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Start your first native-process project

Native projects can use uv, npm, pnpm, Make, or another explicit executable. Switchyard does not require Docker for this path.

1. Review discovery

Terminal window
switchyard project add /absolute/path/to/native-project
switchyard manifest explain <project>

Confirm the executable, argument array, working directory, environment references, dependency order, expected ports, and health checks. Shell syntax is rejected unless the manifest explicitly enables it and surfaces the risk.

2. Preview and start

Terminal window
switchyard plan start <project>
switchyard start <project>
switchyard status <project>

Success is a durable run with a process-identity fingerprint and a running or healthy project state. A stored PID alone is never sufficient evidence.

3. Read output and stop

Terminal window
switchyard logs <project> --tail 50
switchyard stop <project>
switchyard status <project>

Switchyard captures stdout and stderr separately, sends graceful termination to the process group or Job Object, and escalates only after the configured timeout. Success ends with no managed child process left behind.

Use this pageLast verified Jul 17, 2026
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