diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/bashrc.override.sh b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/bashrc.override.sh
index 0f799104b..bedddf64b 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/bashrc.override.sh
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/bashrc.override.sh
@@ -14,3 +14,7 @@ source /entrypoint
 set +o errexit
 set +o pipefail
 set +o nounset
+
+# start ssh-agent
+# https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/troubleshooting
+eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
index 38cda8e48..948868eca 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -12,9 +12,14 @@
             "type": "bind"
         },
         {
-            "source": "/tmp",
+            "source": "~/.ssh",
             "target": "/tmp",
             "type": "bind"
+        },
+        {
+            "source": "~/.ssh",
+            "target": "/home/dev-user/.ssh",
+            "type": "bind"
         }
     ],
     // Tells devcontainer.json supporting services / tools whether they should run
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
index 365401e73..4f08039a6 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ WORKDIR ${APP_HOME}
 {% if cookiecutter.use_docker == "y" %}
 # devcontainer dependencies and utils
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y \
-  sudo git bash-completion nano
+  sudo git bash-completion nano ssh
 
 # Create devcontainer user and add it to sudoers
 RUN groupadd --gid 1000 dev-user \