How to Connect Antigravity to a Docker Container for Server Development

Step 1: Run your Docker Container with an SSH Port Forwarded

When you spin up your Docker container on your remote host, you need to map an extra port specifically for SSH. In this example, we map the host's port 7522 to the container's default SSH port 22.

# Example Docker run command

sudo docker run --gpus all -it --name [CONTAINER_NAME] -p 7522:22 --ipc=host -v [MOUNT_PATH]:/workspace [DOCKER_IMAGE] bash

[DOCKER_IMAGE]: The Docker image you want to use for your development environment 

[MOUNT_PATH]: The absolute path of your project folder on the remote host machine (e.g., /home/user/my_project).

[CONTAINER_NAME]: A custom, recognizable name for your container so you can easily find and manage it later.

Step 2: Install and Start the SSH Server Inside the Container

Once you are inside the container's terminal (root@...), you need to install OpenSSH, set a root password, and allow root login. Run the following commands:

apt-get update && apt-get install -y openssh-server

mkdir /var/run/sshd

echo 'root:[PASSWORD]' | chpasswd

sed -i 's/#PermitRootLogin prohibit-password/PermitRootLogin yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config

service ssh start

[PASSWORD] : The password for Container

Step 3: Configure Antigravity to Connect Directly

Now, go back to your local Antigravity editor. Open your SSH configuration file (~/.ssh/config) and add a new entry pointing directly to the container's forwarded port:

Host [My_Docker_Container]

    HostName <YOUR_REMOTE_SERVER_IP>

    User root

    Port 7522

<YOUR_REMOTE_SERVER_IP> : Your Server IP address

Step 4: Connect and Code!

Open the Command Palette in Antigravity (Ctrl + Shift + P or Cmd + Shift + P).

Select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host... and choose container [My_Docker_Container]

When prompted, enter the password (root).

Then, you are now directly connected to your Docker container's workspace without needing the Microsoft Dev Containers extension.