Agent skill

Atmos Devcontainer

Devcontainer orchestration: start/stop/attach/shell/exec/rebuild, instance management, config handling, VS Code integration

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedDevOps & Cloud

Install Atmos Devcontainer

skills CLI

$ npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install cloudposse/atmos atmos-devcontainer --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer .claude/skills/atmos-devcontainer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "atmos-devcontainer" agent skill from https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/tree/main/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer into .claude/skills/atmos-devcontainer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "atmos-devcontainer", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/tree/main/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install cloudposse/atmos atmos-devcontainer --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer .agents/skills/atmos-devcontainer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "atmos-devcontainer" agent skill from https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/tree/main/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer into .agents/skills/atmos-devcontainer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "atmos-devcontainer", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install cloudposse/atmos atmos-devcontainer --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer .cursor/skills/atmos-devcontainer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "atmos-devcontainer" agent skill from https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/tree/main/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer into .cursor/skills/atmos-devcontainer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "atmos-devcontainer", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos.git --path agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install cloudposse/atmos atmos-devcontainer --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer .gemini/skills/atmos-devcontainer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "atmos-devcontainer" agent skill from https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/tree/main/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer into .gemini/skills/atmos-devcontainer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "atmos-devcontainer", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install cloudposse/atmos atmos-devcontainer

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer .github/skills/atmos-devcontainer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "atmos-devcontainer" agent skill from https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/tree/main/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer into .github/skills/atmos-devcontainer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "atmos-devcontainer", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install cloudposse/atmos atmos-devcontainer --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer .opencode/skills/atmos-devcontainer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "atmos-devcontainer" agent skill from https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/tree/main/agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer into .opencode/skills/atmos-devcontainer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "atmos-devcontainer", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: atmos-devcontainer
GitHub stars: 1.4k
Token cost: ~1.7k tokens
SKILL.md length: 342 words
Files: 2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo: 70
Repo updated: Oct 7, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Devcontainer orchestration: start/stop/attach/shell/exec/rebuild, instance management, config handling, VS Code integration

Works in 2 steps: Docker (checked first) → Podman (fallback)
Tasks that involve Containers
SKILL.md covers Purpose, Core Concepts, Key Commands and Instance Management, plus 2 more sections
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Atmos Devcontainer is an agent skill from cloudposse/atmos. Devcontainer orchestration: start/stop/attach/shell/exec/rebuild, instance management, config handling, VS Code integration

Its SKILL.md is about 1.7k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/commands-reference.md`).

It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Containers. It works with Visual Studio Code and Docker. The repository describes itself as: Atmos is the open-source runtime for infrastructure — it builds, authenticates, and ships Terraform, OpenTofu, Packer, Ansible, Kubernetes, Helm, and containers the same way on… The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Containers

Example prompts

“/atmos-devcontainer”

Requirements

Docker

Workflow steps

2 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Docker (checked first)
Podman (fallback)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bbe58a6. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are bash and yaml).
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Atmos Devcontainer loads about 1.7k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 36 tokens; SKILL.md has 342 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~36
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.7k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them: ~3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from cloudposse/atmos at commit bbe58a6, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© cloudposse). 342 words, ~1,681 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/atmos-devcontainer/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: atmos-devcontainer
description: Devcontainer orchestration: start/stop/attach/shell/exec/rebuild, instance management, config handling, VS Code integration
metadata.copyright: Copyright Cloud Posse, LLC 2026
metadata.version: 1.0.0
metadata.category: dev-tooling
references: references/commands-reference.md

Atmos Devcontainer

Purpose

Atmos provides native devcontainer management for creating standardized, reproducible development environments. It provides built-in orchestration that integrates with Atmos authentication, toolchains, and project configuration, replacing the need for external orchestration tooling like Geodesic (though Geodesic container images remain fully supported).

Note: The devcontainer feature is currently experimental. By default (settings.experimental: warn), Atmos displays a warning but runs the command. Set settings.experimental: silence in atmos.yaml to suppress the warning, or disable to block experimental commands entirely.

Core Concepts

Devcontainer Configuration

Devcontainers are configured at the top level of atmos.yaml (not under components:). Each named devcontainer defines container settings and a devcontainer spec:

yaml

devcontainer:
  default:
    settings:
      runtime: docker           # docker or podman (auto-detected if omitted)
    spec:
      name: "Atmos Default"
      image: "cloudposse/geodesic:latest"
      workspaceFolder: "/workspace"
      workspaceMount: "type=bind,source=${WORKSPACE},target=/workspace"
      mounts:
        - "type=bind,source=${HOME}/.aws,target=/root/.aws,readonly"
      forwardPorts:
        - 8080
      containerEnv:
        ATMOS_BASE_PATH: "/workspace"
      remoteUser: "root"

Supported Spec Features

The following devcontainer spec fields are supported:

Field	Description
`name`	Display name for the container
`image`	Container image to use
`build.dockerfile`	Path to Dockerfile
`build.context`	Build context directory
`build.args`	Build arguments
`workspaceFolder`	Path inside container for workspace
`workspaceMount`	Mount specification for workspace
`mounts`	Additional mount points
`forwardPorts`	Ports to forward to host
`portsAttributes`	Port binding configuration
`runArgs`	Extra arguments passed to container runtime
`containerEnv`	Environment variables set inside container
`remoteUser`	User to run as inside container

Unsupported fields (features, postCreateCommand, customizations, etc.) are silently ignored with debug-level logging, allowing compatibility with VS Code devcontainer.json files. Use ATMOS_LOGS_LEVEL=Debug to see which fields are being ignored.

Importing from devcontainer.json

Use !include to import existing VS Code devcontainer configurations:

yaml

devcontainer:
  vscode:
    settings:
      runtime: docker
    spec: !include .devcontainer/devcontainer.json

Container Naming

Containers follow the naming convention: atmos-devcontainer.{name}.{instance}

Dot (.) separator avoids parsing ambiguity with hyphenated names
Default instance name is default
Multiple instances of the same devcontainer can run simultaneously

Container Labels

All Atmos devcontainers are labeled for management:

text

tools.atmos.type=devcontainer
tools.atmos.devcontainer.name={name}
tools.atmos.devcontainer.instance={instance}
tools.atmos.workspace={workspace-path}
tools.atmos.created={timestamp}

Runtime Auto-Detection

Atmos automatically detects the available container runtime:

Docker (checked first)
Podman (fallback)

Override with settings.runtime in the devcontainer configuration.

Key Commands

Lifecycle Management

bash

atmos devcontainer start default           # Start (create if needed)
atmos devcontainer stop default            # Stop running container
atmos devcontainer remove default          # Remove container and data
atmos devcontainer rebuild default         # Destroy and recreate from scratch

Interactive Access

bash

atmos devcontainer shell                   # Start + attach in one command
atmos devcontainer shell default           # Named devcontainer
atmos devcontainer attach default          # Attach to running container

Command Execution

bash

atmos devcontainer exec default -- terraform plan
atmos devcontainer exec default -- aws sts get-caller-identity

Information

bash

atmos devcontainer list                    # List all configured devcontainers
atmos devcontainer config default          # Display resolved configuration
atmos devcontainer logs default            # Show container logs

Instance Management

Multiple instances of the same devcontainer can run simultaneously:

bash

atmos devcontainer start default --instance alice
atmos devcontainer start default --instance bob
atmos devcontainer list                    # Shows both instances
atmos devcontainer attach default --instance alice

Authentication Integration

Devcontainers integrate with the Atmos identity system for credential injection:

bash

atmos devcontainer shell default --identity prod-admin
atmos devcontainer exec default --identity dev -- terraform plan

When --identity is specified, Atmos resolves the identity credentials and passes them to the container environment.

Common Patterns

Standard Development Environment

yaml

devcontainer:
  default:
    spec:
      name: "Infrastructure Dev"
      image: "cloudposse/geodesic:latest"
      workspaceFolder: "/workspace"
      workspaceMount: "type=bind,source=${WORKSPACE},target=/workspace"
      mounts:
        - "type=bind,source=${HOME}/.aws,target=/root/.aws,readonly"
        - "type=bind,source=${HOME}/.ssh,target=/root/.ssh,readonly"
      containerEnv:
        ATMOS_BASE_PATH: "/workspace"
        AWS_PROFILE: "default"
      remoteUser: "root"

Multiple Environments

yaml

devcontainer:
  dev:
    spec:
      name: "Dev Environment"
      image: "cloudposse/geodesic:latest"
      containerEnv:
        ATMOS_BASE_PATH: "/workspace"
        ENVIRONMENT: "dev"

  prod:
    spec:
      name: "Prod Environment"
      image: "cloudposse/geodesic:latest"
      containerEnv:
        ATMOS_BASE_PATH: "/workspace"
        ENVIRONMENT: "prod"

Custom Dockerfile

yaml

devcontainer:
  custom:
    spec:
      name: "Custom Dev"
      build:
        dockerfile: .devcontainer/Dockerfile
        context: .
        args:
          TERRAFORM_VERSION: "1.9.8"
      workspaceFolder: "/workspace"
      workspaceMount: "type=bind,source=${WORKSPACE},target=/workspace"

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer of cloudposse/atmos.

SKILL.md
references/commands-reference.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bbe58a6

Compare with similar skills

Atmos Devcontainer next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Atmos Devcontainer compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Atmos Devcontainer this skillcloudposse/atmos	1.4k	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Devsydevsy-org/devsy	109	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	MPL-2.0	today
Devcontainerjwynia/agent-skills	165	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	7 mo ago
Cloud TestFreakStudioCN/mpy-hardware-extension	118	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	9 days ago
Azure Containerregistry Pymicrosoft/skills	3.1k	—	~2.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Review PRmicrosoft/vscode-containers	141	—	~900	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	today

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Questions about Atmos Devcontainer

What does Atmos Devcontainer do?

Devcontainer orchestration: start/stop/attach/shell/exec/rebuild, instance management, config handling, VS Code integration. Atmos Devcontainer is an agent skill from cloudposse/atmos.

When should I use Atmos Devcontainer?

Atmos Devcontainer fits situations like: tasks that involve Containers.

How do I install Atmos Devcontainer in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer in cloudposse/atmos) into .claude/skills/atmos-devcontainer in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Atmos Devcontainer in Codex?

Run `npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (agent-skills/skills/atmos-devcontainer in cloudposse/atmos) into .agents/skills/atmos-devcontainer in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Atmos Devcontainer in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add cloudposse/atmos --skill atmos-devcontainer -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/atmos-devcontainer, .gemini/skills/atmos-devcontainer, .github/skills/atmos-devcontainer and .opencode/skills/atmos-devcontainer in your project.

What does Atmos Devcontainer need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Atmos Devcontainer is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Docker.

Does Atmos Devcontainer access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Atmos Devcontainer safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Atmos Devcontainer use?

Atmos Devcontainer is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Atmos Devcontainer use?

About 1.7k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 1.3k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Atmos Devcontainer?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Atmos Devcontainer: Devsy (devsy-org/devsy, 109 stars), Devcontainer (jwynia/agent-skills, 165 stars), Cloud Test (FreakStudioCN/mpy-hardware-extension, 118 stars) and Azure Containerregistry Py (microsoft/skills, 3.1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Atmos Devcontainer?

cloudposse (a GitHub organization) maintains it in cloudposse/atmos, which has 1,395 GitHub stars. The repository holds 70 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: cloudposse/atmos on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Atmos Devcontainer

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Atmos Devcontainer

Purpose

Core Concepts

Devcontainer Configuration

Supported Spec Features

Importing from devcontainer.json

Container Naming

Container Labels

Runtime Auto-Detection

Key Commands

Lifecycle Management

Interactive Access

Command Execution

Information

Instance Management

Authentication Integration

Common Patterns

Standard Development Environment

Multiple Environments

Custom Dockerfile

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from cloudposse/atmos

Related

Questions about Atmos Devcontainer