VSCode and dev containers not working

[johnmckinzie]

Describe the bug

I've installed Bluefin 42. I'm starting a new project using VSCode and want to use dev containers. I installed VSCode via Flathub and the Dev Containers extension. I've ran both ust devmode and ujust dx-group and rebooted after each. I can confirm both docker and docker-compose accessible in the terminal. Podman Desktop is also installed and I updated the Docker Path (dev.containers.dockerPath) setting in VSCode. When I open the repo with the .devcontainer/devcontainer.json file, I get the following pop-up:

Folder contains a Dev Container configuration file. Reopen folder to develop in a container (learn more).

When I click Reopen in Container, VSCode show the following pop:

I'm stilling researching what to do next, but I'm kind of hitting a roadblock.

What did you expect to happen?

When I click reopen, I was expecting it to reopen and work.

Output of bootc status

● Booted image: ghcr.io/ublue-os/bluefin-dx-nvidia-open:gts
        Digest: sha256:d5fcf3b5ab8f726c6938d3621e68bad5f870f81b46fbea2f8c045fd116ce638a (amd64)
       Version: gts-41.20250727 (2025-07-27T19:47:10Z)

  Rollback image: ghcr.io/ublue-os/bluefin-nvidia-open:gts
          Digest: sha256:14aac33d697a8106a6f8f0865aa237c25fde11a0cb24923754159e34d86d15f0 (amd64)
         Version: gts-41.20250727 (2025-07-27T19:42:06Z)

~

Output of groups

john wheel dialout docker incus-admin libvirt

Extra information or context

No response

[dosubot]

Hi @johnmckinzie! I'm Dosu and I’m helping the bluefin team.

Docker is the recommended runtime for VSCode Dev Containers on Bluefin—Podman is not well-supported in this context, so make sure you're using Docker as your container backend. Since you installed VSCode from Flathub, you need to ensure the Docker socket is accessible inside the Flatpak sandbox. By default, Flatpak apps are sandboxed and can't access system resources like /var/run/docker.sock unless explicitly granted.

Here's what to check:

1. Open Flatseal and grant VSCode (com.visualstudio.code) access to the Docker socket. Under "Filesystem", add /var/run/docker.sock as "Other files". Also, ensure "Session Bus" and "System Bus" permissions are enabled if needed.
2. In VSCode settings, confirm that dev.containers.dockerPath is set to /usr/bin/docker and not to podman.
3. Restart VSCode after changing Flatseal permissions.
4. If you still see errors, check the Dev Containers output panel and the Developer Tools console (Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console) for more details.

Tip: You can also launch VSCode Flatpak with extra permissions using the terminal:

flatpak run --socket=system-dbus --socket=wayland --filesystem=/var/run/docker.sock com.visualstudio.code

More info:

• Bluefin DX: VSCode with Docker & Dev Containers
• VSCode Dev Containers: Known Limitations

tldr: Use Flatseal to grant VSCode access to /var/run/docker.sock and make sure Docker is your runtime, not Podman.

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[johnmckinzie]

Hi @dosu. Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry, I forgot to mention I had dev.containers.dockerPath to docker and it didn;t work. I just changed it back. I also made the Flatseal changes. I tried restarting VSCode and now it just spins and fails to load.

[dosubot]

It's possible that a problematic Flatseal permission is causing VSCode Flatpak to hang. Try this:

1. Open Flatseal, select VSCode (com.visualstudio.code), and reset all permissions to defaults (remove any custom filesystem or socket entries).
2. Launch VSCode again—if it loads, reapply only the minimum needed permission: add /var/run/docker.sock under "Filesystem" as "Other files", then test again.
3. If it still fails, run VSCode from a terminal with:

   flatpak run com.visualstudio.code
   

   and share any error output you see.

Also, make sure Docker is running and accessible by running docker ps in your terminal.

For more details, see the Bluefin DX docs and VSCode Dev Containers troubleshooting.

Tip: tldr pages are available for most CLI tools—try tldr docker for quick Docker usage examples.

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[johnmckinzie]

@dosu I did step one and was able to start VSCode. I did step two and added back the /var/run/docker/sock permission and VSCode would not start. I ran flatpak run com.visualstudio.code in the terminal and got the following error:

bwrap: Can't make symlink at /var/run: existing destination is ../run

[dosubot]

This error happens because Flatpak's sandboxing tries to create a symlink at /var/run, but the destination already exists as a symlink to ../run on modern systems. When you add /var/run/docker.sock as a Flatseal permission, it triggers this conflict, which prevents VSCode Flatpak from starting. This is a Flatpak sandboxing limitation, not a Bluefin-specific bug—there's no documented workaround in Bluefin, VSCode, or Flathub for this specific bwrap error.

For a smoother dev container experience on Bluefin, use the native (non-Flatpak) VSCode, which avoids Flatpak's sandbox and integrates with Docker out of the box. You can also use the devcontainer CLI or Docker Compose directly from the terminal as alternatives. More details are in the Bluefin DX docs and VSCode Dev Containers troubleshooting.

Tip: Try tldr docker for quick Docker command examples.

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[johnmckinzie]

@dosu I uninstalled the Flatpak VSCode and used the native VSCode. This seems to have fixed they issue. Thanks.

[dosubot]

You're welcome! Using the native VSCode is the recommended approach for full Docker and Dev Container support on Bluefin. If you need more tips or run into anything else, the Bluefin DX docs have lots of details. Happy coding!

To reply, just mention @dosu.

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