Igloczek/readme.md

Local Dev Proxy

Automated local development proxy using Caddy. Handles HTTPS (.test domains) and HMR automatically.

Setup (New Device)

1. Install Caddy

brew install caddy

2. Install & Configure DNSmasq (Optional but Recommended)

This enables wildcard DNS so all .test domains point to localhost automatically (no manual /etc/hosts editing).

# Install DNSmasq
brew install dnsmasq

# Configure it to route .test to 127.0.0.1
echo 'address=/.test/127.0.0.1' > $(brew --prefix)/etc/dnsmasq.conf

# Start the service
sudo brew services start dnsmasq

# Register the resolver with macOS
sudo mkdir -p /etc/resolver
sudo bash -c 'echo "nameserver 127.0.0.1" > /etc/resolver/test'

3. Install the Caddy Service (Auto-Reloading)

Run the following commands to set up the launchd agent that watches for config changes:

# 1. Create the plist file
cat <<EOF > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.caddy.local-proxy.plist
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.caddy.local-proxy</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>$(which caddy)</string>
        <string>run</string>
        <string>--config</string>
        <string>/usr/local/etc/Caddyfile</string>
        <string>--watch</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/usr/local/var/log/caddy.log</string>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/usr/local/var/log/caddy.log</string>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

# 2. Create the central config
# Intel based Macs
echo -e "{\n    local_certs\n}\nimport ${HOME}/Sites/*/Caddyfile" > /usr/local/etc/Caddyfile

# Apple Silicon based Macs
echo -e "{\n    local_certs\n}\nimport ${HOME}/Sites/*/Caddyfile" > /opt/homebrew/etc/Caddyfile

# 3. Load the service
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.caddy.local-proxy.plist

4. Trust the Root CA

sudo caddy trust

Note: If you see permission errors in logs, fix ownership of Caddy's data folder:

sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/Library/Application\ Support/Caddy

5. Start Caddy on boot

brew services start caddy

Adding a New Project

Create ~/Sites/my-project/Caddyfile:

my-project.test {
  reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

That's it. Caddy automatically detects the new file, and DNSmasq routes the domain. (Visit https://my-project.test)

Troubleshooting

Check Logs: tail -f /usr/local/var/log/caddy.log
Restart Service: launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.caddy.local-proxy