devd is a local web server designed for developing and testing websites and web applications. It provides static file serving, reverse proxying and automatic browser reloading through a terminal-focused interface, avoiding the need to configure a conventional production web server for routine development tasks.
The program can serve directories directly or route requests to other locally running applications. Its flexible routing syntax allows developers to combine static files and multiple backend services under one local address. It also supports lightweight virtual hosting through localhost subdomains, making it convenient to test applications that require several separate hostnames.
devd includes tools for reproducing network conditions and examining HTTP traffic. Developers can simulate latency and bandwidth restrictions, inspect detailed request logs and automatically reload browser content when source files change. These capabilities make it useful for frontend development, testing local APIs and integrating services during application development.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Serve static website files and directories from a local development server.
- Reverse proxy requests to locally running applications.
- Route different URL paths to separate filesystems and backend services.
- Virtual hosting through localhost subdomains.
- Automatically choose an available listening port.
- Open a browser pointing to the local development server.
- Browser live reload when watched files change.
- Refresh changed CSS resources without reloading the entire page when possible.
- Live reload support for reverse-proxied applications.
- Watch additional source directories for changes.
- Exclude selected files and patterns from triggering browser reloads.
- Generate a self-signed certificate for local HTTPS testing.
- Colourised HTTP request logging in the terminal.
- Detailed logging of request headers and timing information.
- Simulate network latency and limited upload or download bandwidth.
- Configure fallback content for requests that do not match an existing file.
- Trigger browser reloads from external development tools.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Website: github.com/cortesi/devd
Support:
Developer: Aldo Cortesi
License: MIT License
devd is written in Go. Learn Go with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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| Yaws | High-performance web server written in Erlang |
| Hiawatha | Web server that focuses on security |
| OpenLiteSpeed | Lightweight HTTP server |
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| devd | Local web server for developers |
| Cherokee | Fast, flexible and embeddable web server |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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