# Local Development With Devbox

This guide shows how to set up and use **Devbox** for local development with your Lapdev environments.

> Read [**Devbox**](/core-concepts/devbox.md) to understand what it does and when to use it.

### Prerequisites

Before using Devbox, you need:

* **Lapdev CLI installed** - Devbox is built into the `lapdev` command
* **An active Lapdev environment** - Personal, shared, or branch environment

### Install the Lapdev CLI

Run one of the following commands based on your operating system.

#### Linux or macOS

```bash
curl -fsSL https://get.lap.dev/lapdev-cli.sh | bash
```

This script detects your architecture, downloads the latest release, and places the `lapdev` binary in `/usr/local/bin` (or `~/.local/bin` if needed). Re-run it at any time to upgrade or pass `--version <x.y.z>` to pin a specific build.

#### Windows PowerShell

```powershell
irm https://get.lap.dev/lapdev-cli.ps1 | iex
```

Run the command in an elevated PowerShell window if your execution policy requires it. The installer copies `lapdev.exe` into `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Lapdev\bin` and appends that directory to your user `PATH`. Restart your shell (or VS Code terminal) after installation so the new path is picked up.

After installing, verify everything is ready with:

```bash
lapdev --version
```

### Connect to Lapdev

First, connect your Devbox CLI to Lapdev:

```bash
lapdev devbox connect
```

This establishes a secure connection between your local machine and Lapdev.

### Set Active Environment

After connecting, set which environment you want to work with in the Lapdev dashboard:

1. Go to the **Environments** tab
2. Select the environment you want to use
3. Click **Set as Active Environment**

Once set, all traffic interception and service access will route through this active environment.

### Intercept a Service

Once connected, you can intercept traffic for a specific workload through the Lapdev dashboard:

1. Open your environment in the Lapdev dashboard
2. Stay on (or switch to) the **Workloads** tab
3. Locate the workload that owns the service you want to intercept (e.g., `checkout-service`)
4. Click **Start Intercept** inside that workload’s row

Lapdev automatically mirrors each container port, reusing any overrides from your most recent intercept. If you need custom local ports after starting the intercept, use the **Edit Ports** button on the intercept card and update the mappings there.

<figure><img src="/files/QgYGuw7Uwjtlt0PegX1Y" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

After enabling interception:

* All cluster traffic for that service routes to your local machine
* You can make edits, hot-reload, or debug directly in your IDE
* Other services in the cluster remain unaffected

### Access In-Cluster Services

While connected via Devbox, you can access any service in your environment using their cluster DNS names (e.g., `postgres-service:5432`, `redis-service:6379`) directly from your local code. Devbox handles the tunneling automatically — no port forwarding or VPN needed.

### Next Steps

* Learn more about [Devbox architecture](/core-concepts/devbox.md)
* Understand [traffic routing](/core-concepts/architecture/traffic-routing-architecture.md)
* Create [preview URLs](/how-to-guides/use-preview-urls.md) to share your work


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.lap.dev/how-to-guides/local-development-with-devbox.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.