Dev Containers not installing valid VS Code Extension - Minimal Reproduction

Bug Reports
1

Thanks for reporting a bug you have found in Cursor!
Please add the following info to help us diagnose your issue:

:white_check_mark: Check the forum to ensure the issue hasn’t been reported already

:lady_beetle: Provide a clear description of the bug

Issue Description

In Cursor, the VS Code Dev Container is not installing the specified extension bs-code.git-quick-stage despite it being correctly defined in the devcontainer.json configuration file.

Expected Behavior

In Cursor and in VS Code, when rebuilding the Dev Container, the extension bs-code.git-quick-stage should be automatically installed as specified in the devcontainer.json file.

Actual Behavior

In VS Code, the extension is found and installed.

In Cursor, the extension is not installed when the container is built, despite being correctly specified in the configuration. Log Signature:

[9399 ms] [10:05:14] Extension 'bs-code.git-quick-stage' not found.
Make sure you use the full extension ID, including the publisher, e.g.: ms-dotnettools.csharp

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Clone this repository
  2. Open in VS Code
  3. When prompted, click “Reopen in Container” (or run Command Palette > “Dev Containers: Reopen in Container”)
  4. Observe that the Git Quick Stage extension is not installed in the container

Environment

  • VS Code Version: Cursor with VS Code 1.96.2 not working, VS Code 1.96.4 working
  • Dev Containers Extension Version: [Your Dev Containers extension version]
  • Using Default VS Code Profile
  • Operating System: MacOS 15.2

Relevant Configuration

The devcontainer.json configuration includes:

{ “name”: “Test Dev Container for node”, “dockerComposeFile”: “…/docker-compose.yml”, “service”: “node”, “workspaceFolder”: “/app”, “shutdownAction”: “stopCompose”, “customizations”: { “vscode”: { “extensions”: [ “bs-code.git-quick-stage”, “ms-azuretools.vscode-docker” ] } } }

Additional Notes

  • The extension ID bs-code.git-quick-stage has been verified as correct against the VS Code Marketplace
  • The issue persists across container rebuilds
  • Other extensions (like ms-azuretools.vscode-docker) install correctly

:arrows_counterclockwise: Explain how to reproduce the bug (if known)

See minimal reproduction repository at codekiln/dev-container-test: testing a simple dev container, including all logs in a format suitable for diffing

:computer: Tell us your operating system and your Cursor version (e.g., Windows, 0.x.x).

Version: 0.45.11
VSCode Version: 1.96.2
Commit: f5f18731406b73244e0558ee7716d77c8096d150
Date: 2025-02-07T09:43:58.555Z
Electron: 32.2.6
Chromium: 128.0.6613.186
Node.js: 20.18.1
V8: 12.8.374.38-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.2.0

:no_entry_sign: Tell us if the issue stops you from using Cursor.
Not currently, as I’m still evaluating dev containers, but it may very well stop other users that depend on certain marketplace extensions that are “not found”

2

Thanks for the detailed report! Yep, we’re aware of some inconsistencies with Dev Containers and extension installation in Cursor compared to VS Code. We’re actively working on improving Dev Container support

For now, there are a couple of things you can try:

  1. Install the extension manually in the container after it builds
  2. Try using the full marketplace URL in devcontainer.json:
"customizations": {
  "vscode": {
    "extensions": [
      "https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/bs-code/vsextensions/git-quick-stage/latest/vspackage"
    ]
  }
}

If those don’t work, best I can suggest is to await some future updates, which should hopefully improve the experience here!

Thanks for the thorough bug report - this kind of detailed reproduction really helps us improve Cursor

1 Like