal window
$hexId = -join ([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("<container-id>") | ForEach-Object { '{0:x2}' -f $_ })
code --folder-uri "vscode-remote://attached-container+$hexId/workspace"

Use podman ps or docker ps to find the container ID.

  • Podman: Make sure the machine is running — podman machine start
  • Docker: Make sure Docker Desktop is running
  • Verify the socket/pipe path in your VS Code settings
  • Verify the container is running: podman ps
  • Check dev.containers.dockerPath is set correctly
  • Check dev.containers.dockerSocketPath points to the right socket

VS Code shows “Installing server…” for a long time

Section titled “VS Code shows “Installing server…” for a long time”

First-time attachment installs the VS Code server inside the container. Subsequent connections reuse the cache and are much faster.

Getting Started Concepts Guides CLI Self-Hosting Reference Links