diff --git a/.devcontainer/Dockerfile b/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
index 60ea0087..fd2624f8 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
+++ b/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
@@ -1,9 +1,5 @@
-# Generated by rust-bucket v0.5.0. DO NOT EDIT BY HAND.
 FROM rust:1.92-bookworm
 
-# Cache buster - increment to force rebuild: v5
-ARG CACHE_BUST=5
-
 # Install system dependencies
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     git \
@@ -15,43 +11,31 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     python3-pip \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-# Install cargo-nextest (required test runner per TESTING.md)
-# Build from source to avoid architecture compatibility issues
+# Install cargo-nextest
 RUN cargo install cargo-nextest --locked
 
-# Install Beads task tracker (required per AGENTS.md)
-# bd must be available on PATH
-# NOTE: Beads is a Go project, NOT a Rust crate. Install via official shell script.
-# Do NOT use "cargo install beads" - that installs an unrelated empty crate.
-# Install Go 1.24+ (required for beads v0.46.0) from official binary distribution.
-# Debian bookworm's golang-go package provides only Go 1.19, which is too old.
-RUN ARCH=$(dpkg --print-architecture) && \
-    if [ "$ARCH" = "amd64" ]; then GOARCH="amd64"; \
-    elif [ "$ARCH" = "arm64" ]; then GOARCH="arm64"; \
-    else echo "Unsupported architecture: $ARCH" && exit 1; fi && \
-    curl -fsSL "https://go.dev/dl/go1.24.2.linux-${GOARCH}.tar.gz" | tar -C /usr/local -xzf - && \
-    /usr/local/go/bin/go install github.com/steveyegge/beads/cmd/bd@v0.46.0 && \
-    (command -v bd || ln -sf /root/go/bin/bd /usr/local/bin/bd 2>/dev/null || true)
-
-# Ensure all tool binaries are on PATH
-ENV PATH="/usr/local/go/bin:/root/go/bin:/root/.local/bin:/root/.cargo/bin:${PATH}"
-
-# Installs ratchet for validating project ratchets
-RUN curl -sSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/imbue-ai/ratchet/main/install.sh | sh
-
-# Installs uv
+# Ensure tool binaries are on PATH
+ENV PATH="/root/.local/bin:/root/.cargo/bin:${PATH}"
+
+# Install uv
 RUN curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
 
 # Set working directory
 WORKDIR /workspace
 
-# Verify installations
-RUN echo "=== Verifying installations ===" && \
-    cargo --version && \
-    cargo-nextest --version && \
-    (bd version || echo "Warning: bd not in PATH yet, but continuing...") && \
-    ratchet --version && \
-    echo "=== All verifications complete ==="
+# Pre-compile Rust dependencies for faster builds
+# Copy only dependency manifests first to leverage Docker layer caching
+COPY Cargo.toml Cargo.lock ./
+
+# Create dummy source files to satisfy cargo
+RUN mkdir -p src && \
+    echo "fn main() {}" > src/main.rs && \
+    echo "" > src/lib.rs
+
+# Build dependencies (release and debug)
+RUN cargo build --release && cargo build
+
+# Remove dummy source files (real source will be mounted/copied later)
+RUN rm -rf src
 
-# Default command
 CMD ["bash"]