MR
Mayur Rathi
@sickn33
⭐ 47.3k GitHub stars

devcontainers-nix

devcontainers-nix is an engineering AI skill with a core value of Create reproducible development environments with Dev Containers, Nix flakes, and Devbox for consistent toolchains across teams. It helps developers solve real-world problems in the engineering domain, boosting efficiency, automating repetitive tasks, and optimizing workflows.

Create reproducible development environments with Dev Containers, Nix flakes, and Devbox for consistent toolchains across teams.

Last verified on: 2026-10-06

Quick Facts

Category engineering
Works With Claude
Source sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills
Stars ⭐ 47.3k
Last Verified 2026-10-06
Risk Level Low
mkdir -p ./skills/devcontainers-nix && curl -sfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills/main/skills/devcontainers-nix/SKILL.md -o ./skills/devcontainers-nix/SKILL.md

Run in terminal / PowerShell. Requires curl (Unix) or PowerShell 5+ (Windows).

Skill Content

# Dev Containers & Nix Environments


Reproducible, portable development environments that eliminate environment drift.


When to Use This Skill


Use this skill when:

- Onboarding new developers (zero-to-productive in minutes)

- Standardizing toolchains across a team

- Eliminating "works on my machine" problems

- Setting up CI environments that match local dev

- Creating ephemeral, disposable dev environments


Dev Containers


Basic Configuration


json 
// .devcontainer/devcontainer.json
{
  "name": "My Project",
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:ubuntu-22.04",
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": { "version": "20" },
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/python:1": { "version": "3.12" },
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:2": {},
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/kubectl-helm-minikube:1": {}
  },
  "forwardPorts": [3000, 5432],
  "postCreateCommand": "npm install",
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": [
        "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
        "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
        "ms-python.python"
      ],
      "settings": {
        "editor.formatOnSave": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Docker Compose Dev Container


json 
// .devcontainer/devcontainer.json
{
  "name": "Full Stack Dev",
  "dockerComposeFile": "docker-compose.yml",
  "service": "app",
  "workspaceFolder": "/workspace",
  "forwardPorts": [3000, 5432, 6379],
  "postCreateCommand": "npm install && npx prisma migrate dev"
}

yaml 
# .devcontainer/docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    build:
      context: ..
      dockerfile: .devcontainer/Dockerfile
    volumes:
      - ..:/workspace:cached
    command: sleep infinity
    depends_on: [db, redis]

  db:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: dev
      POSTGRES_USER: dev
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: dev
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"

volumes:
  pgdata:

Custom Dockerfile


dockerfile 
# .devcontainer/Dockerfile
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:ubuntu-22.04

# System dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    build-essential \
    curl \
    git \
    jq \
    unzip \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install project-specific tools
RUN curl -fsSL https://get.opentofu.org/install-opentofu.sh -o /tmp/install-opentofu.sh \
    && sh /tmp/install-opentofu.sh -s -- --install-method standalone \
    && rm /tmp/install-opentofu.sh
RUN curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -sL https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl" \
    && install kubectl /usr/local/bin/

# Non-root user setup
USER vscode
WORKDIR /workspace

Nix Flakes


Basic Flake


nix 
# flake.nix
{
  description = "Project development environment";

  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, flake-utils }:
    flake-utils.lib.eachDefaultSystem (system:
      let
        pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
      in {
        devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
          buildInputs = with pkgs; [
            # Languages
            nodejs_20
            python312
            go_1_22
            rustc
            cargo

            # Tools
            docker-compose
            kubectl
            kubernetes-helm
            opentofu
            awscli2
            jq
            yq-go

            # Databases
            postgresql_16
            redis
          ];

          shellHook = ''
            echo "Dev environment loaded"
            export PROJECT_ROOT=$(pwd)
            export PATH="$PROJECT_ROOT/node_modules/.bin:$PATH"
          '';
        };
      }
    );
}

bash 
# Enter the dev shell
nix develop

# Or run a single command
nix develop --command bash -c "node --version && go version"

# Build and run
nix build
nix run

🎯 Best For

  • Claude users
  • AI users

💡 Use Cases

  • Using devcontainers-nix in daily workflow
  • Automating repetitive engineering tasks

📖 How to Use This Skill

  1. 1

    Install the Skill

    Copy the install command from the Terminal tab and run it. The SKILL.md file downloads to your local skills directory.

  2. 2

    Load into Your AI Assistant

    Open Claude and reference the skill. Paste the SKILL.md content or use the system prompt tab.

  3. 3

    Apply devcontainers-nix to Your Work

    Provide context for your task — paste source material, describe your audience, or share existing work to guide the AI.

  4. 4

    Review and Refine

    Edit the AI output for accuracy, tone, and completeness. Add human insight where the AI lacks context.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How do I install devcontainers-nix?

Copy the install command from the Terminal tab and run it. The skill downloads to ./skills/devcontainers-nix/SKILL.md, ready to use.

Can I customize this skill for my team?

Absolutely. Edit the SKILL.md file to add team-specific instructions, examples, or workflows.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Not reading the full skill

Skills contain important context and edge cases beyond the quick start.

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