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John Ajera
John Ajera

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Building a DevContainer Feature for Amazon Q CLI (Inspired by a Kiwi Memory Game)

#aws #q #amazonqcli #devcontainer

💡 Building a DevContainer Feature for Amazon Q CLI (Inspired by a Kiwi Memory Game)

While experimenting with Amazon Q CLI, I stumbled upon a small but persistent friction point: getting it installed in a Dev Container every time.

So I solved it.

This is the story of building a memory game with Amazon Q, the packaging challenge I ran into, and how I solved it with a custom Dev Container Feature published on GitHub Container Registry (GHCR).

🎮 The Project: Q Kiwi Memory Game

I wanted to test how far I could go using Amazon Q CLI as a pair programmer. So I started a fun little repo called:

👉 q-kiwi-memory-game

It's a simple memory game powered by HTML/JS, designed with a clean goal: build entirely with Q CLI prompting.

I used the CLI to generate functions, refactor layout, and even tune CSS. The experience was surprisingly smooth… but only after I sorted out the environment.

📊 The Problem: Reinstalling Q CLI Every Time

Amazon Q CLI isn't bundled in standard containers or features. And since Dev Containers are ephemeral or rebuilt often, I kept hitting the same pain:

“Why do I have to install Amazon Q CLI manually every single time?”

This broke flow. And since I love DevContainers for isolated development, I needed a better way.

✨ The Solution: DevContainer Feature for Amazon Q CLI

So I built this:

👉 ghcr.io/jajera/features/amazon-q-cli:1

This is a Dev Container Feature that installs the Amazon Q CLI into your environment, automatically.

You just reference it in your .devcontainer.json:

{
  "name": "With Amazon Q CLI",
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/jajera/features/amazon-q-cli:1": {}
  }
}
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That’s it. Rebuild your Dev Container, and you're ready to run:

q help
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📅 No more curl && tar && sudo mv.

🔧 Under the Hood

The feature is built using the containers.dev feature spec, packaged and published via GHCR.

Repo: github.com/jajera/features
Image: ghcr.io/jajera/features/amazon-q-cli

The install script handles downloading the latest version of Q CLI from AWS, sets it in your path, and ensures it's ready for use as soon as your container starts.

🧬 Why This Matters

If you're experimenting with AI coding tools like Amazon Q CLI, you want your setup to be frictionless. This makes it:

  • ✅ Easy to onboard
  • ✅ Reproducible for teams
  • ✅ Quick to rebuild without reinstall hell

Combine it with GitHub Codespaces or VS Code Remote Containers, and you’ve got a ready-to-code AI-enhanced playground in seconds.

🌟 Final Thoughts

Packaging up the Amazon Q CLI as a DevContainer feature wasn't just a convenience—it's the kind of developer quality-of-life improvement that keeps flow going.

If you're building with Amazon Q or just want a smooth setup experience, I hope this helps.

👉 Game on.
🚀 Happy building.

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