venkatkrishna07

venkatkrishna07 / mkdev

Public

Trusted localhost HTTPS — local CA, /etc/hosts, mDNS LAN sharing, reverse proxy. Maps https://name.local → localhost:port

cli developer-tools golang homebrew local-development
36
0
85% credibility
Found May 23, 2026 at 56 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
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AI Summary

mkdev is a developer tool that creates trusted HTTPS certificates for your local development projects. It acts as a secure bridge between your computer and your web browser, letting you use real HTTPS addresses like 'myapp.local' instead of 'localhost'. The built-in interface helps you manage multiple projects and share them with other devices on your home network — useful for testing how your project looks on a phone without deploying it anywhere.

How It Works

1
🔧 You install mkdev on your computer

You download and install the tool on your Mac, Windows PC, or Linux machine through a simple setup process.

2
🔐 You set up your own secure certificate

You run a one-time setup command that creates a personal security certificate and teaches your computer to trust it.

3
🌐 You give your project a web address

You pick a friendly name like 'myapp.local' and point it to your development server running on your machine.

4
✨ Your project gets real HTTPS

Now when you open 'myapp.local' in any browser, it shows a green secure padlock with no warnings — just like a real website.

5
You can test from your phone too
🖥️
Desktop only

You stick to working on your computer with your secure local addresses.

📱
Phone sharing enabled

You toggle sharing on and test your responsive design on your phone with real HTTPS.

6
🎨 You use the friendly dashboard

The built-in interface shows you all your projects, request logs, and health checks at a glance.

🎉 Everything just works

Your development environment now behaves exactly like production — with real HTTPS, no browser warnings, and easy sharing between devices.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is mkdev?

mkdev is a Go tool that sets up trusted HTTPS on your local machine for development. It generates a local Certificate Authority, installs it in your system's trust store, and runs a reverse proxy that maps domains like `https://myapp.local` to your local server at `localhost:3000`. The standout feature is a full terminal UI that shows your route table, request logs, upstream health, and a "doctor" mode for troubleshooting. Commands like `mkdev add`, `mkdev list`, and `mkdev serve` handle the workflow, while a hidden `hosts-helper` command manages `/etc/hosts` entries under sudo.

Why is it gaining traction?

The headline feature is LAN sharing. Mark a route shared in the TUI, and your phone or laptop on the same Wi-Fi can hit `https://myapp.local` with real TLS—no browser warnings, no cloud tunnel services. The tool also takes security seriously: it validates binary paths and ownership before invoking sudo, preventing PATH-based privilege escalation. The per-SNI certificate minting means no wildcard certs sitting around; each domain gets a fresh leaf cert on demand. For developers tired of clicking through SSL warnings or juggling mkcert plus a separate proxy, this consolidates everything into one binary.

Who should use this?

Frontend developers testing responsive layouts on real mobile devices will get the most value. Backend engineers working with webhooks or OAuth flows that require HTTPS callbacks will appreciate the trusted cert setup. Teams sharing a dev environment over LAN can avoid spinning up ngrok or cloudflared. If you just need SSL warnings gone on localhost, mkcert handles that with less overhead—but if you want the TUI, health checks, and mobile testing without friction, mkdev is worth a look.

Verdict

With a credibility score of 0.8500000238418579% and only 36 stars, mkdev is early-stage software with a solid security posture and a compelling feature set. The Go codebase, test coverage, and goreleaser setup suggest the author knows what they're doing, but the low star count means community feedback is sparse. Try it if you need LAN HTTPS sharing; stick with mkcert if you just want localhost SSL and prefer minimal dependencies.

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