Develop an application

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Use dev to keep the compiler session alive while you edit. Each successful rebuild starts a fresh application generation.

Watch your entry point

From a project with maligator.build.ts:

shell

maligator dev
maligator dev src/index.ts -- first-argument "two words"

Everything after -- reaches the application unchanged. dev watches the dependency graph, checks project files frequently, and checks node_modules less often. A compile failure leaves the watcher running and preserves the last good application until a valid replacement is available. Fix the error and save again.

Module instances and globals start fresh in each replacement. Store data that must survive a restart in an external resource such as a file or database.

Report readiness

For an application with asynchronous startup, call ready after your own resources accept work:

src/index.ts

import { ready } from "maligator:application";
import { createServer } from "node:http";

createServer((_request, response) => response.end("hello")).listen(
	3000,
	"127.0.0.1",
	() => ready(),
);

Enable surface.node in your config for this example. ready() returns true under the development supervisor and false in a standalone application or ordinary worker. Repeated calls are harmless.

Readiness is a notification. It does not reserve a port or hand traffic to another listener. Plan port ownership and persistent connections separately when your application needs them.

Inspect a restart

shell

maligator dev --status

The status stream shows generation and resource states. Compatible applications use supervised isolates; policies the embedded runtime cannot support use a process runner. A startup error is different from a compilation error: inspect the application's output before changing the build config.

Press Ctrl+C to stop the watcher and join active work. For test reruns, use application testing; for a distributable binary, use production builds.