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title Mounted Directory Installation
description Advanced devcontainer setup mounting HVE-Core from host filesystem
author Microsoft
ms.date 2025-12-03
ms.topic how-to
keywords
mounted directory
installation
github copilot
devcontainer
advanced
estimated_reading_time 8

Mounted Directory installation shares a single HVE-Core clone across multiple devcontainer projects by mounting a peer directory from the host filesystem. This is an advanced method requiring container rebuilds.

When to Use This Method

✅ Use this when:

  • You have multiple devcontainer projects needing HVE-Core
  • You want a single shared installation (one update applies everywhere)
  • You're comfortable with devcontainer configuration
  • You're using local devcontainers only (not Codespaces)

❌ Consider alternatives when:

⚠️ Important Limitations

This method does NOT work in GitHub Codespaces. Codespaces doesn't support ${localWorkspaceFolder} or bind mounts to host filesystem.

Requires container rebuild. After adding the mount, you must rebuild the devcontainer before HVE-Core becomes accessible.

How It Works

HVE-Core is cloned on your host machine as a sibling to your project. The devcontainer mounts this directory into the container at /workspaces/hve-core.

Host File System:
projects/
├── my-project/                    # Your project (workspace)
│   └── .devcontainer/
│       └── devcontainer.json      # Contains mount configuration
│
└── hve-core/                      # Peer directory on HOST
    └── .github/
        ├── agents/
        ├── prompts/
        └── instructions/

Inside Container (after rebuild):
/workspaces/
├── my-project/                    # Mounted workspace
└── hve-core/                      # Mounted peer directory

Installation Workflow

This method requires a multi-phase workflow:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Phase 1: Clone HVE-Core on HOST                             │
│          ↓                                                  │
│ Phase 2: Add mount to devcontainer.json                     │
│          ↓                                                  │
│ Phase 3: Rebuild container (1-3 minutes)                    │
│          ↓                                                  │
│ Phase 4: Configure VS Code settings                         │
│          ↓                                                  │
│ Phase 5: Validate installation                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Start

Use the hve-core-installer agent:

  1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Alt+I)
  2. Select hve-core-installer from the agent picker
  3. Say: "Install HVE-Core using mounted directory"
  4. Follow the multi-phase guided setup

Manual Setup

Phase 1: Clone HVE-Core on Host

Important: Clone on your host machine, not inside the container.

Open a terminal on your host (not in VS Code's container terminal):

# Navigate to parent of your project
cd /path/to/projects

# Clone HVE-Core as a sibling
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/hve-core.git

Verify structure:

projects/
├── my-project/
└── hve-core/        # ← Must exist on HOST before rebuild

Phase 2: Add Mount to devcontainer.json

Update .devcontainer/devcontainer.json:

{
  // ... existing configuration ...
  
  "mounts": [
    "source=${localWorkspaceFolder}/../hve-core,target=/workspaces/hve-core,type=bind,readonly=true,consistency=cached"
  ]
}

Alternative object format:

{
  "mounts": [
    {
      "type": "bind",
      "source": "${localWorkspaceFolder}/../hve-core",
      "target": "/workspaces/hve-core"
    }
  ]
}

Phase 3: Rebuild Container

⚠️ Container rebuild is required to apply the mount.

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS)
  2. Type "Dev Containers: Rebuild Container"
  3. Press Enter and wait for rebuild (1-3 minutes)

What happens during rebuild:

  • Current container stops
  • New container builds with mount configuration
  • Extensions reinstall
  • Lifecycle scripts re-run

Phase 4: Configure VS Code Settings

After rebuild, update .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "chat.modeFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/agents": true },
  "chat.promptFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/prompts": true },
  "chat.instructionsFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/instructions": true }
}

Or add to devcontainer.json (recommended for team sharing):

{
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "settings": {
        "chat.modeFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/agents": true },
        "chat.promptFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/prompts": true },
        "chat.instructionsFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/instructions": true }
      }
    }
  }
}

Phase 5: Validate Installation

  1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Alt+I)
  2. Click the agent picker dropdown
  3. Verify HVE-Core agents appear (task-planner, task-researcher, prompt-builder)

Verify mount from container terminal:

ls /workspaces/hve-core/.github/agents

Complete Devcontainer Example

{
  "name": "My Project with Mounted HVE-Core",
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:ubuntu",
  
  "mounts": [
    "source=${localWorkspaceFolder}/../hve-core,target=/workspaces/hve-core,type=bind,readonly=true,consistency=cached"
  ],
  
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "settings": {
        "chat.modeFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/agents": true },
        "chat.promptFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/prompts": true },
        "chat.instructionsFilesLocations": { "/workspaces/hve-core/.github/instructions": true }
      }
    }
  }
}

Updating HVE-Core

Update on your host machine:

cd /path/to/projects/hve-core
git pull

Changes are immediately available in all containers using the mount. No rebuild required for content updates.

Troubleshooting

Mount Point Empty After Rebuild

Cause: HVE-Core wasn't cloned on the host, or was cloned in the wrong location.

Fix:

  1. Exit the container
  2. Clone HVE-Core on your host machine (see Phase 1)
  3. Verify the path matches the mount source
  4. Rebuild the container

Check from host terminal:

# On host, not in container
ls /path/to/projects/hve-core/.github

Container Fails to Start

Cause: Mount source path doesn't exist.

Fix:

  1. Check devcontainer.json mount path
  2. Ensure HVE-Core exists at ${localWorkspaceFolder}/../hve-core
  3. Remove the mount temporarily to start the container
  4. Clone HVE-Core, then add mount back and rebuild

Agents Not Appearing

Check mount is working:

# Inside container
ls /workspaces/hve-core/.github/agents

Check settings paths match:

Settings must use absolute container paths (/workspaces/hve-core/...), not relative paths.

Doesn't Work in Codespaces

This is expected. Codespaces doesn't support ${localWorkspaceFolder} or host bind mounts.

Solution: Use postCreateCommand for Codespaces, or Multi-Root Workspace for dual-environment support.

Limitations

Aspect Status
Devcontainers ✅ Full support
Codespaces ❌ Not supported (no host access)
Team sharing ⚠️ Each developer clones on their host
Portable paths ⚠️ Absolute container paths
Version pinning ⚠️ Manual (use git checkout on host)
Shared installation ✅ One clone serves all projects
Setup complexity ⚠️ High (multi-phase, requires rebuild)
Update process ✅ Just git pull on host

Next Steps

🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.