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Attach to a running container
Visual Studio Code can create and start containers for you but that may not match your workflow and you may prefer to "attach" VS Code to an already running Docker container - regardless of how it was started. Once attached, you can install extensions, edit, and debug like you can when you open a folder in a container using devcontainer.json.
Attach to a Docker container
To attach to a Docker container, either select Dev Containers: Attach to Running Container... from the Command Palette (F1) or use the Remote Explorer in the Activity Bar and from the Containers view, select the Attach to Container inline action on the container you want to connect to.
Note: When using Alpine Linux containers, some extensions may not work due to glibc dependencies in native code inside the extension.
Attached container configuration files
VS Code supports image or container name-level configuration files to speed up setup when you repeatedly connect to a given Docker container. Once attached, anytime you open a folder, install an extension, or forward a port, a local image-specific configuration file will automatically be updated to remember your settings so that when you attach again, everything is back to the right place.
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By default, an image-level configuration is used. To view or update it after attaching, select Dev Containers: Open Container Configuration File from the Command Palette (F1).
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If you would prefer to tie your configuration to a container name, select Dev Containers: Open Named Configuration File from the Command Palette (F1) after attaching. Any updates from this point forward will apply to this name-level configuration rather than at the image level.
Both of these files support a subset of devcontainer.json properties: