About 10 mins after asking this question I thought of a different approach which is perhaps still a hack, but it avoids having to use the project directory name. I put the VSIX file in the .devcontainer/ directory, and then added a COPY command to the end of my Dockerfile thus:

COPY vscode-cds-1.1.4.vsix /tmp/

and could then specify this neutral path in the extensions property thus:

"extensions": [
        "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
        "/tmp/vscode-cds-1.1.4.vsix"
]

This works. Wondering if there's a better way though.

Answer from qmacro on Stack Overflow
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Visual Studio Marketplace
marketplace.visualstudio.com › items
Dev Containers - Visual Studio Marketplace
Extension for Visual Studio Code - Open any folder or repository inside a Docker container and take advantage of Visual Studio Code's full feature set.
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Docker Hub
hub.docker.com › r › microsoft › vscode-devcontainers
microsoft/vscode-devcontainers - Docker Image
Workspace files can be mounted ... container is running. A simple devcontainer.json file tells VS Code how to manage the container or you can just attach to one that is already running. Learn more at: https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/download/containers⁠...
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VsixHub
vsixhub.com › vsix › 3984
Dev Containers 0.411.0 VSIX (Latest Version) - VsixHub
April 8, 2025 - Free Download Dev Containers 0.411.0 Vsix File for Visual Studio Code
Rating: 4.3 ​ - ​ 36 votes
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Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › devcontainers › containers
Developing inside a Container
November 3, 2021 - The Visual Studio Code Dev Containers extension lets you use a container as a full-featured development environment. It allows you to open any folder inside (or mounted into) a container and take advantage of Visual Studio Code's full feature set.
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Aspire
aspire.dev › get-started › dev-containers
Dev Containers in Visual Studio Code | Aspire
To configure Dev Containers in Visual Studio Code, use the .devcontainer/devcontainer.json file in your repository. The simplest way to get started is by creating a new repository from the Aspire Dev Container template.
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Development Containers
containers.dev › supporting
Supporting tools and services
Visual Studio added dev container support in Visual Studio 2022 17.4 for C++ projects using CMake Presets. It is part of the Linux and embedded development with C++ workload, so make sure it is selected in your VS installation.
Find elsewhere
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Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › devcontainers › tutorial
Dev Containers tutorial
November 3, 2021 - Running VS Code inside a Docker container can be useful for many reasons, but in this walkthrough we'll focus on using a Docker container to set up a development environment that is separate from your local environment. You need Visual Studio Code installed. Docker is needed to create and manage your containers. Download and install Docker Desktop, or an alternative Docker option, like Docker on a remote host or Docker compliant CLI.
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Ken Muse
kenmuse.com › blog › implementing-private-vs-code-extensions-for-dev-containers
Implementing Private VS Code Extensions for Dev Containers - Ken Muse
September 20, 2024 - Instead of downloading and caching the plugin, it will install it from the provided path. The VSIX file is typically going to be stored in one of two places. If the extension is built as part of the container, it might exist in a folder relative to the workspace.
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Softworx
softworx.at › en › automatic-installation-of-an-extension-in-vscode-from-a-vsix-file-when-starting-a-dev-container
Automatic installation of an extension in VSCode from a *.vsix file when starting a Dev Container
"postAttachCommand": "/home/node/.vscode-server/bin/*/bin/remote-cli/code --install-extension /workspace/swx-time-tracker-0.0.1.vsix", This way, the extension is automatically installed every time the Dev Container starts – without any manual steps.
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Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › devcontainers › faq
Dev Containers FAQ
November 3, 2021 - The Dev Containers extensions will download VS Code Server locally and copy it to the container once connected. You can install extensions manually without an internet connection using the Extensions: Install from VSIX...
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-dev-containers
GitHub - microsoft/vscode-dev-containers: NOTE: Most of the contents of this repository have been migrated to the new devcontainers GitHub org (https://github.com/devcontainers). See https://github.com/devcontainers/template-starter and https://github.com/devcontainers/feature-starter for information on creating your own! · GitHub
November 30, 2023 - This repository contains a set of Dev Container definition templates to help get you up and running with a containerized environment. The definitions describe the appropriate container image, runtime arguments for starting the container, and ...
Starred by 4.7K users
Forked by 1.4K users
Languages   Shell 78.1% | Dockerfile 8.2% | JavaScript 7.0% | Jupyter Notebook 4.4% | Python 0.9% | C# 0.4%
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VsixHub
vsixhub.com › vsix › 177569
Container Tools 2.4.1 VSIX (Latest Version) - VsixHub
February 4, 2026 - Free Download Container Tools 2.4.1 Vsix File for Visual Studio Code
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Tibco
docs.tibco.com › pub › flogo-vscode › 1.3.5 › doc › html › install-guide › Extension-with-Dev-Containers.htm
Using the Extension with Visual Studio Code Dev Containers
Navigate to the .vsix file and install it. Note: If you want to use connectors, such as EMS or Oracle, install the required client libraries and configure the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable. For more information, see Prerequisites for Connectors. Build, run, and test your applications.
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Rancher Desktop
docs.rancherdesktop.io › vs code remote containers
VS Code Remote Containers | Rancher Desktop Docs
Install and launch Rancher Desktop. Select dockerd (moby) as the Container Runtime from the Kubernetes Settings menu. Install and launch Visual Studio Code or Visual Studio Code Insiders. This tutorial uses Visual Studio Code. Install the Remote Development extension pack.
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VsixHub
vsixhub.com › vsix › 107535
Dev Containers 0.268.0 Vsix File Free Download
Free Download Dev Containers 0.268.0 Vsix File for Visual Studio Code
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IBM
ibm.com › docs › en › devops-loop › 2.0.0
Loading extensions from local .vsix files
Using Code, you can install and activate extensions in an offline or air-gapped environment by loading them from local .vsix files specified in the dev container configuration.
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-remote-release › issues › 7874
devcontainer.json: Extensions installed by VSIX are not installed automatically in devcontainer · Issue #7874 · microsoft/vscode-remote-release
January 20, 2023 - I guess that this problem happens because the dev container only checks the marketplace if there is an extension with this id. However, since you can install extensions in the container that were previously installed locally via a VSIX file, the process of installing extensions via a ...
Author   MBAatEJOT
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Medium
medium.com › @fabian1heinrich › vscode-airgapped-devcontainer-e18a97bad0b4
VS Code Air-Gapped Dev Container by Fabian Heinrich | Medium
December 28, 2023 - local .vsix files which where donwloaded in the first step · Press enter or click to view image in full size · Jupyter Notebook running in your air-gapped Dev Container · My repo containing all the code and instructions can be found here: github.com · I hope you enjoyed my first blog post, maybe it can help some of you.