How it works

From a URL to localhost, in six honest steps.

FLY8HT isn't magic and doesn't guess. It reads the files a project already contains, shows you its plan, and runs it the way the project's own authors intended.

The pipeline

Import → Analyze → Review → Build → Run → Develop.

01

Import

Acquire the project

Clone a GitHub repository (public, or private through a connected account) on the branch you pick, or register a local folder in place.

  • https:// and git@ URLs
  • Real branch list via git ls-remote
  • Local folders are never copied
02

Analyze

Read what's really there

Framework adapters compete to explain the repository from real files. The most confident honest match produces a build plan.

  • package.json · lockfiles · packageManager
  • Dockerfile · EXPOSE
  • .nvmrc · workspaces · .env.example
03

Review

Show you the plan

Before anything runs you see the framework, package manager, commands, Node requirement, services and missing variables, along with a compatibility verdict.

  • Supported → Build
  • Ambiguous → Configure
  • Nothing faked
04

Build

Run six real stages

Analyse, prepare, install, build, test and start, in a Docker container or a confined local process, each stage streamed live.

  • Cancellable at any point
  • Secrets redacted from logs
  • Failures classified by cause
05

Run

Serve it on localhost

A free port is allocated and passed as PORT, the app is started, and FLY8HT waits until it's accepting connections before calling it running.

  • Crash detection
  • Restart / stop
  • Stale state reconciled at launch
06

Develop

Keep working on it

Switch to dev-server mode for a live preview with hot reload, edit files in the built-in editor, and commit, stash or pull from the Development tab.

  • Embedded live preview
  • Dependency-change alerts
  • Safe pulls that refuse to overwrite work

Detection

Every conclusion has a source file.

No README parsing and no AI guesswork. Hover a file to see exactly which signal produced which conclusion.

Supported stacks
Detection

Repository

What FLY8HT concluded

Found next.config.ts: likely Next.js
"next" confirmed as a real dependency
pnpm-lock.yaml present, so package manager is pnpm
Node 20 required, from .nvmrc

Workspace

Every project gets its own workspace.

Overview, build history, environment variables, detected services, repository details, a Development tab and an Editor. Click through them.

vercel/next-learnRunning

Project status

Runninglocalhost:3000

Latest build

Build #12Successful
Duration42s

Project information

FrameworkNext.js
Package managerpnpm
Branchmain
ExecutorDocker

Recent activity

Application startedjust now
Build #12 succeeded1m ago
Build #12 started2m ago

Manual configuration

When detection isn't enough, you're in charge.

Monorepo targets, unusual stacks and projects with their Dockerfile in a subfolder all have a clear path, and a saved configuration always takes priority over fresh detection.

Commands mode
Working directory  apps/web
Install            pnpm install
Build              pnpm run build
Start              pnpm start -- --port $PORT
Dockerfile mode
Dockerfile      docker/embedded/Dockerfile
Container port  8080

Commands are parsed into a safe argument list. Only known executables are allowed and shell operators are rejected, so a typo can’t turn into something dangerous.

Write $PORT anywhere in a command and FLY8HT substitutes the port it allocated, so your app and FLY8HT always agree on where it’s running.

Read the manual configuration guide →

Under the hood

A desktop app built like a careful tool.

Electron, React and SQLite, with a hard wall between the interface and anything that touches your system.

Security model

Sandboxed interface

The UI runs with context isolation and no Node access. It can only call a fixed list of named, typed actions.

Validated bridge

Every action is schema-validated again on the trusted side. The interface's own validation is never relied on.

Repository analyzer

Framework adapters for Next.js, Vite, Node, static sites, Dockerfiles and more, plus a workspace analyzer for monorepos.

Build manager

Owns the stage timeline, pre-flight checks (missing package manager, missing Docker) and cancellation.

Runtime manager

Starts, watches and stops apps; verifies a process is really FLY8HT's before ever signalling it.

Executors

A Docker executor (non-root, resource-limited, auto-removed) and a local-process executor, behind one interface.

Git workspace

Status, branches, commits and pulls, with a safety layer that refuses to act on a dirty working tree.

Local database

Projects, builds, logs and settings in SQLite on your disk. Variables and tokens encrypted with OS secure storage.

See it on your own projects.

Free for macOS, Windows and Linux.