Pult

Access local servers on .dev domains.

How do I get it?

npm install -g pult

How do I use it?

~ $ pult-server
node-project $ pult node app # available at http://node-project.dev
ruby-project $ pult rackup   # available at http://ruby-project.dev

Pult works by setting the PORT environment variable, so it can be used to start any server process that reads PORT.

Custom domains

By default, Pult uses the name of the current directory to determine what .dev domain to serve from. You can specify a different domain using the -n option:

node-project $ pult -n my-project node app # available at http://my-project.dev

You can also set the domain in the .pult file of the current directory:

node-project $ echo 'my-project' > .pult
node-project $ pult node app # available at http://my-project.dev

Subdomains

Pult also serves the same application on all subdomains of its .dev domain. For example, node-project will be available at http://node-project.dev, http://www.node-project.dev, etc.

Pult also allows you to serve different applications on subdomains simply by specifying the subdomain with -n or in the .pult file:

other-project $ pult -n other.project node app # available at http://other.project.dev

Status

To find out which domains are being forwarded to which ports, simply run pult with no arguments:

~ $ pult
pult.dev 80
node-project.dev 7000
ruby-project.dev 7001

Server

By default, pult-server spawns itself with sudo then forks to the background. To run pult-server as a foreground process, pass the -f option:

~ $ pult-server -f

To stop pult-server while it is running in the background, pass the -k option to pult:

~ $ pult-server
~ $ pult -k

How does it work?

pult-server spawns itself with sudo
pult-server starts a DNS server
pult-server adds itself to /etc/resolv.conf
pult-server starts an HTTP server
pult requests a port for the application
pult-server finds or assigns a new port for the domain
pult-server begins responding to DNS queries for the domain
pult-server begins reverse-proxying HTTP for the domain to the port
pult-server returns the port to pult
pult sets the PORT environment variable
pult spawns node app

Pult assigns ports sequentially starting from 7000.

Similar projects

Pow
- Advantages:
  - Runs as regular user
  - Allows serving the same application from multiple domains (not just subdomains)
- Disadvantages:
  - OS X only
  - Rack-specific
  - Requires symlinking (explicit setup)
  - Takes over control of your server processes

Compatibility

Pult has been tested on:

Ubuntu 13.10
Mac OS X 10.9.1
Arch Linux (2014-01-26)

License

Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

cdnbacon / pult