trent-local-server_skill

Overview

This skill deploys a local development environment by launching backend and frontend dev servers in separate tmux panes. It automates pane creation and runs installation and start commands so the original shell stays available. Use it to quickly spin up both parts of the app with hot reload enabled.

How this skill works

The skill splits the current tmux session into dedicated panes, captures each pane ID, and sends commands to install dependencies and start the servers. The backend pane runs pip install and starts a Uvicorn app with --reload. The frontend pane changes into the frontend directory and runs the Next.js/Yarn dev server. Pane IDs are used to target commands reliably.

When to use it

• You need to run both backend and frontend dev servers concurrently.
• You want hot-reloading for backend and frontend during development.
• You prefer a tmux-based workflow with separate panes for each service.
• You need the original shell left available for other tasks or commands.

Best practices

• Run the commands from the project root so relative paths resolve correctly.
• Start tmux before invoking the skill to ensure panes are created in your current session.
• Use captured pane IDs rather than relative targets to avoid targeting the wrong pane.
• Keep dependency installs in a separate one-time step unless you need fresh installs each run.
• Monitor logs in each pane and restart individual panes if a process crashes.

Example use cases

• Spin up the API (Uvicorn) and frontend (Next.js) for local feature development and testing.
• Quickly recreate the dev environment after a restart or when switching branches.
• Run both servers during a demo while keeping a free pane for database queries or git commands.
• Enable hot reload on both backend and frontend to speed up iterative development.