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GoForjv0.9

forj dev ​

forj dev runs the generated local development workflow from .goforj.yml.

It is watcher and orchestration tooling. The App runtime behavior still belongs to generated App commands such as app, api, worker, and scheduler.

What It Uses ​

forj dev reads:

text
.goforj.yml

The dev section can define:

  • pre-tasks
  • watcher commands
  • auto-migrate behavior
  • down-on-exit behavior
  • frontend dependency setup
  • watcher output behavior

Typical Generated Watchers ​

Generated projects commonly include:

  • Build App, which runs forj build -o ./bin/app
  • Run App, which runs the combined App runtime
  • frontend watchers when Web UI or a frontend npm run dev script is present

The build watcher excludes generated wire/wire_gen.go to avoid self-trigger loops.

Environment Changes ​

.env changes are a dev supervisor concern.

When environment changes require generated code or runtime restart, forj dev coordinates rebuild and watcher restart behavior rather than making generated App code discover stale watcher state.

Lighthouse Devwatch ​

When Lighthouse/devwatch support is enabled, watcher output can stream into Lighthouse as a devwatch source.

The goal is transcript-first development output: watcher events, command output, rebuilds, restarts, and errors should be visible as a useful development transcript.

Control Flow ​

forj dev can respond to development controls such as:

  • restart watchers
  • rebuild the App and restart watchers
  • render the App and restart watchers
  • run ad hoc shell commands without interleaving watcher output into unreadable noise

On interrupt, it stops watchers and can run configured down tasks when dev.down_on_exit is enabled.

Common Mistakes ​

Common mistakes

  • Do not treat forj dev as the production process manager.
  • Do not put App runtime policy into watcher code.
  • Do not assume every change needs a full render; many changes only need build or restart.
  • Do not use ~ in render.module_replaces; use absolute paths.
  • Do not fix generated App issues only in a rendered smoke target if the durable fix belongs in templates or generators.

Next Steps ​