Like many of you on macOS, I spent countless hours wrestling with local development environments. Installing different PHP versions, Node, databases, and web servers using Homebrew or trying to wrangle complex Docker setups felt like a full-time job. Dealing with dependencies, version conflicts, and just switching between projects with different requirements was a constant source of friction.
That frustration led me to build ServBay.
ServBay is an integrated local development environment designed specifically for macOS. My goal was simple: take away the pain of setting up and managing your dev stack so you can actually focus on writing code.
Instead of installing piece by piece with Homebrew, or configuring complex docker-compose.yml files, ServBay provides a simple, graphical interface to install and manage everything you need:
Multiple versions of PHP, Node.js, and Python Popular databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB Web servers like Caddy and Nginx Essential services like local DNS, email testing , and easy SSL certificate management Even recently added support for Ollama for local AI development The core idea is simplicity and speed. You can get a full, working environment set up in minutes – not hours – without debugging dependency hell or wrestling with configuration files. ServBay handles the complexity under the hood so you don't have to. It just works.
Currently, ServBay is available for macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon). A Windows version is planned and in progress.
I'm putting it out there on Show HN to get genuine feedback from the developer community. I'd love to hear your thoughts, suggestions for features, or reports of any issues you encounter. My goal is to make this the best local dev tool for macOS.
Check it out here: https://www.servbay.com
Thanks for looking!