diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9bd55e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+// Config options: https://github.com/rocker-org/devcontainer-templates/tree/main/src/r-ver
+{
+  "name": "R Package Dev Prebuilt (rocker/r-ver base)",
+  // Image to pull when not building from scratch. 
+  // See .github/devcontainer/devcontainer.json for build details 
+  // and .github/workflows/pre-build-devcontainer.yml for how the
+  // image is built using GitHub Actions/CI
+  "image": "ghcr.io/coatless-devcontainer/r-pkg:latest"
+}
diff --git a/.github/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.github/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc0e2d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+// Config options: https://github.com/rocker-org/devcontainer-templates/tree/main/src/r-ver
+{
+  "name": "R Package Dev (rocker/r-ver base)",
+  "image": "ghcr.io/rocker-org/devcontainer/r-ver:4.4",
+  // Add software
+  "features": {
+    // Rig configuration: https://github.com/rocker-org/devcontainer-features/blob/main/src/r-rig/README.md
+    "ghcr.io/rocker-org/devcontainer-features/r-rig:1": {
+      "installDevTools": true,
+      "installRadian": true,
+      "installVscDebugger": true,
+      "installRMarkdown": true,
+      "vscodeRSupport": "full"
+    }
+  },
+  "customizations": {
+    "vscode": {
+      // Ensure VS Code extensions for R are present
+      "extensions": [
+        // R Extensions
+        "rdebugger.r-debugger",
+        "reditorsupport.r",
+        // Quarto
+        "quarto.quarto",
+        // LLM  
+        "GitHub.copilot"
+      ]
+    },
+    // Customize R settings
+    "settings": { 
+      "editor.wordWrap": "wordWrapColumn",
+      "r.rterm.linux": "/usr/local/bin/radian",
+      "r.bracketedPaste": true,
+      "r.plot.useHttpgd": true,
+      // Settings by language
+      "[r]": {
+        "editor.wordSeparators": "`~!@#%$^&*()-=+[{]}\\|;:'\",<>/?",
+        "editor.defaultFormatter": "REditorSupport.r",
+        "editor.snippetSuggestions": "top"    
+      },
+      "[rmd]": {
+        "editor.defaultFormatter": "REditorSupport.r",
+        "editor.snippetSuggestions": "top"
+      },
+      "[quarto]": {
+        "editor.defaultFormatter": "quarto.quarto",
+        "editor.snippetSuggestions": "top"
+      },
+      // Enable suggestions
+      "github.copilot.enable": {
+        "quarto": true,
+        "*": true
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  // Enable pak using system package manager
+  // https://github.com/rocker-org/devcontainer-features/blob/main/src/r-rig/README.md#install-r-packages-via-pak
+  "remoteEnv": {
+      "PKG_SYSREQS": "true"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pre-build-devcontainer.yml b/.github/workflows/pre-build-devcontainer.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d190b0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/pre-build-devcontainer.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+name: 'build' 
+on: # rebuild any PRs and main branch changes
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - main
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+  workflow_dispatch: {}
+  
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: write
+    env:
+      CONTAINER_OWNER: ${{ github.repository_owner }}
+      CONTAINER_NAME: ${{ github.event.repository.name }}
+    steps:
+
+      - name: Checkout (GitHub)
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Login to GitHub Container Registry
+        uses: docker/login-action@v2 
+        with:
+          registry: ghcr.io
+          username: ${{ env.CONTAINER_OWNER }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Pre-build dev container image
+        uses: devcontainers/ci@v0.3
+        with:
+          subFolder: .github
+          imageName: ghcr.io/${{ env.CONTAINER_OWNER }}/${{ env.CONTAINER_NAME }}
+          cacheFrom: ghcr.io/${{ env.CONTAINER_OWNER }}/${{ env.CONTAINER_NAME }}
+          push: always
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f4af52f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+# r-pkg
+
+This repository houses a devcontainer that setups an R package development environment. The container is setup to work with [GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/features/codespaces) to instantly have a cloud-based developer workflow.
+
+You can try out the Codespace by clicking on the following button:
+
+[![Open in GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/codespaces/badge.svg)](https://codespaces.new/coatless-devcontainer/r-pkg?quickstart=1)
+
+> [!NOTE]
+>
+> Codespaces are available to Students and Teachers for free [up to 180 core hours per month](https://docs.github.com/en/education/manage-coursework-with-github-classroom/integrate-github-classroom-with-an-ide/using-github-codespaces-with-github-classroom#about-github-codespaces)
+> through [GitHub Education](https://education.github.com/). Otherwise, you will have 
+> [up to 60 core hours and 15 GB free per month](https://github.com/features/codespaces#pricing).
+
+Or, you can press the template button to create a new repository with the same setup so that you
+can work locally on the devcontainer:
+
+[![Use this template](https://img.shields.io/badge/Use%20this%20template-Create%20new%20repository-blue?logo=github)](https://github.com/coatless-devcontainer/r-pkg/generate)
+
+This will create a fork of the repository that can be worked on inside a local copy of
+[Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) through the [Dev Containers extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers). With the extension installed, you can open the repository in a container by pressing `F1` (to bring up command palette) and typing `Dev Container: Reopen in Container`.
+
+Lastly, you can directly obtain the underlying container image by typing in Terminal: 
+
+```sh
+docker pull ghcr.io/coatless-devcontainer/r-pkg:latest
+```
+
+## Quick start
+
+Run the following series of commands inside of R once the container opens. Make sure to change `"name-of-package"` to your current package name.
+
+```r
+usethis::create_package("name-of-package")
+usethis::use_package_doc()
+usethis::use_agpl3_license()
+usethis::use_testthat()
+usethis::use_github_action("check-standard")
+usethis::use_pkgdown_github_pages()
+```
+
+## Resources
+
+- [Manual: Writing R extensions](https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-exts.html)
+- [Textbook: R Packages](https://r-pkgs.org/)
+- [usethis](https://usethis.r-lib.org/)
+- [devtools](https://devtools.r-lib.org/)
+
+## Developer notes
+
+This repository uses a pre-built container strategy to have GitHub Actions build and, then, store the devcontainer in [GitHub's Container Repository](https://docs.github.com/en/packages/working-with-a-github-packages-registry/working-with-the-container-registry). 
+
+We place the main logic of the devcontainer in [`.github/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json`](https://github.com/coatless-devcontainer/r-pkg/blob/main/.github/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json). From there, we use [`.github/workflows/pre-build-devcontainer.yml`](https://github.com/coatless-devcontainer/r-pkg/blob/main/.github/workflows/pre-build-devcontainer.yml) to build and publish the devcontainer onto GitHub's Container repository for the organization. Then, the repository's [`.devcontainer/devcontainer.json`](https://github.com/coatless-devcontainer/r-pkg/blob/main/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json) pulls the pre-built image.
+
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+>
+> Make sure to specify the permissions as stated in the GitHub Actions workflow linked above
+> and for organizations please make sure to have the organization's container registry enabled.
+> 
+> For more information, see [GitHub's Container Registry documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/packages/working-with-a-github-packages-registry/working-with-the-container-registry).
\ No newline at end of file