LocalHelm docs

Introduction

LocalHelm is the control panel for local development. The local fleet is the apps and sites you keep, including tools that never publish. Ports sit on the same board when LocalSlip is present.

You have a folder of repos. git status in one of them answers that repo. Serve the board, Add projects, and read status with only LocalHelm installed.

Observations versus writes

Kind Commands What happens
Observation scan, status, deps, ready, brief, plugins, auth Read disk, git, or npm. scan never writes
Remote refresh fetch git fetch on enrolled remotes. Clears a stale ahead/behind read
Plan, then write enroll, unenroll, bump, commit, pull, push, export, publish, cascade, archive, plugin, land, ship, global Prints a plan. --apply writes. publish, push, ship, and global need named ids

Passive inspection does not publish, bump, or repair projects. npm latest is a remote check with a five-minute cache, not a local file. Local dirty state is always from this machine.

Stale versus unavailable

What you see Meaning
Clean local git / matching pins Last successful local read
Dirty, unpublished-ahead, pin behind Needs attention from local files
Ahead/behind after a fetch error Stale remote counts. Local state below is still accurate
npm error or missing registry read Unavailable remote check. Not proof that nothing needs work
Refresh Re-reads enrolled projects. Fetch remotes also refreshes npm cache

Failed remote checks are errors or stale warnings. They are not a green board.

What it is

  • A fleet file (localhelm.fleet.json) you chose. Nothing auto-enrolls from a disk walk
  • Dashboard Add projects (or CLI enroll --apply) is the confirm
  • localhelm status for local version, npm latest, git, and pins
  • Writes print a plan. --apply is the confirm. Never --force
  • A dashboard on 4321 (localhelm serve) that calls the same library. Serve from the fleet’s folder.

It does not claim ports. Start and stop on the board ask LocalSlip. Sites jobs need a FilePress plugin. Those tabs stay empty without those tools.

Two surfaces

Surface What it is
localhelm.dev This site: what it is and how to use it
npm localhelm The CLI and dashboard, on your machine

The domain never serves your apps or sites.

Next