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Building & Attaching

How to build container images and work inside them.

Building Images

Basic Build

Build the container for the active workspace:

dvm build

This will:

  1. Detect your app's language
  2. Generate a Dockerfile (if needed)
  3. Build the container image
  4. Install language tools and LSP servers
  5. Configure Neovim

Force Rebuild

Rebuild even if the image exists:

dvm build --force

Build Without Cache

Start fresh without Docker cache:

dvm build --no-cache

What Gets Built?

dvm auto-detects your app and sets up:

Language Tools Installed
Go go, gopls, golangci-lint
Python python, pip, pyright, black
Node.js node, npm, typescript-language-server
Rust rust, cargo, rust-analyzer

Plus common tools:

  • Neovim with plugins
  • git, curl, wget
  • ripgrep, fd-find
  • tmux

Attaching to Containers

Basic Attach

Enter the active workspace container:

dvm attach

Attach to Specific Workspace

dvm attach dev
dvm attach test

What Happens on Attach?

  1. Container starts (if not running)
  2. App mounted at /workspace
  3. Terminal connects with full resize support
  4. You're inside! Ready to code
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Your Terminal                                      │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Container                                    │  │
│  │  /workspace $ nvim .                         │  │
│  │                                              │  │
│  │  Your app files are here                 │  │
│  │  Changes sync automatically                  │  │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Working Inside the Container

Once attached:

# Your app is at /workspace
cd /workspace
ls

# Edit with Neovim (fully configured!)
nvim main.go

# Run your code
go run .
python main.py
npm start

# Use git
git status
git commit -m "feat: add feature"

# Exit when done
exit
# or Ctrl+D

Detaching

Exit the Container

Just type exit or press Ctrl+D.

Stop the Container

Stop the container from outside:

dvm detach

Or stop a specific workspace:

dvm detach dev

Auto-Recreate on Image Change

When you run dvm attach:

  1. dvm checks if the image has changed
  2. If yes, the container is recreated
  3. Your code is still there (it's mounted)

This means after dvm build --force, the next dvm attach will use the new image automatically.

Terminal Resize

The container terminal supports full resize:

  • Resize your terminal window
  • The container terminal adjusts automatically
  • Works with Neovim splits, tmux, etc.

Container Platforms

dvm detects and uses available platforms:

dvm get platforms
Platform Status
OrbStack Recommended for macOS
Docker Desktop Cross-platform
Podman Rootless option
Colima Lightweight

Force a Specific Platform

DVM_PLATFORM=colima dvm build
DVM_PLATFORM=docker dvm attach

Troubleshooting

Image Not Building

# Check platform detection
dvm get plat

# Try verbose mode
dvm build -v

# Check logs
dvm build --log-file build.log

Container Won't Start

# Check status
dvm status

# Verbose attach
dvm attach -v

Changes Not Persisting

Your app is mounted, so changes should persist. If they don't:

  1. Make sure you're editing in /workspace
  2. Check that the mount is working: ls /workspace

Next Steps