monoceros init

Creates a container config at $MONOCEROS_HOME/container-configs/<name>.yml. Two modes:

monoceros init <name>                                   # documented mode
monoceros init <name> --with-languages=… --with-features=… \
  --with-services=… --with-mcp-servers=… --with-apt-packages=… \
  --with-repos=… --with-ports=…                         # composed mode

Without any --with-* flag, init writes a documented template (everything commented out). As soon as one category is set, it composes a yml that is immediately applyable.

Purpose

A container config is the source of truth for a dev container. It lives outside the container directory and can be freely edited before monoceros apply <name> materializes a container from it. monoceros init is the initial setup step - it produces the yml, not the container.

Category flags

Instead of a magic bag, each category has its own flag. They all take a comma-separated list or repeated occurrences:

Flag	Content
`--with-languages`	Language runtimes, curated. Optional `:version` (`java:17`). Written with the version inline, and as an editable object for languages with surfaced options (e.g. Java’s Maven/Gradle). Catalog: `monoceros list-components`.
`--with-features`	Features. Catalog short name (`claude`, `atlassian/twg`) or a full OCI ref (`ghcr.io/foo/bar:1`).
`--with-services`	Backing services. Curated name (`postgres`) gives a full block; an arbitrary image gives name + image + a commented scaffold.
`--with-mcp-servers`	MCP servers the agents in this workbench can reach. Curated connectors (`context7`, `rovo`, `notion`, `linear`, `figma`, `forge`, `microsoft-learn`). One that takes an API key gets it seeded into `<name>.env` for you to fill; one that signs in interactively, or needs nothing at all, adds a single line and no key.
`--with-apt-packages`	Arbitrary apt packages (`openssl`, `make`). No catalog.
`--with-repos`	Git URLs, cloned into `projects/` on first apply. Canonical hosts only (github.com / gitlab.com / bitbucket.org).
`--with-ports`	Internal container ports routed through Traefik. First entry becomes `<name>.localhost`.