Local Development

Run your entire backend locally with a single command. All your microservices, databases, pub/sub, and distributed tracing work on your machine without Docker Compose or manual setup.

Get started

brew install encoredev/tap/encore &&

encore app create

Copy

Run in your terminal to get started locally.

See how it could work for your team.

Book a demo

One command, everything running

Run encore run and the whole application comes up: services built and served, PostgreSQL databases provisioned with migrations applied, pub/sub topics running, and a local dashboard with distributed tracing.Encore works out what to start from the resource declarations in your code, so there is no Docker Compose file or local config to maintain, whether the app is one service or a hundred.

1command to start

0Docker config needed

Local development dashboard

~/orders — encore run

$▍

→Your API is running at: http://127.0.0.1:4000

→Development Dashboard URL: http://127.0.0.1:9400/project-aq6i

→MCP SSE URL: http://127.0.0.1:9900/sse?appID=project-aq6i

Infrastructure from code

Local infrastructure works without configuration because it is declared in your code. Encore’s open source Infra SDK gives you type-safe APIs for databases, pub/sub, object storage, secrets and caching. Declare one and Encore runs it locally.The same code deploys to AWS or GCP without changes, where Encore provisions the production-grade managed service behind it.

Read the infrastructure SDK docs

todo/db.ts

import { SQLDatabase } from "encore.dev/storage/sqldb";

const db = new SQLDatabase("todo", {
  migrations: "./migrations",
});

Amazon RDS

Cloud SQL

Managed PostgreSQL with migrations, pooling and IAM auth

Production-like infrastructure, locally

The local environment mirrors production. When you define a database in code, it runs locally. Pub/sub topics work locally. Cron jobs fire on schedule. No surprises when you deploy.

All Your Microservices

Run hundreds of services with a single command, no Docker Compose needed

PostgreSQL Databases

Real PostgreSQL instances with your migrations applied automatically

Pub/Sub Queues

In-memory message queues that behave like cloud pub/sub

Distributed Tracing

See request flows across services in the local dashboard

API Explorer

Test endpoints directly from the browser with type-aware forms

Hot Reload

Code changes take effect immediately without restarting

Debug with production-quality tools

The local development dashboard at localhost:9400 includes distributed tracing, API explorer, and service catalog. Debug with production-quality tools from day one.

Trace requests across services
See SQL queries with timing
Inspect pub/sub messages
Test APIs with generated forms

Build faster with AI coding assistants

Encore's local development environment works seamlessly with AI coding assistants. With MCP integration and Encore-specific rules, AI understands your architecture and can generate code that works with your local infrastructure.Test AI-generated code instantly with real databases, pub/sub queues, and services running locally. You get immediate feedback with actual infrastructure, not mocks.Learn about AI-powered development

AI integration documentation

~/orders — claude