portless

Portless Integration

Named .localhost URLs for local development. Replaces localhost:3000 with https://myapp.localhost.

Full CLI reference: Load Read("references/upstream.md") for complete command docs.

New in 2026-04 → 2026-07 (portless 0.10.x → 0.15.0)

• portless doctor (0.15.0) — read-only diagnostics that check Node.js, the state directory, proxy liveness, route entries, hostname resolution, HTTPS CA trust, and LAN prerequisites, then print suggested fixes. Run it before filing an issue or when a .localhost URL won't resolve.
• HTTP/2 Host forwarding fix (0.15.0) — the proxy now forwards the HTTP/2 :authority as Host to HTTP/1.1 backends, fixing apps that read Host and previously saw 127.0.0.1 for browser traffic. --force takeover cleanup now removes only routes still owned by the exiting process, so a forced takeover no longer deregisters the new owner's route.
• --ngrok flag (0.14.0) — share an app publicly via ngrok while local access keeps its .localhost URL. Pair with the existing Tailscale/Funnel options when you need a public URL without giving up the named-subdomain dev experience.
• Node.js 24+ required (0.13.1, BREAKING) — the proxy and CLI now require Node.js 24 or newer; older runtimes are unsupported. This release also hardens startup-service persistence so .localhost URLs survive reboot reliably.
• State directory moved to ~/.portless (0.11, BREAKING) — state relocated from scattered/temp locations to ~/.portless; override with PORTLESS_STATE_DIR. Old state from pre-0.11 installs is not migrated automatically.
• OS startup service (0.13.0) — portless service install / service status / service uninstall register a native startup service for the HTTPS proxy across macOS launchd, Linux systemd, and Windows Task Scheduler. .localhost URLs survive reboot without a manual portless proxy start. portless clean removes the service alongside CA + hosts cleanup.
• Tailscale readiness preflight (0.13.0) — --tailscale and --funnel now validate Tailscale HTTPS + Funnel prerequisites before starting the child process, surfacing actionable errors instead of hanging during registration.
• Tailscale integration (0.12.0) — --tailscale shares your app over your tailnet with automatic HTTPS on port 443; --funnel exposes it publicly via Tailscale Funnel. Apps receive PORTLESS_TAILSCALE_URL so they can reference their own public address. portless list now shows tailnet URLs.
• Zero-config mode (0.11.0) — bare portless auto-discovers dev scripts from package.json. Multi-app monorepos get automatic subdomain assignment; Turborepo task-graph integration is wired in. portless.json config file supported. --script overrides the default "dev" script.
• portless prune — removes orphaned dev servers and stale Tailscale registrations.
• portless clean (extended) — now also tears down Tailscale registrations alongside CA + hosts cleanup.
• Rsbuild + VitePlus auto-port injection — same auto-wiring as Vite/Next.
• State directory moved to ~/.portless (was scattered).
• HTTPS on 443 by default (breaking from 0.9.x http:1355). Valid cert, no setup. --no-tls reverts.
• NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS auto-injected (0.10.2) into child processes — node HTTPS calls trust portless CA with zero setup.
• --wildcard subdomains — https://*.myapp.localhost for multi-tenant / preview routing.
• portless alias <name> <port> — map a docker-compose / emulate port to a named URL without a long-running run process.
• portless clean — full teardown: stops proxy, removes CA, wipes state, cleans /etc/hosts.
• --lan mode — mDNS .local hostnames reachable across wifi (phone, tablet, other machines) without router config.
• Fixed app ports — --app-port 3000 / PORTLESS_APP_PORT for tools that need a known port (debuggers, docker).
• hosts-sync on by default for Safari compat (disable with PORTLESS_SYNC_HOSTS=0).
• HTTP/2 HMR fixes for Vite/VitePlus/Next.js dev — websocket upgrades no longer break under h2.
• Expo / React Native support — portless run expo start gives Metro a stable URL for device QR codes.

When to Use

• Starting a dev server that agents or browser tests will target
• Running multiple services locally (API + frontend + docs)
• Working in git worktrees (branch-named subdomains)
• Local OAuth flows (stable callback URLs)
• Connecting emulate API mocks to named URLs

Quick Start

# Instead of: npm run dev (random port)
portless run npm run dev
# → https://myapp.localhost (stable, named, HTTPS on 443 — default in 0.10+)

# Multi-service
portless run --name api npm run dev:api
portless run --name web npm run dev:web
# → https://api.localhost, https://web.localhost

# LAN mode (0.10.0) — reachable from phone/tablet via mDNS
portless proxy start --lan
portless run npm run dev
# → https://myapp.local (resolves across the local network, no router config)

# Full teardown (0.10.1) — stops proxy, removes CA, wipes state, cleans /etc/hosts
portless clean

# Boot persistence (0.13.0) — install native startup service (launchd / systemd / Task Scheduler)
portless service install
portless service status
# Removed automatically by `portless clean`, or explicitly:
portless service uninstall

0.10.x breaking change: default switched from https://app.localhost to https://app.localhost on port 443. Use --no-tls to revert. NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS is injected into child processes automatically (0.10.2) — no manual cert setup. /etc/hosts is synced automatically for Safari; disable with PORTLESS_SYNC_HOSTS=0.

Framework-Specific Setup

Load Read("references/framework-integration.md") for full framework recipes.

Most frameworks (Next.js, Vite, Express) work with portless run <cmd>. Some need explicit flags:

Framework	Auto-detected?	Extra flags needed
Next.js	Yes	None
Vite / Astro	Yes	None
Express / Fastify / Hono	Yes	None (reads PORT env var)
Ruby on Rails	Yes	None
FastAPI / uvicorn	No	--port $PORT --host $HOST
Django	No	$HOST:$PORT positional arg

Why .localhost?

Feature	.localhost (RFC 6761)	127.0.0.1:PORT	/etc/hosts hack
No /etc/hosts editing	Yes	Yes	No
HTTPS with valid cert	Yes	No	Manual
Wildcard subdomains	Yes	No	No
Works in all browsers	Yes	Yes	Varies
Cookie isolation per service	Yes	No	Yes
No port conflicts	Yes	No	Yes

Key Environment Variables

When portless runs your command, it injects:

Variable	Value	Use in agents
PORT	Assigned ephemeral port (4000-4999)	Internal only
HOST	127.0.0.1	Internal only
PORTLESS_URL	https://myapp.localhost	Use this in agent prompts
NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS	Path to portless CA (auto-injected 0.10.2)	Child node processes trust portless certs without setup

Toggle env vars

Variable	Effect
PORTLESS=0	Bypass portless entirely (CI)
PORTLESS_SYNC_HOSTS=0	Disable auto /etc/hosts sync (default: on in 0.10.1+)
PORTLESS_STATE_DIR	Override state dir (default: ~/.portless or /tmp/portless for privileged ports)

OrchestKit Integration Patterns

1. Agent-Accessible Dev Server

# Start with portless, then agents can target PORTLESS_URL
portless run npm run dev

# In ork:expect or agent-browser:
agent-browser open $PORTLESS_URL

2. Emulate + Portless (Named API Mocks)

# Register emulate ports as named aliases
portless alias github-api 4001
portless alias vercel-api 4000
portless alias google-api 4002

# Now agents can target:
#   https://github-api.localhost — GitHub emulator
#   https://vercel-api.localhost — Vercel emulator

3. Git Worktree Dev

# In worktree for feature/auth-flow:
portless run npm run dev
# → https://auth-flow.myapp.localhost (auto branch prefix)

4. Bypass in CI

# Disable portless in CI — direct port access
PORTLESS=0 npm run dev

Anti-Patterns

Don't	Do Instead
Hardcode localhost:3000 in tests	Use PORTLESS_URL or process.env.PORTLESS_URL
Run portless in CI	Set PORTLESS=0 in CI environments
Use numeric ports in AGENTS.md	Document the portless URL

References

File	Content
references/upstream.md	Full portless CLI reference (synced from Vercel)
references/upstream-oauth.md	OAuth callback patterns with stable URLs
references/framework-integration.md	Framework recipes (FastAPI, Django, Docker, gotchas)
checklists/new-project-setup.md	Step-by-step: add portless to a new project