Architecture

devedge runs a small local edge and a route registry, and resolves where each project’s workload runs. This page explains those pieces at a conceptual level.

The edge and the daemon

de start runs a background daemon that owns one shared entry point on ports 80 and 443. de install adds a local certificate authority (via mkcert) and configures DNS so that *.dev.test hostnames resolve to the edge and serve trusted HTTPS. Every project shares this one entry point rather than each running its own proxy on a different port.

Routes and leases

A route maps a hostname to an upstream — a host process, a container, or a service in a cluster. Routes are registered dynamically, either explicitly with de register, from a project’s devedge.yaml with de project up, or automatically from Kubernetes Ingress objects. Routes carry a lease; a project that keeps running renews its lease, and routes for a stopped project expire on their own. de project down releases only the requesting project’s routes — it never removes the shared cluster or another project’s footprint.

Cluster topology

de project up resolves the cluster a workload runs in:

• Shared dev cluster — the default. Projects coexist in one local k3d cluster with per-service logical isolation.
• Ephemeral CI cluster — de ci run creates a dedicated, throwaway cluster for a test run and tears it down on exit.
• Dedicated cluster — a project can opt into its own cluster when logical isolation inside the shared cluster is not enough.

Cells

For deployment, de cell runs version-pinned cells, each serving a subset of tenants. Cells provide isolation rather than load balancing: a tenant is assigned to a cell, and moving a tenant between cells follows a controlled sequence — a storage fence and outbox epochs keep a move safe from split-brain writes.

Composition

de compose builds several service modules into one host process as static composition — the modules are imported and run together, not loaded as plugins. The same module runs standalone or composed; the host, not the module, decides.