Why

Coder's envbuilder prebuilt-image cache probe (envbuilder_cached_image) cannot reproduce devcontainer feature layers: features install from /.envbuilder/features/... during the build but /tmp/... during the probe, so the probe always misses with uncached RUN command is not supported in cache probe mode and the workspace rebuilds layer-by-layer every start. This is a known, open, version-independent upstream limitation: coder/terraform-provider-envbuilder#68.

A pure-Dockerfile build (no features:) is reproducible by the probe, so a cached workspace can boot directly from the prebuilt image — no build, no layer extraction.

What this does

• .devcontainer/Dockerfile — installs the entire toolchain via RUN layers, mirroring the previous feature set:
  • Go 1.26.3, Ruby 4.0.5 (ruby-build), Rust stable (rustup), kubectl/helm/minikube, gh, az, sshd (port 2222)
  • npm CLIs: @anthropic-ai/claude-code, @github/copilot, opencode-ai, @openprose/prose-cli
  • unchanged: Namespace nsc, Playwright + Chromium, tmux config
• .devcontainer/devcontainer.json — removes the features: block and overrideFeatureInstallOrder; keeps remoteUser/containerUser/updateRemoteUserUID/postCreateCommand.
• Removes devcontainer-lock.json (only relevant to features).
• README — documents the Dockerfile-only rationale and toolchain.

Validation

I can't build locally (no Docker in my environment), so this is a draft for the Build Containers CI (Dockerfile build + envbuilder + devcontainer up) to validate. Once green and merged, the Cache Devcontainer workflow republishes the cache; then in Coder the envbuilder_cached_image probe should return exists=true and workspaces boot directly from the prebuilt image.

Notes / assumptions to review

• AI/CLI tools are installed via their npm packages (verified to exist) rather than reproducing each feature's bootstrap/gh-release script — simpler and equivalent. Package→command: @github/copilot→copilot, opencode-ai→opencode, @anthropic-ai/claude-code→claude.
• Ruby 4.0.5 is compiled via ruby-build (heavier build step than the rest).
• sshd config is minimal (port 2222); adjust if you rely on the feature's exact setup.
• This is independent of the cache wiring already merged (cache_repo/workspace_folder template settings stay as-is).

Co-authored-by: Copilot [email protected]