serve

`runbooks serve`

Starts the backend API server without opening the browser. This command is useful for local development.

Usage

runbooks serve <path-to-runbook> [flags]

Arguments

<path-to-runbook> - Path to the runbook.mdx file

Flags

--output-path <path> - Directory where generated files will be written (default: generated)
- Can be relative (e.g., ./output) or absolute (e.g., /tmp/generated)
- Relative paths are resolved from the current working directory

When To Use It

Use runbooks serve when you want to start the backend API server without opening the browser. This command is intended for developers working on the Runbooks tool itself.

What It Does

When you run runbooks serve:

Starts the Backend Server - Launches a Go-based HTTP server on port 7825
Serves the API - Provides REST endpoints for the frontend to call
Does NOT Open Browser - You must manually navigate to http://localhost:7825 or run the frontend separately

Technical Details

Port

The server runs on port 7825 by default (not currently configurable via flags).

CORS

The server is configured to allow CORS requests from the Vite dev server during development.

Frontend Assets

In production, the server serves the compiled React app from the /web/dist directory. During development, you typically run Vite separately on port 5173.

Development Workflow

A typical development workflow:

Start the backend:

runbooks serve ./testdata/demo-runbook-1/runbook.mdx

Or if you want to easily re-compile the backend:

go run main.go serve ./testdata/demo-runbook-1/runbook.mdx

In another terminal, start the frontend:
Terminal window
```
cd web
bun dev
```
Open your browser to http://localhost:5173 (Vite’s port)
Make changes to:
- React code in /web/src - hot reloads automatically
- Go code - restart the serve command
- Runbook files - refresh the browser