Commands

Quick reference

Command	Aliases	Description
up		Create or start the workspace container
down	stop	Stop and remove the workspace container
remove	rm, delete	Remove the workspace container and state
shell	sh	Open an interactive shell (detects zsh/bash/sh)
run		Run a command through a login shell (picks up mise/nvm/rbenv)
exec		Execute a command directly in the workspace container
restart		Restart the workspace container (picks up safe config changes)
rebuild		Rebuild the workspace (down + up)
logs		Show container logs
doctor		Check workspace health and diagnose issues
cache list		List package cache volumes
cache clean		Remove package cache volumes
prune		Remove stale and orphan workspace images
list	ls	List all workspaces
status	ps	Show workspace container status
version		Show version information

Global flags

Flag	Description
--config, -C	Path to the devcontainer config directory
--debug	Enable debug logging
--verbose	Show full compose output (suppressed by default)

Commands

crib up

Build the container image (if needed) and start the workspace. On first run, this builds the image, creates the container, syncs UID/GID, probes the user environment, and runs all lifecycle hooks. On subsequent runs, it starts the existing container and runs only the resume hooks (postStartCommand, postAttachCommand).

crib down

Stop and remove the workspace container. This clears lifecycle hook markers, so the next crib up runs all hooks from scratch. Use this when you want a clean restart.

crib remove

Remove the workspace container, all associated images, and stored state. Shows a preview of what will be deleted and prompts for confirmation before proceeding.

crib remove              # preview + confirm
crib remove --force      # skip confirmation (useful in scripts)
crib remove -f           # shorthand

crib shell

Open an interactive shell inside the container. crib detects the user’s shell (zsh, bash, or sh) and uses the environment captured during crib up (including tools installed by version managers like mise, nvm, rbenv).

crib run

Run a command inside the container through a login shell. This sources shell init files (.zshrc, .bashrc, .profile) before running your command, making tools installed by version managers (mise, asdf, nvm, rbenv) available on PATH.

crib run -- ruby -v
crib run -- bundle install
crib run -- npm test

crib exec

Run a command directly inside the container (raw docker exec). Does not source shell init files, so tools installed by version managers may not be on PATH. Use crib run instead if the command depends on shell init.

crib exec -- /usr/bin/env
crib exec -- bash -c "echo hello"

Both run and exec inherit the probed environment (remoteEnv) from crib up.

crib restart

Restart the workspace, detecting what changed since the last crib up. See Smart Restart for details on how change detection works.

crib logs

Show container logs. Defaults to the last 50 lines. For compose workspaces, shows logs from all services.

crib logs                # last 50 lines
crib logs -f             # follow (stream) all logs
crib logs --tail 100     # last 100 lines
crib logs -a             # show all logs (no tail limit)

crib doctor

Check workspace health and diagnose issues. Detects orphaned workspaces (source directory deleted), dangling containers (crib label but no workspace state), and stale plugin data. Use --fix to auto-clean.

crib doctor              # check for issues
crib doctor --fix        # auto-fix found issues

crib cache

Manage package cache volumes created by the package cache plugin.

crib cache list

List cache volumes for the current workspace. Shows volume name, provider, and disk usage.

crib cache list              # current workspace only
crib cache list --all        # all workspaces

crib cache clean

Remove cache volumes. Without arguments, removes all cache volumes for the current workspace. Pass provider names to remove specific ones.

crib cache clean             # remove all for current workspace
crib cache clean npm go      # remove specific providers only
crib cache clean --all       # remove all crib cache volumes

crib prune

Remove stale and orphan workspace images. Shows a dry-run preview with sizes before prompting for confirmation.

• Stale: labeled images for an active workspace that are no longer the active build image or snapshot.
• Orphan: labeled images for a workspace that no longer exists in ~/.crib/workspaces/.

crib prune               # stale images for current workspace + confirm
crib prune --all         # all workspaces including orphans
crib prune --force       # skip confirmation

crib rebuild

Full rebuild: runs down followed by up. Use this when the image needs to be rebuilt (changed Dockerfile, base image, or features). Clears any snapshot image so the build starts from scratch.

crib list

List all known workspaces and their container status.

crib status

Show the status of the current workspace’s container, including published ports. For compose workspaces, shows all service statuses with their ports.