Last updated Aug 13, 2025

Use Forge CLI via development container

You can run the Forge CLI in a development container, which provides a consistent and isolated environment pre-configured with the dependencies you need to build Forge apps. This guide explains how to run the Forge CLI in the development container using Visual Studio Code or IntelliJ IDEA.

What is a Development Container?

A development container (or dev container) is a Docker container configured to provide a full-featured development environment. Development containers are used to separate tools, libraries, or runtimes needed for development from your local machine.

The development container includes:

  • Node.js (LTS version)
  • Forge CLI
  • Atlassian CLI
  • Git
  • Essential development tools (curl, wget, jq)
  • VS Code extensions for JavaScript/TypeScript development

Prerequisites

Setup with Docker Desktop

Installation

  1. Download Docker Desktop for your operating system.
  2. Install Docker Desktop following the installation wizard instructions.
  3. Start Docker Desktop after installation.

Setup Instructions

To use development containers, create a .devcontainer.json configuration file. Here is an example configuration file which pulls the latest version of the provided Docker for the Forge CLI container:

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{
  "name": "Atlassian Forge Development Container Sample Config",
  "image": "atlassian/forge-devcontainer:latest",
  "features":{},
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": [
        "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
        "esbenp.prettier-vscode"
      ],
      "settings": {
        "terminal.integrated.shell.linux": "/bin/bash"
      }
    }
  },
  "remoteUser": "node"
}

To pull the Docker image directly, run:

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docker pull atlassian/forge-devcontainer:latest

Open your project in Visual Studio Code

  1. Create a .devcontainer.json file with the above configuration.
  2. Open the repository containing the .devcontainer.json file in VS Code. VS Code will detect the dev container configuration and prompt you to reopen the folder in a container.
  3. Select Reopen in Container. VS Code will build the devcontainer and open the project inside it. This may take a few minutes the first time.

Open your project in IntelliJ IDEA

Using Dev Containers Plugin

  1. Create a .devcontainer.json file with the above configuration.
  2. Open IntelliJ IDEA.
  3. Install the Dev Containers plugin if you haven't already.
  4. Go to File > Open and select the repository containing the .devcontainer.json file. IntelliJ IDEA will detect the dev container configuration and prompt you to open the project in a container.
  5. Select Open in Container. IntelliJ IDEA will build the container and opens your project inside it.

Using the Forge CLI in a devcontainer

You must use the terminal in your IDE to run Forge CLI commands.

Do not use forge login in a development container. Instead, set the FORGE_EMAIL and FORGE_API_TOKEN environment variables in your shell configuration. For more details, see Using environment variables to log in.

Creating Your Own Forge App

To create your own Forge app from scratch:

  1. Open a terminal in your editor.
  2. Create a new Forge app: 
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    forge create
  3. Follow the prompts to set up your app.
  4. Navigate to your app directory: 
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    cd your-app-name
  5. Deploy your app: 
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    forge deploy
  6. Install your app: 
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    forge install

For more information on developing with Forge, see the Forge documentation.

Setup Behind Corporate Proxy

If you're working in a corporate environment with a proxy, you'll need to configure both Docker and the dev container to work with your proxy. Follow these instructions for Linux and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). For more details, see Use the Forge CLI on a corporate network.

Replace http://proxy.example.com:8080 with your actual corporate proxy URL in the examples below.

Linux Setup

  1. Create or edit the Docker daemon configuration file:

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    sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/docker.service.d
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/docker.service.d/http-proxy.conf

  2. Add the following content, replacing the proxy URLs with your corporate proxy details:

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    [Service]
Environment="HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080"
Environment="HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080"
Environment="NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1,.example.com"

  3. Restart the Docker daemon:

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    sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart docker

  4. Verify the configuration:

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    sudo systemctl show --property=Environment docker

WSL Setup

  1. Create or edit the .wslconfig file in your Windows user directory:

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    [wsl2]
kernelCommandLine = "sysctl.net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_time=60 net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_intvl=60 net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_probes=6"

  2. In your WSL distribution, create or edit the Docker daemon configuration:

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    sudo mkdir -p /etc/docker
sudo nano /etc/docker/daemon.json

  3. Add the following content, replacing the proxy URLs with your corporate proxy details:

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    {
  "proxies": {
    "default": {
      "httpProxy": "http://proxy.example.com:8080",
      "httpsProxy": "http://proxy.example.com:8080",
      "noProxy": "localhost,127.0.0.1,.example.com"
    }
  }
}

  4. Restart Docker:

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    sudo service docker restart

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