Development Server

The pidgn server command (also available as pidgn s) starts a development server that builds and runs your application, then watches for changes and automatically restarts when source files are modified.

Usage

pidgn server

The server performs the following cycle:

Runs zig build run to compile and start your application.
Prints “Server running. Watching for changes…” when the build succeeds.
When the process exits (due to a file change trigger or an error), it rebuilds and restarts.
Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Getting started

Navigate to your pidgn project directory:
Terminal window
```
cd my_app
```
Start the development server:
Terminal window
```
pidgn server
```
Open http://127.0.0.1:4000 in your browser.
Edit any .zig file under src/ — the server will rebuild and restart automatically.

Typical output

Starting pidgn development server...
  Building...
  Server running. Watching for changes... (Ctrl+C to stop)

If the build fails or the server exits with a non-zero code, the CLI waits two seconds before retrying:

  Server exited with code 1. Waiting for changes to retry...
  Building...

A clean exit (code 0) or a termination signal (e.g., Ctrl+C) stops the loop entirely.

Environment selection

The dev server uses zig build run, which loads config/dev.zig by default. To run with a different environment configuration, use zig build run directly with the -Denv flag:

zig build run -Denv=staging

Development workflow

A typical development session looks like this:

Start the dev server:
Terminal window
```
pidgn server
```

Generate new code as needed:

# In another terminal:
pidgn gen controller Products
pidgn gen model Product name:string price:float in_stock:boolean
pidgn migrate

Edit the generated files to add your application logic.
The dev server detects the changes and rebuilds automatically.
Test your endpoints in the browser or with curl:
Terminal window
```
curl http://127.0.0.1:4000/products
```

Running tests alongside the server

In a separate terminal, use the test command to run your project’s test suite at any time:

pidgn test

This invokes zig build test and reports the results.

Listing routes

To see all routes defined in your application:

pidgn routes

This runs your app with the --routes flag, which prints a formatted table of all registered routes, their HTTP methods, and handler functions.

Live reload

For instant browser refresh during development, combine pidgn server with live reload. The dev server handles Zig rebuilds, while live reload pushes changes to the browser over a WebSocket.

If your project uses the asset pipeline, run pidgn assets watch in a separate terminal alongside the dev server so that CSS and JavaScript changes are also picked up:

# Terminal 1: Zig source rebuilds
pidgn server

# Terminal 2: asset rebuilds
pidgn assets watch

Next steps

CLI overview for the full list of commands
Create a new project if you have not set one up yet
Generate code to add controllers, models, and channels
Run migrations after generating models
Live Reload for automatic browser refresh
Asset Pipeline for bundled and fingerprinted assets