Dev Machines
Isolated development environments for building and testing. Full Linux environments powered by Proyecta Cloud.
Proyecta provisions a dedicated development machine (runtime) for each project. This is an isolated container with a full Linux environment where your app runs during development.
How do dev machines work?
Section titled “How do dev machines work?”When you open a project, Proyecta:
- Creates an isolated container (pod) in the cloud
- Clones your code from GitHub
- Installs dependencies and sets up the environment
- Starts your app’s development server
- Shows a live preview in the builder
You can see provisioning progress in the Runtime Status Bar below the toolbar.
Provisioning Steps
Section titled “Provisioning Steps”The status bar shows these steps during startup:
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| Creating pod | Spinning up the isolated container |
| Health check | Verifying the container is running |
| Git init | Cloning your repository |
| Environment setup | Installing dependencies (npm, pip, etc.) |
| Starting services | Launching your app and infrastructure |
| Ready | Your dev machine is fully online |
My dev machine is having issues. How do I fix it?
Section titled “My dev machine is having issues. How do I fix it?”If the preview isn’t loading or the machine seems stuck:
- Check the Runtime Status Bar for error messages
- Try using the Terminal to inspect logs
- If all else fails, ask the AI to help debug the issue
Infrastructure Services
Section titled “Infrastructure Services”Your dev machine can include sidecar containers for databases and services:
- PostgreSQL — Relational database (port 5432)
- PostGIS — PostgreSQL with geospatial extensions (port 5432)
- Redis — In-memory cache (port 6379)
- MongoDB — Document database (port 27017)
- MySQL — Relational database (port 3306)
- MailHog — Email testing server with web UI (SMTP port 1025, UI port 8025)
View running services and their status in the Services panel.
Lifecycle States
Section titled “Lifecycle States”Dev machines go through these lifecycle states:
| State | Description |
|---|---|
| Pending | Waiting to be created |
| Initializing | Setting up the environment |
| Running | Active and healthy |
| Suspended | Paused to save resources (resumes quickly) |
| Archived | Stored in cold storage (takes longer to restore) |
| Restoring | Being restored from archived storage |
| Failed | Provisioning or operation failed — the machine can be reprovisioned |
| Terminated | Permanently stopped |
Machines automatically suspend after 60 minutes of inactivity and archive after 24 hours of suspension.
If the dev machine goes down, what happens to my published app?
Your app’s backend (Convex serverless functions and database) runs on Convex’s own cloud infrastructure and stays available regardless of your dev machine state. However, your app’s frontend files are served from the dev machine — if it is suspended or archived, visitors will see a 503 error until the machine resumes. Keep this in mind for apps you want to stay publicly accessible; resuming the machine restores the site.
Can I get a faster dev machine?
All dev machines currently run with the same resource allocation. If you need more capacity for a large project, contact support.
Can I access the dev machine directly?
Yes. Use the built-in Terminal for full shell access to your development environment.