How to start every service in a monorepo with one command for monorepo teams in 2026

Q: Is DevWebUI free for monorepo teams?

DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account. It is open source under the MIT License. Teams that want to start every service with one command can compare it with saved scripts and editor run configurations, then choose the approach that matches how their monorepo is organized.

Learn how monorepo teams can start every service in a monorepo with one command, what to prepare first, and which tools can do it.

By SayDeploy · 2026-10-18

SayDeploy is published by LunarWerx, which makes some of the tools compared here.

List each service's start command, port and dependencies, start the backing services first, and run the whole sequence through one script or one dashboard tool that reads that list.

Option	What it does	Cost
DevWebUI	Start, stop and restart your local dev servers from one dashboard, and see each one's status, CPU, memory and logs. ^[1]	DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account. ^[1]
Terminal scripts	A saved script that runs start commands in the order written.	not published
Editor run configurations	Groups start commands as launch configurations inside a code editor.	not published

What you need before you start

Before you can start every service in a monorepo with one command, each service needs a start command that works when run alone. Check that every service starts by itself first, because a command that chains them will fail in a harder-to-read way. Make sure the required runtimes and package managers are installed at the versions the repository expects, and that dependencies are installed for each package. List the services that depend on a database, message broker or other backing service, since those must be running before the services that call them. Write down the port each service uses so clashes are easy to spot. Confirm which environment settings each service needs and where they are kept. Finally, decide the order the services should start in. With this list ready, it becomes clear whether a plain script will do or whether a management tool would help.

Step by step

The steps below work with any setup and do not depend on a particular tool.

Make a list of every service the monorepo runs. For each one, write its folder, its start command, its port and the services it depends on.

Run the install step for the whole monorepo once, so every package has its dependencies ready before anything starts.

Start the backing services first, such as a database or message broker, and wait until each one accepts connections.

Start the services that others depend on next, then the services that call them. Check each one's output before moving to the next.

Give every process a clear name, so its output and errors can be traced to the right service when several are running.

Watch for port conflicts. If two services try to use the same port, change one service's configuration or stop the process that holds the port.

Confirm each service works. Open its local address or send a simple request, and check that it responds as expected.

Save the working sequence in a file kept in the repository and put it behind one command, such as a script in the repository root. Add automation only after the manual sequence works, so you can still see what each service is doing.

Tools that can do it

DevWebUI is made by the team that publishes this site. DevWebUI lets developers start, stop and restart local dev servers from one dashboard, and see each one's status, CPU, memory and logs. ^[1] One small file per repo lists the servers to run, and DevWebUI writes processes changed in the GUI back to that file. ^[1] When a port is already taken, DevWebUI shows which process holds it and can free the port if asked. ^[1] A command-line tool, devwebui, controls the same processes without the GUI. ^[1] A prebuilt Windows x64 app is available, and on other systems DevWebUI runs from source with Bun, a JavaScript runtime. ^[1]

Saved shell scripts are another option. A script can run each service's start command in the order you write it, and it can sit in the repository next to the code. Check what the script shows for each service's status and errors before relying on it, since a script only does what its lines say.

Many code editors can group start commands as launch configurations. They suit developers who already work inside that editor, so check how each configuration starts and stops the processes it runs.

Other tools may organize local processes in other ways. Compare how each one defines the service list, handles ports, and which operating systems it supports.

Common mistakes to avoid

Starting services without a written list makes it hard to tell which process failed. Keep service names, ports and dependencies recorded before opening many processes at once. Ignoring output from the backing services can hide the real error, since the message that matters may appear in a different window. Leaving old processes running can block new starts because their ports are still taken. Changing an environment setting without recording it can make the working sequence impossible to reproduce on another machine. Run the full start sequence again after any change so the monorepo stays predictable.

Frequently asked questions

How can monorepo teams start every service with one command?

Start by listing each service with its folder, start command, port and dependencies. Run install once for the whole monorepo, then start backing services such as databases first, and the services that depend on them after. Give each process a clear name and keep the start sequence in a file in the repository, so one command can run it again. A dashboard tool or a saved script can carry out that sequence, as long as the list it reads is accurate and kept up to date.

What should be written down before starting all services in a monorepo?

Record the folder, start command, port and dependencies for each service. Ports matter most, because two services that use the same port will not start together. Also note which environment settings each service needs and where they live. With that list, a failed start is easier to trace to one service, and the whole sequence can be repeated on another machine without guessing what was changed.

Is DevWebUI free for monorepo teams?

DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account. ^[1] It is open source under the MIT License. ^[1] Teams that want to start every service with one command can compare it with saved scripts and editor run configurations, then choose the approach that matches how their monorepo is organized.

Can DevWebUI help find errors from several services started together?

DevWebUI collects errors into one log that merges repeats, keeps the log across restarts, and opens each file:line link in your editor, so failures from several services can be traced in one place. ^[1] This can help when several services fail at the same time during a shared start, because the errors are not spread across separate process windows.

What should be compared when choosing a tool to start all services?

Compare how each tool defines the list of services, how it handles a port that is already taken, where it stores its configuration, whether it shows each service's status and logs, and which operating systems it supports. Match those answers to how the monorepo is organized and how the team already works, then test the chosen approach with one full start before relying on it.

DevWebUI is free, and its core features need no account. ^[1]

Try DevWebUI

Sources

DevWebUI's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)