| name | dev-server |
| description | Build, run, and manage the Coyote-Socket dev environment. Use for ALL building and compiling (never run `cargo build` or `npx tauri dev` directly). Handles Vite + compiled-binary mode with shadow-copy hot-swap so frontend HMR keeps working across Rust rebuilds, plus a legacy `tauri dev` fallback. Provides log streaming, multi-agent build locking, and a TUI dashboard. Start the dev server if it's not running. Do NOT stop it unless explicitly asked. |
| allowed-tools | Bash |
Dev Server Skill
Manages the Coyote-Socket dev environment via a background daemon. Supports build locking, shadow-copy hot-swap, log aggregation, and a live TUI dashboard.
Architecture
The default mode runs Vite (Svelte/CSS/TS HMR on :1421) plus a release-built coyote-socket binary that loads the frontend from Vite via the DEV_URL env var. When you trigger a Rust rebuild, the daemon stops the binary, copies a fresh coyote-socket.exe over .active.exe, and starts the shadow copy — Vite stays up the entire time, so the frontend is never reloaded and app state is preserved.
The legacy mode (tauri-dev) runs the standard npx tauri dev watcher, which auto-rebuilds Rust on file changes but kills the window every time.
Services
| Name | Alias | Description |
|---|
vite | — | Vite dev server on :1421 (HMR) |
coyote-bin | bin, coyote | Compiled coyote-socket binary, shadow-copy hot-swap |
tauri-dev | tauri | Legacy npx tauri dev (auto-rebuilds Rust on file changes) |
coyote-bin and tauri-dev share the same tauri group → mutually exclusive.
CLI
node .claude/skills/dev-server/cli.mjs <command> [name] [flags]
Or use the npm aliases (avoids the long path):
npm run dev
npm run dev:dash
npm run dev:status
npm run dev:tail
npm run dev:logs
npm run dev:build
npm run dev:stop
npm run dev:kill
npm run dev:tauri
npm run dev:vite
| Command | Description |
|---|
status | Service overview (default) |
start [name] | Start a service (default: coyote-bin) |
stop [name] | Stop a service (default: all) |
restart [name] | Restart a service |
logs [name] [flags] | Service logs (default: all interleaved, last 50) |
tail [name] | Continuous log stream (human use) |
build <name> | Build a target. Auto-restarts the linked service after success. |
clean <name> [--force] | Clean build artifacts. Stops/restarts linked service. |
dev [--rebuild] | Build coyote-socket + start Vite + start binary (default mode) |
dashboard (dash) | Live TUI |
help | Full help |
shutdown | Kill all services + daemon |
Build Targets
| Target | What it builds | Linked service |
|---|
coyote-bin (aliases: coyote, bin) | cargo build --release (in src-tauri/) | coyote-bin |
When a build succeeds, the daemon stops the linked service, swaps in a fresh shadow copy, and restarts. If another agent triggers a rebuild while one is running, the in-progress build is killed and restarted to include the new changes — both agents observe the restart in the shared build log.
Clean Targets
| Target | Crate | Notes |
|---|
coyote-bin (aliases: coyote, tauri) | coyote-socket | Safe, ~2 min rebuild from cold cache |
Clean acquires the build lock. If the linked service is running, it stops before cleaning and restarts after.
Log Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|
--since N | Lines since log index N (incremental polling) |
--limit N | Last N lines |
--level L | Filter: stdout, stderr, daemon |
--all | All buffered lines (up to 2000) |
All commands except tail, dashboard, and help output JSON.
Persistent log files
In addition to the in-memory ring buffer, every service log is written to disk at .claude/skills/dev-server/state/logs/. Each service gets its own file (e.g. coyote-bin.log, vite.log, build.log). Files rotate at 2 MB (old content moves to .prev.log).
These survive daemon and service restarts — agents can grep them directly:
grep -i "websocket" .claude/skills/dev-server/state/logs/coyote-bin.log
tail -100 .claude/skills/dev-server/state/logs/build.log
Agent Rules
- Before any build or compile check: run
status first. If coyote-bin is already running, the code is already compiled — read its logs instead of rebuilding.
- If the dev server is not running: start it with
dev (or start coyote-bin if the binary is already built).
- To check compilation: use
logs or logs --since N. Look for error[E (Rust) or ERROR (Vite).
- Do NOT stop services unless the user explicitly asks, or a service is in a crash loop.
- Do NOT run
cargo build, cargo run, or npx tauri dev directly — always go through this skill.
- Build: use
build coyote. If another build is running, the daemon restarts it to include your changes — both agents see the restart in the shared log stream.
- Shadow copy (
coyote-bin only): the running binary is coyote-socket.active.exe; the build target coyote-socket.exe is never file-locked, so cargo can always overwrite it. After a successful build, the daemon swaps + restarts.
- Incremental polling: save the
total from a logs response, then pass it as --since next time to get only new entries.
Dashboard
Run npm run dev:dash (or node .claude/skills/dev-server/cli.mjs dashboard) in any terminal for a live TUI.
| Key | Action |
|---|
1 | Toggle log filter: vite |
2 | Toggle log filter: coyote-bin |
3 | Toggle log filter: build output |
a | Show all logs (clear filter) |
b | Build coyote-bin |
d | Start dev orchestration |
r | Reload plugins from disk |
R | Restart all running services (Shift) |
S | Stop all services (Shift — destructive) |
c | Clean (sub-menu) |
q | Quit dashboard (daemon keeps running) |
K | Kill daemon + quit |
Daemon
Listens on 127.0.0.1:9860 by default — override with COYOTE_DEV_PORT. (Picked to not collide with the ai-notifications skill's daemon on :9850.) Auto-started by the CLI. Buffers up to 2000 log lines per service in memory. Runs as a hidden background process (no console window). Stale shadow copies are cleaned on daemon boot.
Environment
| Var | Default | Effect |
|---|
COYOTE_DEV_PORT | 9860 | Daemon HTTP port |
COYOTE_VITE_URL | http://localhost:1421 | URL injected as DEV_URL into the compiled binary |
DEV_URL contract (Rust side)
The compiled coyote-socket binary checks DEV_URL at startup (src-tauri/src/main.rs setup hook). When set, it navigates the main and splashscreen windows to that URL instead of using bundled assets. This is what makes shadow-copy hot-swap useful — the release-built binary becomes a thin shell loading frontend from Vite for HMR.
