Quick Start

Get your first project running with a custom .test domain in under a minute.

Register a Project

Navigate to your project directory and register it with PortPilot:

bash
cd ~/projects/my-app
portpilot add my-app

PortPilot will auto-detect your framework (Next.js, Vite, etc.) and assign an available port starting from 3001.

Start Your Dev Server

Start the dev server in the background:

bash
portpilot start my-app -d

Your app is now accessible at https://my-app.test

✓

That's it!

Open https://my-app.test in your browser. PortPilot handles SSL, port assignment, and routing automatically.

Quick Commands from Project Directory

When you're inside a registered project directory, you can use shorthand commands without specifying the project name:

bash
portpilot start    # Start the dev server
portpilot stop     # Stop the dev server
portpilot restart  # Restart the dev server
portpilot logs     # View server logs
portpilot open     # Open in browser

View All Projects

See all registered projects and their status:

bash
portpilot list

This shows each project's ID, name, port, URL, and running status.

Custom Options

You can customize how projects are registered:

bash
# Register with a specific port
portpilot add my-api --port 4000
# Register a project at a different path
portpilot add my-api -p /path/to/project
# Use a custom dev command
portpilot add my-api -c "npm run serve -- --port {port}"

The {port} placeholder

When using a custom command, include {port} where the port number should go. PortPilot will replace it with the assigned port.

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