Pinstripe JS

start-server Command

Interface

The command starts the Pinstripe web server with the following signature:

pinstripe start-server [--host <host:port>] [--without-bot]

Parameters

  • --host <host:port> (optional) - Host and port configuration (e.g. "127.0.0.1:3000"). Defaults to PINSTRIPE_HOST environment variable or "127.0.0.1:3000"
  • --without-bot (optional) - Skip starting the bot service for background job processing

Examples

# Start server with default settings (127.0.0.1:3000)
pinstripe start-server

# Start server on specific host and port
pinstripe start-server --host "0.0.0.0:8080"

# Start server without background job processing
pinstripe start-server --without-bot

# Start server on custom port using environment variable
PINSTRIPE_HOST="127.0.0.1:4000" pinstripe start-server

Description

The start-server command is a development and production server that launches your Pinstripe application with:

  1. HTTP Server - Handles web requests and API calls
  2. Background Job Processing - Automatically starts the bot service for scheduled tasks
  3. Request Routing - Processes requests through the call handler system
  4. Static File Serving - Serves static assets and uploads
  5. ETag Caching - Provides HTTP caching with ETag headers
  6. Environment Detection - Adapts behavior for development vs production

Server Features

HTTP Request Processing

  • Multiple HTTP Methods - Handles GET, POST, PUT, PATCH requests
  • File Upload Support - Processes multipart form data with automatic image optimization
  • Parameter Extraction - Parses URL parameters, headers, and request bodies
  • Response Caching - Generates ETags and handles 304 Not Modified responses

Background Job Integration

  • Automatic Bot Startup - Starts the bot service for scheduled background jobs by default
  • Job Scheduling - Processes background jobs based on cron-like schedules
  • Optional Disable - Use --without-bot to run server-only mode

Development vs Production

// Development logging (NODE_ENV !== 'test')
console.log(`GET: /api/posts (200)`);
console.log(`Pinstripe running at "http://127.0.0.1:3000/"`);

// Production mode
// Reduced logging, optimized performance

Configuration

Host Configuration

The server accepts multiple host formats:

# Single host:port
--host "127.0.0.1:3000"

# Multiple servers (space-separated)  
--host "127.0.0.1:3000 0.0.0.0:8080"

# Environment variable
export PINSTRIPE_HOST="127.0.0.1:3000"
pinstripe start-server

Server Limits

Configured via config.server.limits:

  • Body size limits - Maximum request body size
  • File upload limits - Maximum file size and count
  • Image processing - Automatic resizing and optimization
  • Field limits - Maximum form fields and parameters

Common Use Cases

Development Server

# Start development server with hot reloading
pinstripe start-server

# Development with custom port
pinstripe start-server --host "127.0.0.1:4000"

Production Deployment

# Production server on all interfaces
pinstripe start-server --host "0.0.0.0:3000"

# Production with environment configuration
NODE_ENV=production pinstripe start-server

API-Only Server

# Server without background job processing
pinstripe start-server --without-bot
  • generate-project - Create new Pinstripe projects that can be served
  • initialize-database - Set up database before starting server
  • start-repl - Interactive development environment
  • run-background-job - Manually execute background jobs
  • generate-static-site - Generate static files from server routes