Give every dev server a real name.
Open shop.local instead of localhost:5173, with HTTPS your browser trusts. Porter finds the servers already running on your Mac, names them from their project folders, and shows every request as it happens. No admin password, no config files.
How it works
Vite, Next.js, Astro, Django, uvicorn, anything that listens on a port. Porter sees it, with the tool and the project folder it runs in.
Porter suggests one from the project folder. Keep it or type your own, like shop or api.shop, and pick the server from the list.
Type shop.local in any browser, over http or https. It opens your server, hot reload and all.
What it does best
Turn on HTTPS once and macOS asks for your password one time. From then on https://shop.local opens with a padlock in Safari and Chrome, for every name you add, and new names are covered the moment you add them. Porter's certificate can only vouch for .local names, so it can't be used for anything else.
Each name has its own page: its addresses, the tool and folder behind it, and a live list of requests with method, path, status and time. When a page won't load, you can see straight away whether the request reached your server and what it answered.
When nothing answers on a name's port, the browser shows a calm waiting page that reloads by itself the moment your server is back. Porter tells you which folder to start it in and when it last answered.
Porter lives in the menu bar. Every name is one click away, servers without a name can be named from there, and Porter opens at login so your names are always ready.
And also
Names are published for this Mac only and Porter needs no sudo. Nothing to edit in /etc/hosts.
Your server sees localhost by default, which Vite, Next.js, Django and Rails accept. One switch sends the .local name instead.
WebSockets pass straight through, over http and https.
A redirect to localhost:5173 comes back as shop.local, so you never fall off your name.
See the tool and folder serving a name, and open it in Finder in one click.
Names aren't announced to your network, and Porter only answers requests from your own Mac.
Porter checks once a day and installs signed updates in seconds. Your names come back on their own.
One universal app for macOS 15 and later, notarized by Apple.
Price
Private by design
Requests go from your browser to your own server, through Porter on your Mac. Nothing passes through us.
No sign-up, no analytics, no ads and no tracking. We collect nothing.
Porter's certificate authority is made on your Mac and can only vouch for .local names. Turning HTTPS off removes it.
A daily look at our update feed, which you can turn off in Settings. Nothing about you is sent.
Questions
macOS already looks up .local names on the Mac itself, so Porter can answer them without changing system files or asking for your password. Names like .test would need a DNS resolver installed with admin rights.
The certificate authority is created on your Mac, its key never leaves it, and it is limited to .local names, so it cannot vouch for real websites. Turning HTTPS off removes it from your keychain.
Yes, with anything that listens on a port. By default your server sees the request as localhost, which dev servers like Vite, Next.js, Django and Rails accept without setup. If your app needs to see its .local name, switch that on for the name.
No. The names exist only on the Mac running Porter, and Porter only answers requests from that Mac. That keeps your work-in-progress off the network.
macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. Porter is free, and it uses ports 80 and 443 so your addresses need no port number.
Free for Mac. Apple silicon and Intel.
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