Codespaces Container error on Java homework

[OddShea]

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I use GitHub Codespaces for my Java assignments in school but they seem to be bugged. Companion won't pop up due to this error and I can't read my homework instructions or even submit anything. My teacher says he has no control over the assignments and that i should contact GitHub. I'm not sure how to fix this as I'm relatively new to coding.

[angelscatman]

It’s not just you – that message means your Codespace is in recovery mode because the dev container for your assignment failed to start correctly.

This usually isn’t something you broke in your code, but a problem in the dev container configuration that your school/teacher (or whoever created the template) is using.

A few things you can try:

1. Click “View Creation Log” in that popup and look at the first error near the bottom.
2. Try “Codespaces: Rebuild Container” from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P).
3. If it still comes up in recovery mode, copy the error from the creation log and share it with:
   • whoever manages the template/repo for the class, and/or
   • GitHub Support / GitHub Education, since your teacher said they don’t control the config.

As a workaround, you can also clone the repository locally and open it in VS Code with the Java extension, but the real fix is updating the dev container config so Codespaces stops going into recovery mode.

[OddShea]

This worked! Thank you so much!

[angelscatman]

Glad it helped!
If everything is working now, please feel free to close the issue whenever you have a moment. Thanks!