Getting started
LocalDocks starts scanning as soon as it opens. There is no project to create, no workspace to choose and nothing to configure first.
First launch
The window opens on the Overview in Developer mode. A background sampler in Rust owns the cadence and pushes a new snapshot every second by default; the interface never triggers a scan itself.
If the list is empty, that is a real answer rather than a failure: it means no process you own is currently classified as a running development service. Start a dev server, or flip the switch to System mode to see everything that is listening.
Reading the Overview

Top to bottom, the Overview answers four questions.
- What is running? Four tiles: how many services, how many distinct listening ports, how many port conflicts, and how much memory those services use between them.
- On whose authority? The meta row states the active mode, the sampler interval, what the last tick cost, and how much of the machine the current mode is showing —
4 of 26 servicesrather than a bare4. - What are they? The RUNNING list, one row per service, with its port, process, PID, CPU and memory. Clicking a row opens the detail panel.
- What is the machine doing? Six telemetry cards, kept visually separate because they measure the whole machine rather than the services above.
Switching modes
The switch sits in the title bar because it changes every screen at once. Push it right for Developer, left for System. Arrow keys set a side rather than toggling, so holding one does not oscillate.
Your choice is remembered between launches, along with the theme and the sampler interval.
Finding what holds a port
The common task, end to end:
- Switch to System mode, so nothing is hidden.
- Open Ports and type the port number into the filter.
- Read the owning process and PID from the row. If LocalDocks could attribute the socket, the service name is there too.
- Click the row to open the detail panel, which shows the executable path and the full command line — usually enough to recognise what started it.

Keyboard
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl + K | Open the command palette. Covers services: show, open in browser, copy URL. |
Esc | Close the command palette, the detail panel or a dialog. |
← / → | On the mode switch, select System or Developer directly. |
Where to go next
- Understanding the dashboard — every field in the chrome, explained.
- Classification — why a service was called development work.
- System telemetry — what each card measures, and what an unavailable one means.