Projects
From a new project to daily starts and stops: follow the normal lifecycle of a Dwell development environment.
Create a new project
Dwell must be installed and Docker running. Open a terminal in the directory where you want your new project folder. In interactive init, choose a managed backend stack, a managed frontend or both, and compatible versions.
dwell init my-project
cd my-project
dwell build
dwell up- init creates my-project, writes the project configuration to .dwell/dwell.json, creates role directories and registers the project locally. You do not need init again for a normal restart.
- cd my-project changes into the new project directory. Run the following project commands there.
- build prepares the local development environment: managed applications are scaffolded when needed, their dependencies installed and required backend images built or pulled.
- up starts the selected roles and registers local routes. Open the printed URL; depending on the stack, application steps such as an installer may still be needed.
build is a useful explicit preparation step. up also performs missing scaffold and installation steps. This applies to managed roles; with Custom, you add the application and its dependencies yourself.
Everyday development
Work in the project directory. When returning the next day, dwell up is normally enough; then open the project with dwell open.
dwell upStarts the development environment and prints its URLs.
dwell openOpens the configured primary project address. Run dwell up first; open does not check whether the application is reachable.
dwell psShows role status, project URLs and further runtime information.
dwell logsNormally lists available Dwell logs. If no Dwell logs exist yet, a backend project shows Compose output instead.
dwell downStops the current project, including its frontend process and backend stack, and removes its active gateway route.
dwell logs buildAfter a build, you can follow its log. Exit the running log view with Ctrl+C. For an existing frontend log, use dwell logs frontend instead; following logs requires the tail program on your machine.
Your data is retained
down deletes neither the project directory nor persistent Docker volumes. Your project files and, for example, database data in those volumes remain available on the next start.
Persistence is not a backup. Back up important data separately; data stored only in a container without persistent storage is not protected by this. Use down for normal shutdown, rather than remove in everyday development.
Manage projects
When working with several projects, dwell projects shows the projects known to the global Dwell registry, including paths, status and URLs. The list does not replace a full application availability check.
dwell projectsNotes & limits
Use init for new projects in a new or empty target directory. Adopt existing application code through the import workflow. Prepare Custom roles yourself. All flags and exact failure cases stay in the complete command reference.
Next steps
Still need to install Dwell? Return to the installation guide. Find further topics for stack selection, configuration and other workflows in the overview.