- Installing standard development tools (GitHub CLI, languages, etc.)
- The feature does what you need out of the box
- You want automatic updates with feature version bumps
Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.
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# Features vs Dockerfile
## Use devcontainer features when:
- Installing standard development tools (GitHub CLI, languages, etc.)
- The feature does what you need out of the box
- You want automatic updates with feature version bumps
## Use Dockerfile when:
- Installing specific versions of tools
- Custom configuration is needed
- Combining multiple tools in optimized layers
- The feature doesn't exist or is poorly maintained
## Example: Python
For Python, we use Dockerfile + uv instead of the Python feature because:
1. uv installs Python binaries instantly (vs compiling from source)
2. We get uv for dependency management
3. More control over the installation
