What is Localdock used for?

Localdock is a macOS menubar app that gives each local dev server a stable named address on your Mac, your Wi-Fi or a temporary public HTTPS link. It is a good fit for developers running several dev servers or coding agents and sharing a local project or catching webhooks.

How much does Localdock cost?

Localdock is a paid product with no free plan. $19 one-time for a single device, refunded if it does not fit.

Is Localdock open source?

No. Localdock is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Developer Tools category, open-source options include iTerm2, Visual Studio Code and Zed.

Can I self-host Localdock?

Yes. Although Localdock is closed source, it can be self-hosted on your own servers.

What are some alternatives to Localdock?

Localdock competes with ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel and Tailscale.

Localdock: features, pricing and alternatives

About Localdock

Localdock names the servers running on your Mac. Instead of remembering ports like 3000 or 5173, each project gets an address such as dashboard.localhost, taken from the project folder name and renameable. The address survives restarts and port changes, and if a framework moves to another port, the address switches to the newest server, which avoids testing a stale instance. It works with hot reload and needs no DNS setup or admin password.

Three levels of reach can be switched on per project: dashboard.localhost on this Mac, a dashboard.local address that others on your Wi-Fi can open, for testing on a real phone with nothing installed on it, and a public HTTPS link that carries a secret key, expires after an hour and stops the moment you switch it off, useful for sharing with a client or receiving webhooks such as Stripe's. The app also keeps a list of everything listening and flags servers left running.

Localdock requires macOS 14 or later. It costs $19 once for a single device and is refunded if it does not fit. The homepage includes a how-it-works section, pricing, an FAQ and a download link for the menubar app.

Key features

Named localhost address per dev server
Addresses that survive restarts and port changes
Wi-Fi address for testing on a phone
Temporary public HTTPS link with secret key
List of listening servers with stale-server flags
No DNS setup or admin password

Good fit for

Developers running several dev servers or coding agents
Sharing a local project or catching webhooks

Tags: localhost; dev-tools; macos; menubar; tunnel; developer-tools; webhooks; networking

Localdock: questions and answers

What is Localdock used for?: Localdock is a macOS menubar app that gives each local dev server a stable named address on your Mac, your Wi-Fi or a temporary public HTTPS link. It is a good fit for developers running several dev servers or coding agents and sharing a local project or catching webhooks.
How much does Localdock cost?: Localdock is a paid product with no free plan. $19 one-time for a single device, refunded if it does not fit.
Is Localdock open source?: No. Localdock is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Developer Tools category, open-source options include iTerm2, Visual Studio Code and Zed.
Can I self-host Localdock?: Yes. Although Localdock is closed source, it can be self-hosted on your own servers.
What are some alternatives to Localdock?: Localdock competes with ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel and Tailscale.