rdev has three parts: your server, your laptop and our web panel. Your code and your agents only ever live on the first one.
Your server
Your server runs a Docker container with the whole development environment inside it:
- PHP from 7.4 to 8.5, with your sites served at
https://<name>.dev.test; - MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redis, plus mail capture and a dump server;
- runtimes for Python, Ruby, Node.js and Go, installed only when you add a project in that language;
- the AI agent profile for Claude Code and Codex, with shared rules and MCP access to your sites and databases.
Because everything lives in a container, the host stays clean. On the Team plan every developer gets a container of their own.
Your laptop
Your laptop connects to the server over your own Tailscale network (tailnet). Mutagen keeps your project files in sync in both directions, so you edit locally in VS Code, PhpStorm or any other editor while the code runs on the server.
The rdev laptop app connects Tailscale, starts file sync, and sets up .dev.test name resolution and a certificate your laptop trusts. Opening https://<name>.dev.test in your browser then reaches the site on your server.
Our web panel
The rdev web panel at rdev.cloud is where you subscribe, manage your license and see your servers. You can also add projects from it.
Settings on the server itself, such as PHP versions, sites and services, are managed with the rdev command line tool and the laptop app.
What talks to what
- Your server talks to us only for license checks and update downloads. Updates are signed.
- The connection is always started by your server. We never connect to your server.
- We never join your network. The tailnet belongs to your Tailscale account, and the installer connects to it with a key from your account.
- Your agents talk to their providers directly. You connect your own Anthropic or OpenAI account; we do not see your prompts or usage.
When you add a project from the web panel, the panel records the request and your server picks it up the next time it checks in.
Updates
rdev checks for new versions regularly. Updates bring new runtime versions, security fixes and improvements to the AI agent profile, and they are applied with your approval and can be rolled back.
Details about the update schedule are coming soon.