Install vscli with Homebrew, winget

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• vscli

Project history

The repository was created in March 2023. Its README frames the project as a shortcut for launching VS Code projects with dev-container support, and links to Michael Lohr's February 2024 write-up about reverse-engineering Microsoft's dev-container launch behavior.

The blog post explains the motivation: users wanted to open dev containers directly from the command line instead of manually using VS Code UI commands. vscli worked around the lack of a simple `code --devcontainer` style command by constructing the remote folder URI forms VS Code uses for dev containers.

Adoption history

vscli is a small developer convenience tool rather than a platform project. Its adoption lives among users who frequently switch between local projects and dev containers, and the project is distributed through Rust's Cargo ecosystem as well as package-manager channels such as Homebrew and Chocolatey.

The broader context is the Dev Container specification. The Dev Containers project documents a reference CLI that can read `devcontainer.json` metadata and create or configure containers, while VS Code and Codespaces integrate that model into product workflows. vscli sits beside that ecosystem as a launcher focused on editor-opening ergonomics.

How it is used

Users run `vscli` as a shorthand for opening projects in VS Code or compatible editors such as VS Code Insiders and Cursor. When a target folder contains dev-container configuration, vscli can launch the containerized workspace instead of just opening the local folder.

The TUI side tracks recent projects so users can reopen them without remembering paths. The tool also advertises support for multiple dev containers in one project, external reusable devcontainer configs, and container management actions such as listing, inspecting, and stopping dev containers.

Why package nerds care

The tool is package-nerd-significant as workflow glue. It turns a fiddly editor/dev-container launch path into a repeatable CLI/TUI command, which is exactly the sort of small automation developers reach for after the tenth time opening the same containerized workspace.

Timeline

• 2023: GitHub repository is created for the Rust-based launcher.
• 2024: The author publishes a technical write-up explaining the dev-container reverse-engineering journey behind vscli.
• 2026: The repository remains active, and GitHub metadata shows several hundred stars.

Related projects

• vscli is related to Visual Studio Code, VS Code Insiders, Cursor, Dev Containers, the Dev Container CLI, Codespaces, Docker, and projects with `.devcontainer/devcontainer.json` configuration.

Sources

• Author blog post: https://blog.lohr.dev/launching-dev-containers
• Dev Containers reference implementation: https://containers.dev/implementors/reference/
• GitHub README: https://github.com/michidk/vscli
• GitHub repository API metadata: https://api.github.com/repos/michidk/vscli
• crates.io package page: https://crates.io/crates/vscli