fix: always write devcontainer.metadata label as JSON array#1199
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abdurriq merged 3 commits intodevcontainers:mainfrom Apr 10, 2026
Merged
fix: always write devcontainer.metadata label as JSON array#1199abdurriq merged 3 commits intodevcontainers:mainfrom
abdurriq merged 3 commits intodevcontainers:mainfrom
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When there is only one metadata entry (e.g. docker-compose devcontainer with no features), `getDevcontainerMetadataLabel` wrote a bare JSON object instead of an array. This violates the spec which states the label "can contain an array of json snippets" and causes tools like Zed that expect an array to fail when attaching to an existing container. Always wrap the metadata in an array regardless of the number of entries. Spec reference: https://containers.dev/implementors/json_reference/ Fixes devcontainers#1054
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@microsoft-github-policy-service agree |
fechu
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The devcontainer CLI writes the `devcontainer.metadata` container label as a bare JSON object when there is only one metadata entry (e.g. docker-compose with a Dockerfile and no features). This causes deserialization to fail because the current code only accepts a JSON array. Try parsing as an array first, then fall back to parsing as a single object wrapped in a vec. Upstream CLI fix: devcontainers/cli#1199 Related CLI issue: devcontainers/cli#1054
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abdurriq
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Apr 10, 2026
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Thank you for fixing this! |
KyleBarton
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…rray (#53557) Self-Review Checklist: - [x] I've reviewed my own diff for quality, security, and reliability - [x] Unsafe blocks (if any) have justifying comments - [x] The content is consistent with the [UI/UX checklist](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#uiux-checklist) - [x] Tests cover the new/changed behavior - [x] Performance impact has been considered and is acceptable ## Details - The [devcontainer CLI writes the `devcontainer.metadata` label as a bare JSON object](devcontainers/cli#1054) when there is only one metadata entry (e.g. docker-compose devcontainer with a Dockerfile and no features) - Zed's `deserialize_metadata` only accepted a JSON array, causing deserialization to fail with `invalid type: map, expected a sequence` - This made it impossible to attach to existing docker-compose devcontainers created by the devcontainer CLI or VS Code The fix tries parsing as an array first, then falls back to parsing as a single object wrapped in a vec. This mirrors how the [devcontainer CLI itself reads the label](https://github.com/devcontainers/cli/blob/main/src/spec-node/imageMetadata.ts#L476-L493). An upstream fix has also been submitted: devcontainers/cli#1199 ## Reproduction 1. Create a docker-compose devcontainer with a Dockerfile and no features: `.devcontainer/devcontainer.json`: ```json { "name": "repro", "dockerComposeFile": "docker-compose.yml", "service": "app", "remoteUser": "root" } ``` `.devcontainer/docker-compose.yml`: ```yaml services: app: build: context: . dockerfile: Dockerfile command: sleep infinity volumes: - ..:/workspace ``` `.devcontainer/Dockerfile`: ```dockerfile FROM ubuntu:24.04 ``` 2. `devcontainer up --workspace-folder .` 3. Open the folder in Zed, fails with metadata deserialization error Release Notes: - Fixed attaching to a devcontainer that has a single metadata element which was started with `devcontainer-cli`
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The
getDevcontainerMetadataLabelfunction wrote a bare JSON object when there was only one metadata entry (e.g. docker-compose devcontainer with no features), but an array when there were multiple entriesThe reading side (
internalGetImageMetadata0) already handles both formats, but the writing side was inconsistent. In this PR we propose to always write an array of objects for simplicity. For backwards compatibility we leave the parsing, which supports both. Changing this makes the code follow the robustness principle by being strict what is returned (always an array).Test instructions
Create the following project:
devcontainer.json:
docker-compose.yml:
Dockerfile
With the latest release the metadata is:
After this change:
Fixes #1054