Development server

Using the development server

Grow comes with a built-in development server. The development server dynamically renders and builds pages when requested. This avoids the need to watch files for changes and allows you to iteratively develop without rebuilding your entire site.

You can start the server with the grow run command:

grow run

When you start the development server, Grow checks for updates to the SDK, compiles translation catalogs, and runs any preprocessors configured in podspec.yaml.

The development server does not currently integrate with any other preprocessing systems, such as Gulp. You must execute those manually.

Remote access

By default, the development server binds to localhost to avoid accidentally providing anyone from accessing your development server. If you need to access the development server from other devices on your local network, use the --host and --port flags to explicitly set the host and port parameters, respectively.

grow run --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8080

Web console

The development server includes a basic web console that provides information about your site. Use the console to quickly audit your site's routes, collections, and translations.

Access the console by visiting http://host:port/_grow.