Your first project

Dockmaster keeps each of your projects in one place: its terminals, the commands that run its apps, and its source control. This guide takes you from download to a running stack in a few minutes.

Install Dockmaster

1. Download the installer for your system from the download section.
2. Run it:
   • Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit): run the .exe installer. If Windows SmartScreen warns about an unrecognised app, choose More info → Run anyway.
   • macOS 11 or later on Apple silicon: open the .dmg and drag Dockmaster into Applications.
   • Linux: use the AppImage, or the .deb, .rpm or .tar.gz package for your distribution.
3. Start Dockmaster. The first time, a short notice explains the anonymous usage statistics. You can turn them off at any time in Settings → Privacy.

Dockmaster is free to use and needs no account.

Add a project

A project is a folder on your computer. Dockmaster looks inside it for apps it can run.

1. Open the menu (☰, top left) and choose New project, or click Add new project in the sidebar.
2. Click Browse and pick the project folder. If you haven’t typed a name yet, the folder name is used.
3. Dockmaster scans the folder. If it finds one app, it fills it in for you. If it finds several, tick the ones you want under Detected apps and click Add selected.
4. Check each app’s commands, then click Create project.

The project appears in the sidebar. Add and edit projects explains every field.

Open a terminal

Select the project in the sidebar. The centre of the window is its terminal workspace.

1. Click New terminal, or press Ctrl+Shift+T (Cmd+T on macOS). A shell opens in the project folder.
2. If you have Claude Code or another supported AI tool installed, its button appears next to New terminal. See Claude Code and other AI tools.

Start your stack

The panel on the right lists the project’s apps and their commands.

1. Click Start all to run every app’s start command, or the play button on a single command.
2. Each running command opens its output as a terminal tab. The coloured dot shows its status.
3. Click Stop all when you’re done. Dockmaster stops each command together with every process it started.

Hide the panels when you need room. Ctrl+Shift+B toggles the projects sidebar and Ctrl+Shift+E toggles the right panel.