unable to find a working permutation of arguments to devcontainer exec

[zdAlexM]

both devcontainer --workspace-folder . exec bash and devcontainer exec --workspace-folder . bash report

[email protected] /Users/alex.maestas/.vscode/extensions/ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers-0.255.4

Missing required argument: workspace-folder

Adding --log-level=trace shows that both of these commands are trying to run exec in the container, which, being a shell builtin and not a binary, won't work:

$ devcontainer --log-level=trace --workspace-folder . exec /bin/sh
(node:2962) [DEP0005] DeprecationWarning: Buffer() is deprecated due to security and usability issues. Please use the Buffer.alloc(), Buffer.allocUnsafe(), or Buffer.from() methods instead.
(Use `Code Helper --trace-deprecation ...` to show where the warning was created)
[10 ms] Start: Run: docker buildx version
[254 ms] Stop (244 ms): Run: docker buildx version
[254 ms] github.com/docker/buildx v0.9.1 ed00243a0ce2a0aee75311b06e32d33b44729689
[254 ms] 
[256 ms] Start: Run: git rev-parse --show-cdup
[270 ms] Stop (14 ms): Run: git rev-parse --show-cdup
[271 ms] Start: Run: docker ps -q -a --filter label=devcontainer.local_folder=/Users/alex.maestas/Code/project/a
[333 ms] Stop (62 ms): Run: docker ps -q -a --filter label=devcontainer.local_folder=/Users/alex.maestas/Code/project/a
[333 ms] Start: Run: docker inspect --type container b2f4898c02c1
[395 ms] Stop (62 ms): Run: docker inspect --type container b2f4898c02c1
[396 ms] Start: Inspecting container
[396 ms] Start: Run: docker inspect --type container b2f4898c02c131f53c8b08af7b91c5f8deb7bef812776134307722abe4c3049d
[457 ms] Stop (61 ms): Run: docker inspect --type container b2f4898c02c131f53c8b08af7b91c5f8deb7bef812776134307722abe4c3049d
[457 ms] Stop (61 ms): Inspecting container
[458 ms] Start: Run in container: /bin/sh
[461 ms] Start: Run in container: uname -m
[603 ms] x86_64
[603 ms] 
[603 ms] Stop (142 ms): Run in container: uname -m
[603 ms] Start: Run in container: (cat /etc/os-release || cat /usr/lib/os-release) 2>/dev/null
[621 ms] NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="20.04.5 LTS (Focal Fossa)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS"
VERSION_ID="20.04"
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
VERSION_CODENAME=focal
UBUNTU_CODENAME=focal
[621 ms] 
[621 ms] Stop (18 ms): Run in container: (cat /etc/os-release || cat /usr/lib/os-release) 2>/dev/null
[621 ms] Start: Run in container: cat /etc/passwd
[635 ms] Stop (14 ms): Run in container: cat /etc/passwd
[636 ms] userEnvProbe: loginInteractiveShell (default)
[636 ms] userEnvProbe shell: /bin/bash
[636 ms] Start: Run in container: /bin/bash -lic echo -n 6009157faff89b2fd33417c70b5726e9; cat /proc/self/environ; echo -n 6009157faff89b2fd33417c70b5726e9
[932 ms] Stop (296 ms): Run in container: /bin/bash -lic echo -n 6009157faff89b2fd33417c70b5726e9; cat /proc/self/environ; echo -n 6009157faff89b2fd33417c70b5726e9
[932 ms] 6009157faff89b2fd33417c70b5726e9HOSTNAME=b2f4898c02c1LANGUAGE=en_US:enPWD=/appHOME=/rootLANG=en_US.UTF8LS_COLORS=LESSCLOSE=/usr/bin/lesspipe %s %sLESSOPEN=| /usr/bin/lesspipe %sSHLVL=1APP_DIR=/appDISTRIB_RELEASE=20.04LD_LIBRARY_PATH=LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8DISTRIB_CODENAME=focalPATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/local/go/bin:/usr/local:/root/go/binDEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive_=/usr/bin/cat6009157faff89b2fd33417c70b5726e9
[932 ms] bash: cannot set terminal process group (-1): Inappropriate ioctl for device
bash: no job control in this shell

[933 ms] userEnvProbe parsed: {
  "HOSTNAME": "b2f4898c02c1",
  "LANGUAGE": "en_US:en",
  "PWD": "/app",
  "HOME": "/root",
  "LANG": "en_US.UTF8",
  "LS_COLORS": "",
  "LESSCLOSE": "/usr/bin/lesspipe %s %s",
  "LESSOPEN": "| /usr/bin/lesspipe %s",
  "SHLVL": "1",
  "APP_DIR": "/app",
  "DISTRIB_RELEASE": "20.04",
  "LD_LIBRARY_PATH": "",
  "LC_ALL": "en_US.UTF-8",
  "DISTRIB_CODENAME": "focal",
  "PATH": "/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/local/go/bin:/usr/local:/root/go/bin",
  "DEBIAN_FRONTEND": "noninteractive",
  "_": "/usr/bin/cat"
}
[933 ms] userEnvProbe PATHs:
Probe:     '/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/local/go/bin:/usr/local:/root/go/bin'
Container: '/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/local/go/bin:/usr/local:/root/go/bin'
[933 ms] Start: Run in container: exec
OCI runtime exec failed: exec failed: unable to start container process: exec: "exec": executable file not found in $PATH: unknown
[1091 ms] Stop (158 ms): Run in container: exec
{"outcome":"error","message":"Command failed: exec","description":"An error occurred running a command in the container."}```

[chrmarti]

We need to connect stdin to the underlying docker exec. Tracking as #59. Thanks.

[zdAlexM]

@chrmarti the linked issue appears to be different. In that issue, the underlying docker exec is correctly executing /bin/bash but not connecting it to a terminal. In this issue, devcontainer exec is trying to docker exec the command exec in the container:

OCI runtime exec failed: exec failed: unable to start container process: exec: "exec": executable file not found in $PATH: unknown

[philipgiuliani]

Having the same problem with version 0.23.2. Cannot execute any command with devcontainer exec. It always fails with Missing required argument: workspace-folder even though I pass it.

I am on MacOS Ventura with Docker Desktop 4.31.1

[morriswinkler]

+1

[ruffsl]

@chrmarti , any ideas? The CLI that is installed by VS Code still seems to be broken by this issue:

$ ls -l $(which devcontainer)
... /home/user/.local/bin/devcontainer -> /home/user/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers/cli-bin/devcontainer

$ devcontainer --version
0.35.0

$ devcontainer exec --workspace-folder=./ bash
...
Missing required argument: One of --container-id, --id-label or --workspace-folder is required.

And there doesn't seem to be a simple way to instruct VS Code to downgrade:

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/devcontainers/devcontainer-cli#_installation

[chrmarti]

Found it, preparing a fix for the next Dev Containers extension pre-release version.