CLI

The kandev command starts a local Kandev backend, which serves the web UI, HTTP API, WebSocket API, and MCP endpoint. Use it when you want a browser-based installation or a headless/service process. For a packaged system WebView and desktop updates, use the desktop app instead.

Supported release targets

The npm package is a small Node.js shim. It selects an exact, same-version native runtime package for process.platform and process.arch, then starts its kandev binary. npm 7 or later is required because the native packages are platform-specific optional dependencies. There is no native Windows ARM64 npm package; running the x64 package under Windows emulation is OS-dependent and is not a tested release target.

Every runtime bundle contains the backend, agentctl, the embedded web application, and Linux/macOS agentctl helpers used by supported remote executors. Node.js is used only to select the npm runtime; the application itself is native.

Install

Homebrew

Homebrew is available on macOS and Linux:

brew install kdlbs/kandev/kandev
kandev --version

npm or npx

Use a global install for a persistent command:

npm install -g kandev@latest
kandev --version

Or run the release selected by npm's latest tag without a global install:

npx -y kandev@latest

If an npm policy such as --omit=optional prevents optional dependencies from being installed, Kandev cannot find its native runtime.

Start and stop

run is the default command. These are equivalent:

kandev
kandev run

On a normal start, the launcher:

1. validates the installed runtime bundle;
2. creates the Kandev data directory with owner-only permissions where the platform supports Unix modes;
3. selects backend and agentctl ports;
4. starts and supervises the backend;
5. waits up to 45 seconds for /health; and
6. opens the printed local URL in the default browser.

The launcher remains in the foreground. Press Ctrl+C or terminate it to stop the backend and its managed children cleanly. A force-kill can leave worktree processes or containers running; inspect them before deleting data.

Use headless mode for SSH sessions, containers, or an external reverse proxy:

kandev --headless
# Alias:
kandev --no-browser

The URL is still printed. KANDEV_NO_BROWSER=1 also suppresses browser launch.

Commands and options

kandev [run] [options]
kandev start [options]
kandev service <action> [service options]

These commands and options describe the installed native launcher. Unknown arguments fail with exit status 2. In particular, the npm and Homebrew release entrypoints currently invoke that native launcher, which does not support dev, --dev, --runtime-version, --web-internal-port, or the removed --web-port spelling. The source-checkout development launcher has a separate contract described below.

dev and the internal web port are source-checkout options

The repository's TypeScript launcher supports hot-reload development with this logical CLI syntax:

kandev dev [--port <backend-port>] [--web-internal-port <web-port>]
kandev --dev [--port <backend-port>] [--web-internal-port <web-port>]

Run its normal setup path from the repository root with make dev. To pass the internal-port override directly, invoke the same package script used by that Make target:

cd apps
pnpm -C cli dev -- dev --web-internal-port 37430

--web-internal-port accepts an integer from 1 through 65535, including the --web-internal-port=<port> form. It controls the Vite development server that the Go backend reverse-proxies to; --port continues to control the backend URL. The flag is valid only with dev or --dev. KANDEV_WEB_PORT is its environment equivalent in dev mode and is ignored by run and start. Without either override, the source launcher prefers web port 37429 and selects a fallback if that port is unavailable.

The old --web-port spelling has been removed, not retained as an alias. The TypeScript launcher rejects both --web-port <port> and --web-port=<port> and directs callers to --web-internal-port; the native release launcher rejects both web-port spellings because it serves embedded web assets and has no separate web process.

start is for a source build

kandev start makes the executable invoke its own embedded backend instead of resolving an installed bundle. It is a contributor/local-production-build path, not a second installation channel. From a checkout, use the Make targets so the correct binary and embedded web assets are built:

make build
make start

Development hot reload is also checkout-only:

make dev

make dev builds the remote agentctl helpers and invokes the repository's TypeScript development launcher. The kandev dev syntax above belongs to that source launcher; installing the npm or Homebrew release does not install it as a second runtime mode.

OS service commands

The native CLI can install and manage a systemd user/system unit on Linux or a launchd agent/daemon on macOS:

kandev service install
kandev service status
kandev service logs --follow

Supported actions are install, uninstall, start, stop, restart, status, logs, and config. Installation accepts --system, --port, --home-dir, and --no-boot-start. In the current native installer, --port is written as KANDEV_SERVER_PORT, but the supervising launcher overwrites that value with its own automatic port selection; the option therefore does not reliably pin a service listener today. The service normally prefers 38429 and falls back when it is busy. Windows service installation is not implemented. The published native service path also does not write the legacy update metadata consumed by the Settings-page package updater: upgrade with Homebrew/npm, rerun kandev service install with the same flags so versioned executable/bundle paths are refreshed, then restart the service. See Run as a service for privileges, paths, upgrades, and recovery.

Ports and network exposure

There is no separate web-server port in an installed release: the backend serves embedded assets. If --port, KANDEV_BACKEND_PORT, or KANDEV_PORT specifies a port, the launcher does not substitute another one; backend startup fails if the configured listen address cannot bind it.

The launcher prints http://localhost:<port>, but the backend's default server.host is 0.0.0.0. That can expose Kandev to other machines on the network, and the current local product path is not an authenticated multi-user boundary. Bind it to loopback unless remote access is deliberately protected:

KANDEV_SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1 kandev

See Configuration before putting Kandev behind a reverse proxy or publishing the port.

Launcher environment

Flags take precedence over the equivalent port variables. KANDEV_BACKEND_PORT takes precedence over KANDEV_PORT.

The launcher also sets the selected server and agentctl ports for the backend. Treat its supervisor socket and manifest under <home>/supervisor/ as private implementation state, not a control API.

--debug sets KANDEV_DEBUG_AGENT_MESSAGES=true and KANDEV_DEBUG_PPROF_ENABLED=true. ACP logs can contain full prompts, file content, and tool calls, while diagnostic endpoints expose process details. Use debug mode only on a trusted machine and remove retained debug logs afterward. Configuration lists their location and retention controls.

Data and cleanup

The default persistent root is ~/.kandev (on Windows, .kandev below the user's profile directory). The SQLite database normally resides at <home>/data/kandev.db; repositories, task worktrees, logs, and encrypted settings also live below the home root.

Runtime program files live in the Homebrew Cellar, the global npm dependency tree, or npm's _npx cache. They are not application data. npm config get cache and npm root -g show the latter two roots.

Uninstalling the package does not remove <home>. Before removing that directory, stop Kandev and any service, confirm no task or executor is running, and take a backup. See Operations for safe database backup and restore procedures.

Update

The installer owns CLI updates:

brew upgrade kandev
npm install -g kandev@latest
npx -y kandev@latest

Release packages pin the shim and native runtime packages to the same SemVer. Do not copy only one binary from a different release into a bundle. A service unit contains installation-specific executable and bundle paths; after the package upgrade, reinstall it with the same service flags and restart it as described above.

Troubleshooting

No runtime package found

Confirm npm 7 or later, an exact supported OS/architecture pair, and optional-dependency installation:

npm --version
npm install -g kandev@latest
kandev --version

Remove --omit=optional from npm configuration for this install. On unsupported targets, use a supported machine or remote environment; do not point KANDEV_BUNDLE_DIR at a bundle from another platform.

A required binary or remote helper is missing

Reinstall or upgrade the whole package. Runtime validation intentionally fails when kandev, agentctl, or a required Linux/macOS remote helper is absent. Mixing archives or pruning package files produces this error.

The requested port is already in use

Omit the explicit port to allow fallback, or choose a verified free port:

kandev --port 18080

If the failure remains, check both the configured KANDEV_SERVER_HOST and local listeners. The launcher's loopback preflight cannot guarantee that a later 0.0.0.0 bind will succeed.

Startup health check times out

First run with visible logs, then increase the timeout only if startup is genuinely slow:

kandev --verbose
KANDEV_HEALTH_TIMEOUT_MS=90000 kandev --verbose

The launcher prints buffered backend output when startup fails. Common causes are an invalid config.yaml, a database migration/permission error, an occupied explicit port, or a damaged runtime bundle.

Browser does not open

Open the printed URL manually. Linux requires a working xdg-open; WSL often needs manual browser launch. --headless and KANDEV_NO_BROWSER=1 intentionally skip the opener.

Configuration appears ignored

The public CLI has no --config option. config.yaml must be in the launcher's backend working directory or /etc/kandev/, and environment values override it. For predictable installed/service deployments, prefer explicit environment variables and verify the active home and database paths printed at startup. See Configuration.