| name | dev |
| description | Use when the user runs /autumn:dev, asks to start the Autumn development server, enable hot reload, or check what's running locally.
|
| argument-hint | [--package <name>] [--show-config] |
| allowed-tools | ["Bash","Read"] |
autumn:dev
Start the Autumn development server with hot reload.
Pre-flight checks
Before running autumn dev, verify:
-
Database URL is configured — check autumn.toml or the env var
AUTUMN_DATABASE__PRIMARY_URL is set. autumn dev will fail at startup
if no database URL is present. Note: autumn migrate check analyzes
migration SQL files only and does NOT test connectivity — to verify the
database is reachable, attempt autumn migrate status or start the server
and watch the startup logs. autumn dev now auto-loads a project-root
.env file (dev/test profiles) into the AUTUMN_* env layer before boot,
so you can set AUTUMN_DATABASE__URL there (copy .env.example to .env);
real shell env vars still win, and a malformed .env fails loudly.
-
Tailwind binary is present — if autumn setup has not been run:
autumn setup
Execution
autumn dev
For workspace projects, specify the package:
autumn dev --package my-app
To log all registered routes, tasks, middleware, and config at startup:
autumn dev --show-config
autumn dev uses the dev profile automatically in debug builds
(AUTUMN_ENV=dev is the default).
On trunk-dev (unreleased — not in the published 0.5.0 CLI) there is also
autumn serve for a non-watch local daemon: autumn serve --daemon /
stop / status / restart, --release, and --bundled-pg for a managed
local Postgres. See docs/guide/daemon.md. Do not suggest it to users on the
published 0.5.0 CLI.
What gets served
Once running, tell the user what's available:
| Endpoint | Purpose |
|---|
http://localhost:3000 | Application root |
http://localhost:3000/health | Simple health check |
http://localhost:3000/actuator/health | Detailed health (JSON) |
http://localhost:3000/actuator/tasks | Scheduled task status |
http://localhost:3000/actuator/jobs | Background job status |
http://localhost:3000/static/js/htmx.min.js | Bundled htmx |
If autumn-admin-plugin is installed:
| http://localhost:3000/admin | Admin dashboard |
If the mail feature is enabled:
| http://localhost:3000/_autumn/mail | Mailer preview (dev profile only) |
Hot reload behavior
autumn dev watches src/, templates/, and static/ for changes and
recompiles + restarts automatically. Tailwind CSS is rebuilt on template
changes.
On trunk-dev (unreleased — not in the published 0.5.0 CLI), when a rebuild
fails the browser renders the compiler diagnostics as a full-screen overlay
(under a strict nonce-based CSP) instead of leaving a blank or stale page; it
clears on the next successful rebuild (issue #1115). See
docs/guide/dev-error-overlay.md.
Common failures
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|
Error: Address already in use | Port 3000 is taken. Set AUTUMN_SERVER__PORT=3001 autumn dev or kill the existing process. |
Error: connection refused | Database is not running. Start Postgres first. |
| Compile error shown in terminal | Fix the Rust error; autumn dev will retry on next save. |
autumn setup not found | Run cargo install autumn-cli --version 0.5.0 |
Stopping
Ctrl+C stops the server and the Tailwind watcher.
