diff --git a/.devcontainer/Dockerfile b/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ff7118
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+
+# A vscode remote container docker image with conda from
+# https://hub.docker.com/_/microsoft-vscode-devcontainers
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/vscode/devcontainers/miniconda:0-3
+
+RUN conda install -c conda-forge mamba
+
+# specifying dagmc version so all the examples work and no mpi to reduce complexity
+RUN mamba install -c conda-forge -y "openmc=0.13.0=dagmc*nompi*"
+
+# Jupyter lab installed to run examples
+RUN mamba install -c conda-forge jupyterlab
+
+# downloads ENDF/B-VII.1 from https://openmc.org/official-data-libraries/
+RUN wget https://anl.box.com/shared/static/9igk353zpy8fn9ttvtrqgzvw1vtejoz6.xz
+
+# extracts the nuclear data
+RUN tar -xf 9igk353zpy8fn9ttvtrqgzvw1vtejoz6.xz
+
+ENV OPENMC_CROSS_SECTIONS=/endfb71_hdf5/cross_sections.xml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6062e2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+
+{
+	"name": "Python 3",
+	"build": {
+		"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
+		"context": "..",
+		"args": { 
+			"VARIANT": "3.10-bullseye",
+		}
+	},
+
+	// Configure tool-specific properties.
+	"customizations": {
+		// Configure properties specific to VS Code.
+		"vscode": {
+			// Set *default* container specific settings.json values on container create.
+			"settings": { 
+				"python.defaultInterpreterPath": "/usr/local/bin/python",
+				"python.linting.enabled": true,
+				"python.linting.pylintEnabled": true,
+				"python.formatting.autopep8Path": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/autopep8",
+				"python.formatting.blackPath": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/black",
+				"python.formatting.yapfPath": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/yapf",
+				"python.linting.banditPath": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/bandit",
+				"python.linting.flake8Path": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/flake8",
+				"python.linting.mypyPath": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/mypy",
+				"python.linting.pycodestylePath": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/pycodestyle",
+				"python.linting.pydocstylePath": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/pydocstyle",
+				"python.linting.pylintPath": "/usr/local/py-utils/bin/pylint"
+			},
+			
+			// Add the IDs of extensions you want installed when the container is created.
+			"extensions": [
+				"ms-python.python",
+				"ms-python.vscode-pylance"
+			]
+		}
+	},
+
+	// Allows port 8888 used for Jupyter Notebook to be available locally.
+	"forwardPorts": [8888],
+	"remoteUser": "vscode"
+}