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The serve command starts a Gambiarra hub server that manages rooms and coordinates participants in your local network.

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Usage

gambiarra serve [options]

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Options

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--port
string
default:"3000"
Port to listen on. Also accepts -p shorthand.
gambiarra serve --port 8080
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--host
string
default:"0.0.0.0"
Host to bind to. Also accepts -h shorthand. Use 0.0.0.0 to accept connections from any network interface.
gambiarra serve --host 127.0.0.1
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--mdns
boolean
default:"false"
Enable mDNS (Bonjour/Zeroconf) for local network discovery. Also accepts -m shorthand. When enabled, the hub will be discoverable as <hostname>.local on the local network.
gambiarra serve --mdns
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--quiet
boolean
default:"false"
Suppress logo output. Also accepts -q shorthand.
gambiarra serve --quiet

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Examples

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Start on default port

Start the hub server on the default port 3000: 
gambiarra serve
Output: 
Hub started at http://0.0.0.0:3000
Health check: http://0.0.0.0:3000/health

Press Ctrl+C to stop

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Start on custom port

Run the hub on port 8080: 
gambiarra serve --port 8080

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Enable mDNS discovery

Start with mDNS enabled for automatic discovery on the local network: 
gambiarra serve --mdns
Output: 
Hub started at http://0.0.0.0:3000
Health check: http://0.0.0.0:3000/health
mDNS: http://your-hostname.local:3000
      Service: your-hostname._gambiarra._tcp.local

Press Ctrl+C to stop
The mDNS service name follows the format <hostname>._gambiarra._tcp.local

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Bind to localhost only

For security, bind to localhost only to prevent external connections: 
gambiarra serve --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3000

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Combine multiple options

gambiarra serve --port 8080 --mdns --quiet

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How it works

When you start the hub:
  1. The server binds to the specified host and port
  2. A health check endpoint becomes available at /health
  3. If mDNS is enabled, the service is broadcast on the local network
  4. The hub is ready to accept room creation and participant registration
  5. Press Ctrl+C to gracefully shut down the server
The hub runs indefinitely until you stop it with Ctrl+C. Make sure to keep the terminal window open while the hub is serving.

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Error handling

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Invalid port

If you provide an invalid port number: 
gambiarra serve --port invalid
Output: 
Invalid port: invalid
The command exits with code 1.

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Port already in use

If the specified port is already in use, the hub will fail to start. Try a different port: 
gambiarra serve --port 8081
  • create - Create a new room on the hub
  • list - List all rooms on the hub
  • monitor - Monitor the hub in real-time with TUI

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Next steps

After starting the hub:
  1. Create a room where participants can join
  2. Share the room code with participants
  3. Monitor activity in real-time

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