diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
index c2d14b2..1c0817a 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -21,8 +21,7 @@
       "tflint": "none",
       "terragrunt": "none"
     },
-    "ghcr.io/va-h/devcontainers-features/uv:1": {},
-    "ghcr.io/microsoft/aspire-devcontainer-feature/aspire:2": {}
+    "ghcr.io/va-h/devcontainers-features/uv:1": {}
   },
   "customizations": {
     "vscode": {
@@ -46,8 +45,7 @@
         "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
         "bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss",
         "GitHub.copilot",
-        "ms-azuretools.vscode-azure-mcp-server",
-        "microsoft-aspire.aspire-vscode"
+        "ms-azuretools.vscode-azure-mcp-server"
       ]
     }
   },
diff --git a/.devcontainer/on-create.sh b/.devcontainer/on-create.sh
index e60836a..78c36b2 100755
--- a/.devcontainer/on-create.sh
+++ b/.devcontainer/on-create.sh
@@ -56,6 +56,14 @@ else
     playwright install --with-deps chrome
 fi
 
+# Install Aspire CLI for the MCP server (aspire agent mcp).
+# Installed via the standalone script so we don't need .NET SDK or the VS Code
+# extension (which pulls in C# DevKit and .NET Installer as dependencies).
+if ! command -v aspire &> /dev/null; then
+    echo "🌐 Installing Aspire CLI..."
+    curl -sSL https://aspire.dev/install.sh | bash
+fi
+
 # Install Azure Functions Core Tools for local Durable Functions development.
 if ! command -v func &> /dev/null; then
     echo "⚡ Installing Azure Functions Core Tools..."
diff --git a/.devcontainer/post-create.sh b/.devcontainer/post-create.sh
index 9d85b12..42c7995 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/post-create.sh
+++ b/.devcontainer/post-create.sh
@@ -51,9 +51,17 @@ if [ -f api/.env ] && ! grep -q "^DEBUG=true" api/.env; then
     printf '\nDEBUG=true\n' >> api/.env
 fi
 
-# Run database migrations
+# Disable HTTPS redirect for local OAuth (no TLS termination locally)
+if [ -f api/.env ] && ! grep -q "^WEB_SECURITY__REQUIRE_HTTPS=" api/.env; then
+    echo "📝 Adding WEB_SECURITY__REQUIRE_HTTPS=false to api/.env..."
+    printf '\nWEB_SECURITY__REQUIRE_HTTPS=false\n' >> api/.env
+fi
+
+# Run database migrations and sync curriculum content
 echo "🗄️  Running database migrations..."
 (cd api && uv run alembic upgrade head)
+echo "📚 Syncing curriculum content into database..."
+(cd api && uv run python -m learn_to_cloud_shared.cli.sync_curriculum)
 
 echo "✅ Setup complete!"
 echo ""
diff --git a/api/.env.example b/api/.env.example
index 7535b1d..9d88f76 100644
--- a/api/.env.example
+++ b/api/.env.example
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ DATABASE__URL=postgresql+asyncpg://postgres:postgres@db:5432/learn_to_cloud
 # in deployed environments (Container Apps sets this).
 ENVIRONMENT=development
 
+# Disable HTTPS redirect for OAuth callback (localhost has no TLS).
+# Production defaults to true since Azure Container Apps terminates TLS.
+WEB_SECURITY__REQUIRE_HTTPS=false
+
 # GitHub OAuth. Create an OAuth App at https://github.com/settings/developers
 # OAUTH__CLIENT_ID=your_github_client_id
 # OAUTH__CLIENT_SECRET=your_github_client_secret