Managing services

Add, start, configure and remove the proxies and simulators in a project.

On this page

A service is one dependency your application talks to. Each service runs in one of two ways:

  • Proxy: sits between your application and a real database or HTTP API, so you see and control the traffic while the real service answers.
  • Simulator: stands in for the dependency entirely. FlowReactor answers, with data and responses you define.
Service Runs as Default port
PostgreSQL Proxy 15432
MySQL (and MariaDB) Proxy 13306
DynamoDB Simulator 8000
HTTP API Simulator 18080
HTTP proxy Proxy 18081
Cognito Simulator 9229

Add a service

  1. In the sidebar, next to Services, choose + Add.
  2. Pick what your application talks to. Search by name if the list is long.
  3. Give it a name and check the port. Database proxies also ask for the Real database host and its port, and the HTTP proxy for the URL it Forwards to.
  4. Choose Add. FlowReactor opens the new service's Configuration tab.
The Add service dialog listing service types under Databases and APIs, each marked Proxy or SimulatorThe Add service dialog listing service types under Databases and APIs, each marked Proxy or Simulator
Each service type says whether it runs as a proxy or a simulator.

Start it and point your application at it

A new service starts stopped. Choose Start, in the service header or the Next: start box on Configuration. Once running, the service shows connection details: a base URL, an AWS SDK endpoint or database connection settings. Use those details in your application.

When your application connects, the box shows how many clients are connected, with a link to their activity.

The sidebar lists every service with its type and port. The header shows how many are running, and the … menu next to Services has Start all and Stop all.

A service's states

State Meaning
Stopped Not listening.
Starting / Stopping Changing state; Start and Stop wait.
Running Listening on its port.
Failed Couldn't start. The reason is shown under Start.

The most common failure is a port that another program already uses: could not listen on 127.0.0.1:…. Change the port (below) or stop the other program.

Change addresses

The Addresses section of Configuration sets the port, and for database proxies, the real database host and port. Stop the service first: the fields are locked while it runs. Then choose Save addresses. An HTTP proxy's upstream URL is under Configuration › Upstream.

Duplicate, rename and remove

The … menu on a service in the sidebar has:

  • Duplicate: a copy named "… copy" on the next free port, with the same configuration and breakpoints.
  • Rename…
  • Remove…: deletes the service with its configuration and breakpoints. This can't be undone. Stop the service first.

Services belong to the open project; save the project to keep your changes.