Ultimate Dev Container

A fully-featured development container with secure 1Password credential management. Works with VS Code Dev Containers or standalone Docker.

Technologies

Languages & Runtimes

Tool	Version	Purpose
Node.js	20.x	JavaScript/TypeScript runtime
npm	10.x	Node package manager
Python	3.11	Python runtime
pip	Latest	Python package manager

Cloud CLIs

Tool	Purpose
AWS CLI	Amazon Web Services
Google Cloud SDK	Google Cloud Platform
Azure CLI	Microsoft Azure

Development Tools

Tool	Purpose
Docker CLI	Container management (Docker-in-Docker)
Docker Compose	Multi-container orchestration
GitHub CLI (gh)	GitHub operations, PR management
Git	Version control
Claude Code	AI-assisted development

Security & Credentials

Tool	Purpose
1Password CLI (op)	Secure credential management
ssh-agent	SSH key management

Authentication Options

Option 1: Interactive (Recommended for personal use)

Run setup-ssh in the container terminal. First time requires:

• 1Password sign-in address (e.g., my.1password.eu)
• Email
• Secret key (starts with A3-)
• Master password

After first setup, only master password needed (account config persists via mount).

Option 2: Service Account (Recommended for automation)

Set on your host machine:

export OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN="ops_your_token_here"

Credentials load automatically on container start.

Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop or Docker Engine
• VS Code with Dev Containers extension (optional)
• 1Password account with a vault containing:
  • Github SSH Key - SSH key item with private key
  • GitHub Token - API token item

2. 1Password Vault Setup

Create a vault called DevContainer with:

SSH Key:

• Item name: Github SSH Key
• Type: SSH Key
• Add your private key

GitHub Token:

• Item name: GitHub Token
• Type: API Credential
• Field name: token
• Value: Your GitHub PAT (needs repo scope)

3. Open in VS Code

code /path/to/devcontainer-1password

Then: Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Containers: Reopen in Container"

4. Set Up Credentials

In the container terminal:

setup-ssh

Follow the prompts to sign in to 1Password.

5. Clone Repos (Optional)

clone-repos

Interactive selector shows your GitHub repos sorted by recent activity.

What's Mounted

Host Path	Container Path	Purpose
~/.claude/	/home/devuser/.claude/	Claude Code settings
~/.config/op/	/home/devuser/.config/op/	1Password account config (persists across rebuilds)
/var/run/docker.sock	/var/run/docker.sock	Docker-in-Docker

Security

Aspect	Implementation
Master password	Never stored, entered each session
SSH keys	Fetched from 1Password, loaded into ssh-agent only
GitHub token	Fetched from 1Password, passed to gh auth
Account config	Stored on host ~/.config/op/, contains no secrets
Service account token	Optional, for fully automatic setup

File Structure

.devcontainer/
├── Dockerfile           # Container image definition
├── devcontainer.json    # VS Code Dev Container config
├── setup-ssh.sh         # 1Password auth & credential loading
├── clone-repos.sh       # Interactive GitHub repo cloning
└── tests/
    ├── test-image.sh    # Container test suite
    └── run-tests.sh     # Build & test runner

Testing

Run tests without VS Code:

.devcontainer/tests/run-tests.sh --verbose

Run tests inside container:

.devcontainer/tests/test-image.sh

Commands Reference

Command	Description
setup-ssh	Authenticate with 1Password, load SSH key & GitHub token
setup-ssh --interactive	Force interactive mode (skip service account)
clone-repos	Interactive GitHub repo selector

Troubleshooting

"No 1Password account configured"

Run setup-ssh and follow the prompts to add your account.

"Permission denied" on git operations

# Check SSH key is loaded
ssh-add -l

# Re-run setup if needed
setup-ssh

GitHub CLI not authenticated

# Check auth status
gh auth status

# Re-run setup
setup-ssh

Container rebuild loses credentials

This is expected. The 1Password account config persists, but you need to re-enter your master password after rebuild:

setup-ssh

License

MIT