How developers use Rig

Developers use Rig when local development is more than one terminal tab: morning boot of a whole stack, Laravel plus Vite plus a queue, WordPress beside a Node app, or an AI editor that needs to see what is actually running. Freelancers share a Live Link instead of deploying a staging box for a five-minute client review — see /for-freelancers. Solo developers replace terminal archaeology with one board and MCP — see /for-solo-developers. Full stack work boots frontend, API, database, and workers together — see /full-stack-local-dev. Studios keep a catalog of projects across machines and teleport a working setup without copying the repo to a cloud VM. Rig does not replace Docker Desktop, Herd, or Valet; it is the control plane around those tools. Typical jobs: reclaim a stolen port, read a merged log after a crash, restart only the dead sidecar, and let Cursor diagnose from live health instead of guessing.

https://userig.app/use-cases

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Use cases · FAQ

How devs actually use Rig in the flow.

Not a feature bingo card. Walkthroughs for the moments Rig replaces terminal archaeology, staging deploys for a quick look, or pasting stack traces into chat.

Download RigStraight answers
Four walkthroughs

Real jobs, four steps each.

Pick the one that sounds like your week.

Morning boot: API + web + worker in one click

Vite · Node API · Redis worker

The problem: Every morning you open a window for the website, another for the API and another for the background worker, then find out which one quietly died overnight.

Solo developers on Mac →Full stack local dev →

01 · Solo fullstack
rig / acme-stacklive
  1. ✓Open Rig → select the project group “Acme stack”.
  2. ✓Start group: Redis first, then API, then Vite.
  3. ✓All three stream in one pane; filter to api when something 500s.
  4. ✓⌘K → “reclaim :3000” if yesterday’s node zombie is squatting.

→ No five Terminal tabs, no guessing which pane died overnight.

Client review on their phone, without deploying

Any local web app

The problem: A client wants a quick look at work in progress. Normally that means putting a copy on a staging server just for a five-minute call.

Freelancers & agencies →

02 · Agency / freelancers
rig / client-portal / sharelive
  1. ✓Start the project so it has a local URL.
  2. ✓Same Wi-Fi → LAN + QR. Remote → Share Live Link.
  3. ✓Live Link opens a branded URL at userig.app/live/{slug} via Rig’s relay.
  4. ✓Optional Privacy Mode password. Stop when the call ends.

→ Work in progress, without staging, previews, or VPN theatre.

Valet serves HTTP; Rig runs everything else

Laravel · Valet · queue · horizon

The problem: Valet already serves your Laravel site, but the queue, Horizon and the scheduler still need their own windows, and their errors live in a separate log file.

Laravel + Valet →

03 · Laravel + PhpStorm
rig / client-portal.testlive
  1. ✓Point Rig at the folder: it detects Composer + *.test.
  2. ✓Open site hits the Valet URL; Rig doesn’t replace Valet or PhpStorm.
  3. ✓Queue / horizon / schedule run as sidecars; migrate as one-shots.
  4. ✓laravel.log tails into the same log pane as the rest.

→ PHP projects stop looking “empty” in Rig. HTTP stays with Valet.

Cursor debugs the process that’s actually running

Cursor or Claude + MCP

The problem: Your AI assistant can only guess what is happening on your computer, so you copy error messages into the chat and hope they are the right ones.

Cursor and Claude MCP →AI & MCP →

04 · AI-assisted coding
rig / mcp hub / activitylive
  1. ✓Connections → start MCP hub → Link Cursor.
  2. ✓Hit a bug in the browser; ask the agent to inspect the API.
  3. ✓It calls get_logs / status / restart_project, not a raw shell.
  4. ✓You watch the MCP activity feed so you know what it touched.

→ The model sees live stdout, not a stale paste from ten minutes ago.

More ways in

Find the page for how you work.

Each of these goes deeper on one kind of project or one kind of person.

Freelancers

Show clients work in progress with a link that dies when the call ends.

For freelancers

Laravel + Valet

Valet keeps the website; Rig runs the queue, Horizon and schedule.

Laravel + Valet

Local WordPress

A WordPress site with its own database and HTTPS, in one click.

Local WordPress

Every feature

The whole list, grouped by the job each feature does.

Features
FAQ

Straight answers.

Does a Live Link upload my code?

No. The Mac opens an outbound WebSocket and only proxies HTTP from a process already running locally. Stop share tears it down. Source stays on disk.

Is Rig a replacement for Docker / Valet / PhpStorm?

No. Rig orchestrates processes and gives AI a scoped view. Valet keeps serving *.test; PhpStorm stays your editor; Docker can be a process Rig starts.

What if I never create a cloud account?

Everything local still works: processes, logs, ports, MCP, LAN share. Live Links, Continuity and sync need an account.

Can the AI run arbitrary shell on my Mac?

MCP tools are scoped: logs, status, restart. It’s not a raw terminal for the model.

Try it on your own stack.

Free forever on your own computer. No account needed to install.

Download RigSee pricing