Dev Server Polish
FreeStreamline your development and iteration process.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Dev Server Polish does
Dev Server Polish is designed to enhance your development workflow by allowing you to start your development server, inspect features in a browser, and make iterative improvements based on real-time feedback. This skill is particularly useful for developers who want to quickly test and refine their applications without the overhead of manual server management. The skill automates the process of starting a development server for various frameworks, including Rails, Next.js, Vite, and more, making it easier to focus on building and polishing features.
The workflow begins with checking out the appropriate branch or PR, ensuring that you are not working directly on the main branch. Once the correct branch is set, the skill automatically detects the project type and starts the development server using the appropriate commands for the framework in use. This includes running necessary scripts to resolve the package manager and port, ensuring that the server is up and running smoothly.
After the server is started, the skill opens the application in a browser, allowing you to interact with the feature directly. You can provide feedback on what feels off or needs improvement, and the skill facilitates real-time fixes, leveraging hot-reloading to reflect changes immediately. This conversational approach streamlines the development process, enabling you to iterate quickly until the feature meets your expectations.
Dev Server Polish is ideal for developers who work with multiple frameworks and seek a unified solution to streamline their development and testing processes. It eliminates the need for manual server configuration and allows for a more fluid interaction between coding and testing, making it a valuable tool in any developer's toolkit.
When to use it
Use this skill when you want to quickly start a development server for various frameworks and iterate on features based on immediate feedback.
When not to use it
This skill may not be suitable for projects that require complex server configurations or those that do not align with the supported frameworks.
What you can build with it
Starting a New Feature
Begin working on a new feature by checking out the relevant branch and starting the dev server automatically.
Iterating Based on Feedback
Use the skill to make quick adjustments based on user feedback while the server is running.
Testing Across Frameworks
Switch between different frameworks effortlessly by utilizing the auto-detection feature to start the appropriate server.
How to install Dev Server Polish
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add everyinc/compound-engineering-plugin/ce-polish --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by everyincPolish
Start the dev server, open the feature in a browser, and iterate. You use the feature, say what feels off, and fixes happen.
Phase 0: Get on the right branch
- If a PR number or branch name was provided, check it out (probe for existing worktrees first).
- If blank, use the current branch.
- Verify the current branch is not main/master.
Phase 1: Start the dev server
The scripts below ship in this skill's scripts/ directory. The Bash tool's working directory is the user's project, not the skill directory, so a bare scripts/<name> path will not resolve — invoke each by the skill's own absolute path. Every runnable block below sets SKILL_DIR inline (shell state does not persist between Bash tool calls, so each command must carry it); replace the <absolute path …> placeholder with the directory you loaded this ce-polish SKILL.md from before running.
1.1 Check for .claude/launch.json
SKILL_DIR="<absolute path of the directory containing this SKILL.md>";
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/read-launch-json.sh"
If it finds a configuration, use it — the user already told us how to start the project.
1.2 Auto-detect (when no launch.json)
Identify the framework:
SKILL_DIR="<absolute path of the directory containing this SKILL.md>";
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/detect-project-type.sh"
Route by type to the matching recipe reference for start command and port defaults:
| Type | Recipe |
|---|---|
rails | references/dev-server-rails.md |
next | references/dev-server-next.md |
vite | references/dev-server-vite.md |
nuxt | references/dev-server-nuxt.md |
astro | references/dev-server-astro.md |
remix | references/dev-server-remix.md |
sveltekit | references/dev-server-sveltekit.md |
procfile | references/dev-server-procfile.md |
unknown | Ask the user how to start the project |
For framework types that need a package manager, run the resolver and substitute the result into the start command:
SKILL_DIR="<absolute path of the directory containing this SKILL.md>";
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/resolve-package-manager.sh"
Resolve the port:
SKILL_DIR="<absolute path of the directory containing this SKILL.md>";
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/resolve-port.sh" --type <type>
1.3 Start the server
Start the dev server in the background, log output to a temp file. Probe http://localhost:<port> for up to 30 seconds. If it doesn't come up, show the last 20 lines of the log and ask the user what to do.
1.4 Open in browser
Load references/ide-detection.md for the env-var probe table. Open the browser using the IDE's mechanism (Claude Code → open, Cursor → Cursor browser, VS Code → Simple Browser).
Tell the user:
Dev server running on http://localhost:<port>
Browse the feature and tell me what could be better.
Phase 2: Iterate
This is the core loop. The user browses the feature and tells you what to improve. You fix it. Repeat until they're happy.
- When the user describes something to fix → make the change, the dev server hot-reloads
- When the user asks to check something → use a browser-automation capability to screenshot or inspect the page; prefer
agent-browserif it's installed, otherwise use whatever the host exposes - When the user says they're done → commit the fixes and stop
No checklist. No envelope. Just conversation.
References
Reference files (loaded on demand):
references/launch-json-schema.md— launch.json schema + per-framework stubsreferences/ide-detection.md— host IDE detection and browser-handoffreferences/dev-server-detection.md— port resolution documentationreferences/dev-server-rails.md— Rails dev-server defaultsreferences/dev-server-next.md— Next.js dev-server defaultsreferences/dev-server-vite.md— Vite dev-server defaultsreferences/dev-server-nuxt.md— Nuxt dev-server defaultsreferences/dev-server-astro.md— Astro dev-server defaultsreferences/dev-server-remix.md— Remix dev-server defaultsreferences/dev-server-sveltekit.md— SvelteKit dev-server defaultsreferences/dev-server-procfile.md— Procfile-based dev-server defaults
Scripts (invoked via bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/<name>" — see Phase 1 for SKILL_DIR):
scripts/read-launch-json.sh— launch.json readerscripts/detect-project-type.sh— project-type classifierscripts/resolve-package-manager.sh— lockfile-based package-manager resolverscripts/resolve-port.sh— port resolution cascade
Frequently asked questions about Dev Server Polish
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