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Overview

Run your dev server through the Portless proxy with an explicit name. This gives you full control over the hostname.

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Syntax

portless <name> [options] <command...>

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Parameters

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<name>

The hostname for your app. Can include subdomains separated by dots.
  • Simple name: myapp -> http://myapp.localhost:1355
  • Subdomain: api.myapp -> http://api.myapp.localhost:1355
  • Multi-level: docs.api.myapp -> http://docs.api.myapp.localhost:1355

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<command...>

The command to run (your dev server start command).

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Options

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--force

Override an existing route registered by another process. 
portless myapp --force next dev

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--app-port <number>

Use a fixed port for the app instead of automatic port assignment. Must be between 1 and 65535. 
portless myapp --app-port 3000 pnpm start

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--

Stop flag parsing. Everything after -- is passed directly to your command. 
portless myapp -- next dev --turbo

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Examples

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Basic Usage

# Simple app name
portless myapp next dev
# -> http://myapp.localhost:1355

# With subdomain
portless api.myapp pnpm start
# -> http://api.myapp.localhost:1355

# Multiple subdomains
portless v2.api.myapp node server.js
# -> http://v2.api.myapp.localhost:1355

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Monorepo Services

# Frontend
portless web next dev
# -> http://web.localhost:1355

# API
portless api node src/index.js
# -> http://api.localhost:1355

# Admin panel
portless admin vite dev
# -> http://admin.localhost:1355

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With Fixed Port

portless myapp --app-port 8080 python -m http.server 8080
# -> http://myapp.localhost:1355 (proxies to localhost:8080)

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Override Existing Route

# Replace route even if another process owns it
portless myapp --force next dev

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Flags After Name

You can place --force and --app-port before or after the name: 
portless --force myapp next dev
portless myapp --force next dev
# Both work the same

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Reserved Names

The following names are reserved for Portless commands and cannot be used directly:
  • run
  • get
  • alias
  • hosts
  • list
  • trust
  • proxy
To use a reserved name, either:
  1. Use portless run (it will infer from your project)
  2. Use the --name flag: portless --name run next dev

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Environment Variables

The following environment variables are injected into your command:
  • PORT - Ephemeral port the app should listen on (e.g. 4567)
  • HOST - Always set to 127.0.0.1
  • PORTLESS_URL - Public URL of your app (e.g. http://myapp.localhost:1355)
  • __VITE_ADDITIONAL_SERVER_ALLOWED_HOSTS - Set to .localhost for Vite compatibility

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Wildcard Subdomains

Any subdomain of a registered route routes automatically without extra configuration: 
# Register myapp
portless myapp next dev

# All of these automatically route to myapp:
# - http://myapp.localhost:1355
# - http://tenant1.myapp.localhost:1355
# - http://tenant2.myapp.localhost:1355
# - http://any.subdomain.myapp.localhost:1355
This is useful for multi-tenant apps where each tenant gets a subdomain.

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Proxy Auto-Start

If the proxy is not running, the command will automatically start it:
  • Privileged port (< 1024): Prompts for sudo permission
  • Non-privileged port (default 1355): Starts silently without sudo
You can skip the proxy auto-start by responding with skip when prompted.

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Skip Portless

To run your command directly without the proxy: 
PORTLESS=0 portless myapp next dev
# or
PORTLESS=skip portless myapp next dev

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Framework Support

Most frameworks respect the PORT environment variable. For frameworks that don’t (Vite, Astro, React Router, Angular, Expo, React Native), Portless automatically injects the correct --port and --host flags.

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Exit Codes

  • 0 - Success
  • 1 - Error (no command provided, route conflict, invalid arguments)
  • Exit code of child process - Propagated from your dev server

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