MultiTerminal
Frontend process
Follow the dev server, compiler, and hot-reload output in a terminal rooted in the frontend folder.
Full-stack development
Keep the frontend, backend, tests, and localhost app in view.
Keep frontend and backend logs beside your running app. Group test and utility terminals into tabs, and save the layout with the right starting folders.
The problem
One feature can span four separate windows.
Frontend and backend servers produce different logs, test watchers report on another schedule, and the browser is where integration problems finally become visible. Repeatedly finding and arranging those windows interrupts the work.
A MultiTerminal workspace keeps the processes and the running product together. Nested splits provide persistent visibility, while tab groups keep secondary commands nearby without shrinking every pane.
Example layout
A practical full-stack workspace
API and database tools
Run the backend beside related commands or group occasional database tasks into tabs.
Localhost browser
Use an embedded browser for HTTP, HTTPS, or localhost URLs and keep the app next to its logs.
Tests and project notes
Watch tests in one tab and keep a live Markdown checklist, API note, or release document in another pane.
Workflow
Move through the stack without losing the thread
- Open terminals in the frontend and backend folders, then start the project commands you already use.
- Load the local app in a browser pane and resize the layout around the part currently under investigation.
- Group test, migration, or utility terminals when they need quick access rather than constant visibility.
- Save the workspace so its folders, URL, files, groups, and split proportions are ready the next time you return.
Try this setup
Give the frontend and API their own terminals.
For a project with separate web and API folders, set each terminal’s starting folder once. These sample commands assume both packages define a dev script.
Frontend
cd ~/Projects/launchpad/web
npm run devOpen the address printed by this server in a Browser pane.
API
cd ~/Projects/launchpad/api
npm run devKeep request logs beside the browser to follow a request through the app.
Group a test terminal with the API terminal. Add a Markdown checklist as a File Preview. Save the workspace, then reopen it later with the same layout and fresh shells. Start your project commands again after reopening.