Full stack local dev on Mac and Windows

Full stack developers on Mac and Windows run frontend and backend together in Rig: Vite or Next beside a Node API, Postgres or Redis sidecars, and queue workers from a Procfile or npm scripts — all in one project group with health-aware start order and a merged log stream. When the API fails with ECONNREFUSED on :5432, Rig shows which dependency is down and can reclaim stuck ports. Laravel shops pair Valet *.test with Vite, Horizon, and artisan sidecars in the same board. WordPress can sit beside Node the same day. MCP connects Cursor to live process health instead of guessing from pasted traces. Rig is not a container platform — it orchestrates native processes around Docker, Herd, or managed local Postgres when you need them, so the full stack boots as one named group instead of four terminals.

Can Rig run Vite and a Node API together?

Yes. Procfile and npm discovery boot web, api, db, and worker processes as a group with unified logs and per-process restart.

Does full stack local dev require Docker?

No. Many stacks run natively. Rig also supports Compose sidecars and managed local Postgres or Redis when your project needs them.

Related

https://userig.app/full-stack-local-dev

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Full-stack local dev

Your whole stack. One start button.

A full stack app is several programs that need each other: web, API, database, queue, worker. Start them in the wrong order and nothing works. Rig learns how your services depend on each other and brings them up, and down, in the right order, on Mac or Windows.

Download for Mac or WindowsHow Run works

Free forever on your computer. Pay only for Mesh (Pro, $15 a month).

rig / acme / stacklive
web · :5173Vite · React
api · :4000Node · Express
worker · bgBullMQ consumer
postgres · :5432started first
redis · :6379started first

Whole stack up · 5 of 5 running, in order

  • Databases and caches start before the services that need them
  • One log stream, filterable per service
  • Ports assigned once, remembered forever
The problem

Four terminals, started in the right order, by hand.

Most mornings start with the same ritual: database first, then the API, then the frontend, then the worker. Miss a step and the API fails with a connection error.

By hand
  • A terminal per service, started in the order you remember
  • ECONNREFUSED :5432 because Postgres was not up yet
  • Port clashes between projects
  • Four scrollbacks to read when something fails
One project group in Rig
  • Health-aware start order, worked out for you
  • Rig shows which dependency is down and starts it
  • Stuck ports reclaimed
  • A merged log stream with per-process restart
One command, run once

Still your terminal, still your tools.

Rig reads your existing package.json, docker-compose.yml or Procfile. It doesn't replace them, it watches them.

rig up

Each service waits for the ones it needs before it starts. Press the button in the app, or run it from your terminal.

01
terminal · acmelive
$ rig up
➜ postgres started :5432
➜ redis started :6379
➜ api started :4000 (waited for postgres, redis)
➜ web started :5173 (waited for api)

When a dependency is down

Instead of a bare connection error, Rig tells you which service the API was waiting for and brings it up.

02
rig / acme / logslive
api › Error: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:5432
rig › api depends on postgres · postgres is stopped
rig › starting postgres, then api
api › connected · listening on :4000
No new config format

Rig reads what you already have.

Another config file is another thing to keep up to date. There is no rig.yml to maintain. Point Rig at the repo and it works out the graph from the files already there.

Detected, not declared

Scripts from package.json, dependencies from docker-compose.yml, process types from the Procfile.

03
rig / acme / detectedlive
package.json
dev/start scripts
docker-compose.yml
service dependencies
Procfile
process types
rig.yml
not needed

Graph worked out from the files already there. No rig.yml.

Any stack

Node, Laravel, WordPress, side by side.

Real projects mix tools. Rig runs native processes and only uses containers where your project already does.

JavaScript

Vite or Next beside a Node API

Frontend, API and workers from npm scripts or a Procfile, booted as one named group.

Run
PHP

Laravel sidecars

Valet *.test sites with Vite, Horizon and artisan sidecars in the same board.

Laravel + Valet
WordPress

WordPress beside Node

A one-click WordPress site can sit beside your Node app on the same day.

Local WordPress
Databases

Postgres and Redis

Use Compose sidecars, or let Rig run managed local Postgres or Redis when your project needs them.

Docker

Docker optional

Rig is not a container platform. Many stacks run natively; Docker and Compose work alongside when you need them.

Rig vs Docker Desktop
AI

Cursor sees the stack

Over MCP, Cursor reads which service is healthy right now, so you stop pasting stack traces into chat.

Cursor & Claude MCP

list_projectsget_healthget_logsdiagnose_crashrestart_project

Use cases →Process table docs →

Questions

Fair questions

Can Rig run Vite and a Node API together?

Yes. Procfile and npm discovery boot web, api, db, and worker processes as a group with unified logs and per-process restart.

Does full stack local dev require Docker?

No. Many stacks run natively. Rig also supports Compose sidecars and managed local Postgres or Redis when your project needs them.

Other workflows

Rig for the way you work

Mac process manager

Every local process, its port and its log in one window, with crashes restarted for you.

See the workflow

Laravel + Valet

Keep Valet's .test domains. Rig watches the queue workers, Horizon and logs underneath.

See the workflow

Local WordPress

A fresh WordPress site in one click, with WP-CLI, the database and HTTPS built in.

See the workflow

Cursor & Claude MCP

Your AI assistant reads real ports, logs and health instead of guessing from your code.

See the workflow

For freelancers

Show a client the work running on your computer with a link, not a staging deploy.

See the workflow

For solo developers

Every side project on one board, back up after a reboot without touching a terminal.

See the workflow

Bring the whole stack up in order.

One desktop app. Point it at your services and Rig figures out what depends on what. macOS 13+ or Windows 11 · no credit card.

Download for Mac or Windows — it's freeSee all features