Dev Container — TypeScript

Overview

Configure a dev container for TypeScript and Node.js development using the official Node feature or base image. Supports version selection, package manager configuration (npm, pnpm, yarn), and frontend tooling.

Node Feature

{
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": {
      "version": "22"
    }
  }
}

Feature Options

Option	Default	Description
version	lts	Node.js version (22, 20, lts, latest, none)
nodeGypDependencies	true	Install native build dependencies for node-gyp
pnpmVersion	none	Install pnpm (latest, 9, specific version, none)
nvmVersion	latest	nvm version

Full Example

{
  "name": "TypeScript Development",
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/javascript-node:22",
  "forwardPorts": [3000, 5173],
  "portsAttributes": {
    "3000": { "label": "API", "onAutoForward": "notify" },
    "5173": { "label": "Vite Dev Server", "onAutoForward": "openBrowser" }
  },
  "postCreateCommand": "npm ci",
  "postStartCommand": "npm run dev",
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": [
        "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
        "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
        "bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss"
      ],
      "settings": {
        "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
        "editor.formatOnSave": true,
        "editor.codeActionsOnSave": {
          "source.fixAll.eslint": "explicit"
        },
        "typescript.tsdk": "node_modules/typescript/lib"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using the Base Image vs Feature

Approach	When to Use
"image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/javascript-node:22"	Node/TS-only projects
"image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/typescript-node:22"	TypeScript-specific image
Base image + ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1	Multi-language projects

Package Managers

pnpm

{
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": {
      "version": "22",
      "pnpmVersion": "latest"
    }
  },
  "postCreateCommand": "pnpm install --frozen-lockfile"
}

Yarn

{
  "postCreateCommand": "corepack enable && yarn install --immutable"
}

Monorepo Setup (Turborepo / Nx)

{
  "name": "Monorepo",
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/javascript-node:22",
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": {
      "pnpmVersion": "latest"
    }
  },
  "postCreateCommand": "pnpm install --frozen-lockfile",
  "postStartCommand": "pnpm dev",
  "forwardPorts": [3000, 3001, 5173]
}

Frontend Framework Ports

Framework	Default Port
Vite	5173
Next.js	3000
Angular	4200
Create React App	3000
Remix	5173
Astro	4321

Best Practices

• Use npm ci or pnpm install --frozen-lockfile in postCreateCommand for deterministic installs.
• Use postStartCommand for dev servers so they restart on Codespace resume.
• Forward the dev server port and set "onAutoForward": "openBrowser" for quick feedback.
• Set typescript.tsdk to the workspace TypeScript for consistent version behavior.
• Add both ESLint and Prettier extensions and configure formatOnSave for consistent code style.
• Pin Node.js to a major version (22, 20) rather than lts for reproducibility.
• Use corepack enable for Yarn v2+ to use the project-local version.