Getting Started with Dev Containers | IntelliJ IDEA Documentation

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have a Docker plugin installed and set up.

Step 1. Prepare a project

Since the devcontainer.json is a necessary configuration file for building Dev Containers, it should be present in the project. The file is placed in the .devcontainer folder in the project root; there could be some other folder in between, like .devcontainer/.../.../devcontainer.json.

There are two options to quickly start creating Dev Containers: create a simple file or use an in-IDE feature to create a configuration file from the template.

The minimal requirement for a Dev Container is the image from which it would be built.

In the project view, right-click the project name and select, New | File.
Add the file name (devcontainer.json).
Open the file in the editor and add the following code:
{ image: "ubuntu:latest" }

In the project view, right-click the project name and select, New | Dev Container Config.
In the dialog that opens, IntelliJ IDEA displays a default container configuration. The default template is enough to create a Dev Container, but any other language-specific template could be selected from the Dev Container Template dropdown if necessary.
Click OK to create a relatively simple (but full of comments) devcontainer.json:
// Default Ubuntu-based DevContainer Template. // For more customization options, see https://containers.dev/implementors/json_reference { name: "Default", image: "ubuntu:latest", customizations : { // Configure JetBrains IDE-specific properties jetbrains : { backend : "IntelliJ", settings : { // IDE settings can be added via “Show context actions”|“Add currently modified settings from IDE”. // A complete list of supported settings is also available through auto-completion }, plugins: [ // A set of plugin IDs. // Plugin ID can be found on the corresponding plugin’s page at https://plugins.jetbrains.com. ] } }, features: { "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/git" : {}, // Add additional features to your project using auto-completion. }, // Comment out to connect as the root user. remoteUser: "ubuntu" }

Step 2. Prepare for a build process

You need to consider several additional details to successfully build a container.

Which Dev Container implementation will be used. For the Remote Development (aka first or old) implementation, ensure that the Open devcontainer projects natively option in Settings | Advanced Settings is disabled; for the native mode (aka second) implementation, enable this option.

When RD implementation is used, it is advised to set up the IDE to provide an extended backend choice: How to select the specific IDE backend version for dev containers.

To use the custom RD backend (maybe necessary to check problems in not-published IDE builds), see IDE backend isn't downloaded correctly when building dev containers.

Step 3. Start a Dev Container build

The easiest option to start a dev container build is to do it from the opened devcontainer.json file via the gutter icon:
After the build starts, the Services view should be opened automatically to display the build process:
Depending on the implementation chosen (RD vs native mode), the following flow differs a bit.
Select the backend version from the list and wait while it and the Client are downloaded:
In some cases, if the dev container build and backend deployment process takes more than 10 seconds, the Client won't be opened; instead, the notification with the Connect button will be shown in the IDE. Press the button:
Press the Trust Project button in the following window, and wait while Client opens:
How to understand if it is already a project in the dev container opened? By the Backend Status Details widget on the top left:
Since there is no backend deployment step, the dev container project will be opened in the IDE instantly. If the Open project in option (Settings | Appearance & Behavior | System Settings) is set up to Ask, the project will be opened after confirmation.
How to understand if the project is opened in a native mode dev container? The unusual project root path and a widget to display forwarded ports on the top left: