# DevWebUI: full brief

> One daemon for your local dev servers, a GUI for you, MCP for your AI agents. Click to
> start, stop and restart; watch live status, CPU, memory and logs. Same source of truth,
> zero drift.

Home: https://devwebui.lunarwerx.com/
Source: https://github.com/LunarWerxs/devwebui
License: MIT (free, open source)
Current version: 0.8.7
Last updated: 2026-08-23

## What it is

DevWebUI runs every dev server in a repo from one pane. Drop a `.devwebui` file listing a
project's servers, then start, stop and restart them by click, or let an AI agent do the
same over MCP. The GUI and the agent drive the exact same daemon, so nothing drifts between
what a human sees and what an agent controls.

## Who it's for

Developers juggling more than one local dev server (frontend, backend, worker, database) who
are tired of a dozen terminal tabs, and anyone driving their dev environment with an AI
coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-capable client) who wants that agent to
start/stop/restart the same processes and read the same logs, instead of shelling out blind.

## Every feature

- One-click control: start, stop and restart any dev server; live status, CPU, memory and
  logs, no shell required.
- MCP-native: ships an MCP server with 31 tools, so AI agents drive the same daemon you
  click.
- One panel per project: a `.devwebui` file groups every process under one collapsible
  header, remembered on restart.
- Runtime-aware launches: automatic mode follows each project's lockfile; compatible
  Bun/Node commands launch without a permanent shell wrapper.
- Port-conflict rescue: detects a taken port, names the process holding it, and frees it in
  one click.
- Persistent, de-duplicated error log: stderr / crashes / error-looking stdout survive
  restarts, with repeats collapsed into one entry and a count.
- Desktop shortcuts (Windows): send any server, or a whole repo, to the Desktop; double-click
  starts it (linked servers included) in a small window with a Stop button.
- Localized & themed: full i18n (English base, more languages addable), light and dark theme.
- Lives in your tray (Windows): a tray app runs the daemon hidden, with Open / Rebuild &
  Restart / Restart / Stop all processes / Quit.
- `.devwebui` file fields: id, name, command, cwd, port, url, color, env, autostart,
  waitForPort, links, companion, editable from the GUI too, which writes changes back to
  the file. `links` groups servers that start/stop as one unit; `companion` marks a process
  (e.g. a shared database) that starts alongside any process you start by hand.
- CLI: `devwebui start | stop | status | list | start-process | stop-process |
  restart-process | start-all | stop-all | open <folder|file.devwebui> | mcp`.

## Install / run it

- **Prebuilt Windows app**: download `devwebui-windows-x64.exe` from
  https://github.com/LunarWerxs/DevWebUI/releases, a GUI executable with the dashboard
  embedded, no console window. `devwebui-windows-x64-with-tray.zip` adds the tray icon via a
  small separate launcher; run `misc\Create-Shortcut.ps1` once.
- **Windows source checkout**: double-click the `DevWebUI` shortcut; it runs hidden with a
  tray icon.
- **Any OS, from a terminal**:
  ```
  bun install
  bun run dev   # daemon on :4000, GUI on http://localhost:4010
  ```
- macOS / Linux tray app is on the roadmap; the daemon and GUI already run on any OS via Bun.

## Drive it from an AI agent (MCP)

The MCP server is a thin stdio client over the running daemon, so the GUI and your agents
share one state:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devwebui": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["server/src/mcp.ts"],
      "cwd": "/absolute/path/to/devwebui",
      "env": { "DEVWEBUI_URL": "http://localhost:4000" }
    }
  }
}
```

31 tools cover projects, processes (start/stop/restart, enable/disable, all), logs and the
error log. Full list: https://github.com/LunarWerxs/devwebui/blob/main/AI_GUIDE.md

## Pricing

Free. DevWebUI is open source under the MIT License, no account, no subscription, no seat
fees, no usage limits, no paywalled features. Two optional extras, both off by default and
both free: settings sync (requires signing in with a LunarWerx Connections account) and an
anonymous install ping for update checks (disable with `DEVWEBUI_NO_PING=1`). See
/pricing.md for the machine-readable breakdown.

## Stack

Bun + Hono daemon (HTTP + SSE) with a zero-dependency stdio MCP engine; Vue 3 + Vite,
shadcn-vue on Reka UI, Tailwind v4 (zinc + indigo, light/dark).

## FAQ

Q: Does DevWebUI need an account or the cloud?
A: No. Two optional extras touch the network: settings sync (off by default) and an
anonymous install ping for update checks (`DEVWEBUI_NO_PING=1` to disable).

Q: What is a `.devwebui` file?
A: A small per-repo file listing dev servers to run; DevWebUI groups them under one panel and
can write edits back to the file.

Q: Does DevWebUI handle port conflicts?
A: Yes, detects a clash, names the process holding it, frees it in one click.

Q: How is DevWebUI different from PM2, hotel, or exo?
A: All three are process managers for local dev servers. PM2's own web dashboard, PM2 Plus,
is a paid add-on (from ~$39/month) over its free CLI. hotel and exo are free, browser-based
process managers. DevWebUI is free end-to-end and adds an MCP server with 31 tools for AI
agents.

## Limitations

- Tray app and prebuilt installer are Windows-only; macOS/Linux run DevWebUI from source via
  Bun, with tray support on the roadmap.
- No in-GUI env editor or log search yet (roadmap), and no multi-host support, DevWebUI
  manages processes on the machine it runs on.
- Settings sync requires a LunarWerx Connections account; everything else needs none.

## Links

- Home: https://devwebui.lunarwerx.com/
- Source code: https://github.com/LunarWerxs/devwebui
- MCP tools: https://github.com/LunarWerxs/devwebui#drive-it-from-an-ai-agent-mcp
- AI agent guide: https://github.com/LunarWerxs/devwebui/blob/main/AI_GUIDE.md
- Download: https://github.com/LunarWerxs/DevWebUI/releases
- Changelog: https://github.com/LunarWerxs/devwebui/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
- Pricing (machine-readable): https://devwebui.lunarwerx.com/pricing.md
- Parent studio: https://lunarwerx.com/