Start Dev Container for a remote project

You can start a Dev Container on the remote machine for the project with the .json file located in the remote file system or for the project cloned from a Git repository.

Start Dev Container on a remote server

Launch WebStorm.
On the left-hand pane of the Welcome screen, click Remote Development.
Select Dev Containers and click the New Dev Containers button in the upper-right corner of the window.
On the page that opens, click to connect to Docker on a remote machine by SSH.
If your remote server is not configured, click and on the page that opens add the necessary options.
Select the IDE backend that you want to use for the project.
If you want to change the selected IDE, click and select the one you need from the list.
Select a project for which you want to build a Dev Container by clicking the appropriate tab:
The project to which you are referring should have a devcontainer.json file that contains the Dev Container configuration.
This option lets you choose a project residing on your remote machine.
Specify a path to the .json file of the project.
This option lets you specify a project residing on GitHub. Specify the following options:
- Git Repository: specify the path to your project on GitHub.
- Automatic: select this option if you want WebStorm to detect the .json file automatically.
- Specify Path: select this option if you prefer to specify the path to the .json file manually.
Click Build Container and Continue.
After the Dev Container is built, the project opens in the JetBrains Client.
At this point, you can work with your project further.

05 February 2026