Localdock is a macOS menubar application that provides stable, human-readable names for local development servers, replacing the need for managing changing port numbers. Designed for developers who run multiple projects or coding agents, it automatically assigns addresses like dashboard.localhost to your active projects. The tool functions without requiring DNS setup, admin passwords, or modifications to your system hosts file, leveraging web standards for .localhost domains to ensure your environment remains consistent even when frameworks automatically increment ports during development.

Beyond simple local addressing, Localdock offers a three-rung ladder for accessing your dev servers. At the base, it provides stable names on your machine. On the second rung, it enables access to your projects from other devices on the same Wi-Fi network—such as testing a mobile site in Safari on an iPhone—without needing cables or specialized configurations. The final rung provides a secure, key-gated public HTTPS link, allowing you to share projects with clients or webhooks. These public links are temporary, expire automatically after one hour, and do not route your traffic through the app's servers, ensuring privacy and security.

Some of the key features are:

• Stable Local Addresses: Automatically creates accessible names for every dev project, following the server even when the port changes.
• Zero-Config Setup: Operates without sudo, dnsmasq, or system hosts file modifications using native macOS networking standards.
• Wi-Fi Access: Allows testing local projects directly on mobile devices by simply flipping a switch per project.
• Secure Sharing: Provides expiring, key-gated public HTTPS links for sharing progress with clients or webhook testing.
• AI Agent Integration: Ships with an MCP server containing tools for listing ports, finding free ports, and gracefully cleaning up orphaned dev processes.
• No Traffic Inspection: Maintains privacy by ensuring that private project traffic is never seen or inspected by the developer’s servers.
• No Subscription Model: Offered as a one-time purchase with no recurring fees, accounts, or telemetry.

To use Localdock, simply install the app and it will automatically detect your running dev servers. You can rename projects with a single click, view all active processes in a centralized menubar list, and toggle access levels for each project independently. Because it operates at the networking level without rewriting HMR or WebSocket data, it remains transparent to your existing dev workflow, allowing features like hot reload to function exactly as they would on a standard port.

Some common use cases include:

• Managing Parallel AI Sessions: Preventing port collisions and orphaned process buildup when using agents like Claude Code or Cursor.
• Mobile Web Testing: Accessing local development environments on physical iPhones or tablets for testing real-world responsive behaviors.
• Client Demonstrations: Generating temporary, secure links to share a work-in-progress build with a client without deploying to staging.
• Webhook Testing: Exposing a local development endpoint to services like Stripe to receive real-time webhook deliveries during development.