IDEs and terminals

In a host terminal, choose one desktop IDE with devcapsule project config ide NAME (or pass --ide NAME during devcapsule project init). Your IDE choice is stored in your local checkout record rather than committed to the shared manifest, so teammates on the same repository can each use their preferred editor.

Choosing Visual Studio Code

To select Microsoft Visual Studio Code when the project permits that IDE, run:

devcapsule project config ide vscode

(On a frontend-ide checkout, devcapsule project config use frontend-ide vscode also switches the provider from VSCodium to VS Code.)

DevCapsule does not redistribute VS Code in published images. On the first launch that needs a pinned version, DevCapsule downloads the archive directly from Microsoft on your machine and verifies its SHA-256 digest. Trust the channel once for your configuration home with devcapsule home trust accept vscode, or approve it per checkout with devcapsule project config authorize vscode-download true after reviewing Microsoft's Visual Studio Code license terms; see Vendor software and trust.

Overriding a project-required IDE for one launch

When a project requires a specific IDE in .devcapsule/devcapsule.toml (for example, while developing an IDE plugin), every checkout uses that IDE and plain run --ide with another editor is refused. To launch a different IDE for one session without modifying the manifest or your saved checkout record, add --force:

devcapsule project run --ide codium --force

The launcher warns which required IDE it set aside, runs your requested editor for this session only, and skips recording that departed run as a known-good project configuration. You cannot combine --force with --save. Trust, download consent, and dependency checks still apply. Your next plain devcapsule project run checks the project's requirements against your saved selection again; see A required IDE.

Eclipse and JetBrains specifics

• Eclipse (eclipse-ide): After opening the desktop URL, choose File → Open Projects from File System to import /workspace/<slug> (or File → Import → Maven → Existing Maven Projects). Keep your source files inside /workspace/<slug>; Eclipse stores workspace metadata, preferences, and local history separately at /ide-workspace, which persists per checkout alongside /home/devcapsule.
• PyCharm, IntelliJ IDEA, and Rider: Complete any JetBrains sign-in or license setup inside the capsule; DevCapsule does not supply a license or activate trials automatically. Settings and installed plugins persist per checkout under separate slots for each IDE (IDE preferences and extensions).
• .NET with another editor: Add or require the dotnet capability (for example, devcapsule project config add dotnet alongside vscode-ide) to include the pinned .NET SDK, runtime, and MSBuild (DOTNET_CLI_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT=1 by default) without switching to Rider.

The terminal inside the capsule

The IDE's integrated terminal runs inside the Linux container at /workspace/<slug>, not on your host:

• Compilers, runtimes, and agents come from the pinned base image and selected components; your host's PATH, shell dotfiles, SSH keys, and cloud credentials are not imported.
• Your shell home is /home/devcapsule, which persists per checkout across container restarts—along with ~/.bashrc, language caches (~/.cache, ~/.npm, ~/.nuget, ~/.m2). /opt/xtras is an alias for ~/xtras, so tools installed there also persist. /opt/xtras/bin is on PATH (Extra tools in /opt/xtras and What persists).