diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 65ddf3698..6073f702f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 /.project
 .DS_Store
+.clion.source.upload.marker
 .idea
 .vscode
 *.iml
diff --git a/.gitpod.yml b/.gitpod.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..317f2cea7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitpod.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+# 
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# 
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+tasks:
+  - init: |
+      mkdir -p cmake-build-debug-gitpod
+      cd cmake-build-debug-gitpod && ../container/support-scripts/build-all.sh && make -j
+
+image:
+  file: container/Containerfile.gitpod
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c0c2a07f9..dc7528a2c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 ![Celix MacOS](https://github.com/apache/celix/workflows/Celix%20MacOS/badge.svg)
 [![codecov](https://codecov.io/gh/apache/celix/branch/master/graph/badge.svg)](https://codecov.io/gh/apache/celix)
 [![Coverity Scan Build Status](https://scan.coverity.com/projects/6685/badge.svg)](https://scan.coverity.com/projects/6685)
+[![Gitpod ready-to-code](https://img.shields.io/badge/Gitpod-ready--to--code-blue?logo=gitpod)](https://gitpod.io/#https://github.com/apache/celix)
 
 Apache Celix is a framework for C and C++14 to develop dynamic modular software applications using component 
 and in-process service-oriented programming. 
diff --git a/container/Containerfile.gitpod b/container/Containerfile.gitpod
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7ac418c14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/Containerfile.gitpod
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+# 
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# 
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+# SSH credentials:
+#   root@password
+
+FROM docker.io/gitpod/workspace-full:2023-10-06-16-22-14@sha256:76d3041cc7a2caa00d6f4610ace0e15009c361515f3d5d9ee6690e4019adcfd4
+
+# Switch to root user to install dependencies and configure sshd
+USER root
+
+# Install dependencies
+RUN DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get update && \
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        # Development dependencies \
+        dos2unix \
+        git \
+        locales-all \
+        rsync \
+        tar \
+        ssh \
+        tzdata \
+        # Build dependencies \
+        build-essential \
+        ccache \
+        cmake \
+        curl \
+        default-jdk \
+        gcc \
+        g++ \
+        gdb \
+        make \
+        python3 \
+        # Celix dependencies \
+        civetweb \
+        libavahi-compat-libdnssd-dev \
+        libcivetweb-dev \
+        libcpputest-dev \
+        libcurl4-openssl-dev \
+        libczmq-dev \
+        libffi-dev \
+        libjansson-dev \
+        libxml2-dev \
+        libzip-dev \
+        rapidjson-dev \
+        uuid-dev && \
+    apt-get clean
+
+# Switch back to the (default) gitpod user
+USER gitpod
diff --git a/container/Containerfile.ubuntu b/container/Containerfile.ubuntu
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..af732e059
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/Containerfile.ubuntu
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+# 
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# 
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+# SSH credentials:
+#   root@password
+
+FROM docker.io/library/ubuntu:22.04@sha256:b492494d8e0113c4ad3fe4528a4b5ff89faa5331f7d52c5c138196f69ce176a6
+
+# Install dependencies
+RUN DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get update && \
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        # Development dependencies \
+        dos2unix \
+        git \
+        locales-all \
+        rsync \
+        tar \
+        ssh \
+        tzdata \
+        # Build dependencies \
+        build-essential \
+        ccache \
+        cmake \
+        curl \
+        default-jdk \
+        gcc \
+        g++ \
+        gdb \
+        make \
+        python3 \
+        # Celix dependencies \
+        civetweb \
+        libavahi-compat-libdnssd-dev \
+        libcivetweb-dev \
+        libcpputest-dev \
+        libcurl4-openssl-dev \
+        libczmq-dev \
+        libffi-dev \
+        libjansson-dev \
+        libxml2-dev \
+        libzip-dev \
+        rapidjson-dev \
+        uuid-dev && \
+    apt-get clean
+
+RUN ( \
+    echo 'Port 2233'; \
+    echo 'LogLevel INFO'; \
+    echo 'PermitRootLogin yes'; \
+    echo 'PasswordAuthentication yes'; \
+    echo 'Subsystem sftp /usr/lib/openssh/sftp-server'; \
+  ) > /etc/ssh/sshd_config_celix \
+  && mkdir /run/sshd
+
+RUN yes password | passwd root
+
+CMD ["/usr/sbin/sshd", "-D", "-e", "-f", "/etc/ssh/sshd_config_celix"]
diff --git a/container/README.md b/container/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b958466ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# Celix dev container usage
+
+This subdirectory contains a [Gitpod Containerfile](./Containerfile.gitpod) for developing on Celix using [Gitpod](https://gitpod.io/#https://github.com/apache/celix)
+and a [Ubuntu Containerfile](./Containerfile.ubuntu) for local development on Celix.
+
+The below steps only need to be executed if you want to develop locally, and not via Gitpod.
+
+## Build the celix-dev image yourself
+
+To always be able to develop on Celix with an up-to-date image, built the image yourself.
+
+```bash
+./container/build-ubuntu-container.sh
+```
+
+## Using the image
+
+### Start locally with SSH daemon
+
+```bash
+cd <project-root>
+
+# Start a local container with the SSH daemon running
+./container/start-ubuntu-container.sh
+```
+
+Now connect to the container via the remote container option of your favoured IDE and start building/developing.
+
+For example, you can now start with:
+
+* CLion connected to the container using [JetBrains Gateway](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/clion/remote-development-a.html)
+* CLion configured to connect to the container as [Remote Host](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/clion/remote-projects-support.html)
+
+When finished with development and testing, press `CTRL + \` to stop the SSH daemon and exit the container.
+
+### Start locally with only a bash shell
+
+The start script allows passing of additional paramters, which will override the starting of the SSH daemon.
+Execute the following commands to open a bash shell and build Celix from the command line:
+
+```bash
+cd <project-root>
+
+# Start a local container and open a bash shell
+./container/start-ubuntu-container.sh bash
+
+# Build Apache Celix
+mkdir celix-build
+cd celix-build
+../container/support-scripts/build-all.sh
+make -j
+
+# Run the unit tests for Apache Celix
+ctest --output-on-failure
+```
+
diff --git a/container/build-ubuntu-container.sh b/container/build-ubuntu-container.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..aafa8aa0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/build-ubuntu-container.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+# 
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# 
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+# Build a Celix dev container with all needed dependencies pre-installed.
+
+SCRIPT_LOCATION=$(realpath "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")")
+CELIX_REPO_ROOT=$(realpath "${SCRIPT_LOCATION}/..")
+
+# Check which container engine is available.
+# Check for podman first, because the 'podman-docker' package might be installed providing a dummy 'docker' command.
+if command -v podman > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    CONTAINER_ENGINE="podman"
+else
+    CONTAINER_ENGINE="docker"
+fi
+
+cd "${SCRIPT_LOCATION}"
+${CONTAINER_ENGINE} build -t apache/celix-dev:ubuntu-latest -f Containerfile.ubuntu .
+
diff --git a/container/start-ubuntu-container.sh b/container/start-ubuntu-container.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..2df3dadef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/start-ubuntu-container.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+# 
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# 
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+# Start a Celix dev container with all needed dependencies
+# pre-installed already.
+
+SCRIPT_LOCATION=$(realpath "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")")
+CELIX_REPO_ROOT=$(realpath "${SCRIPT_LOCATION}/..")
+
+CONTAINER_COMMAND_DEFAULT="/usr/sbin/sshd -D -e -f /etc/ssh/sshd_config_celix"
+CONTAINER_COMMAND=${1:-${CONTAINER_COMMAND_DEFAULT}}
+
+# Check which container engine is available.
+# Check for podman first, because the 'podman-docker' package might be installed providing a dummy 'docker' command.
+if command -v podman > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    CONTAINER_ENGINE="podman"
+else
+    CONTAINER_ENGINE="docker"
+fi
+
+# Start a container with all the Celix dependencies pre-installed
+#   --privileged            to allow the unit tests to change thread priorities
+#   --net=host              is used to allow e.g. communication with etcd
+#   --volume & --workdir    are set to the Celix repo root (to allow building and editing of the Celix repo)
+#   --security-opt          disables SELinux for the container
+${CONTAINER_ENGINE} run -it --rm --privileged \
+                        --net=host \
+                        --volume "${CELIX_REPO_ROOT}":"${CELIX_REPO_ROOT}" \
+                        --workdir "${CELIX_REPO_ROOT}" \
+                        --security-opt label=disable \
+                        apache/celix-dev:ubuntu-latest ${CONTAINER_COMMAND}
+
diff --git a/container/support-scripts/build-all.sh b/container/support-scripts/build-all.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..16acf6dff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/support-scripts/build-all.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+# 
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# 
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+BUILD_TYPE=${1:-Debug}
+
+cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${BUILD_TYPE} \
+      -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=../celix-install \
+      -DBUILD_EXPERIMENTAL=ON \
+      -DENABLE_TESTING=ON \
+      -DRSA_JSON_RPC=ON \
+      -DRSA_SHM=ON \
+      -DRSA_REMOTE_SERVICE_ADMIN_SHM_V2=ON \
+      ..
+