Project Detection

Expose automatically scans configured directories to find development projects.

How Detection Works

Expose looks for specific files that indicate a project type:

Project Type	Detected By
Node.js	package.json
Python	requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, Pipfile
Go	go.mod
Rust	Cargo.toml
Ruby	Gemfile
PHP	composer.json
Static Site	index.html (no other markers)
Docker	Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml

Framework Detection

For each project type, Expose detects the specific framework:

Node.js Frameworks

• Next.js — next.config.js or next in dependencies
• Nuxt — nuxt.config.ts or nuxt in dependencies
• Vite — vite.config.js or vite in dependencies
• React — react in dependencies (without Next/Vite)
• Vue — vue in dependencies
• Angular — angular.json
• Svelte — svelte.config.js
• Express — express in dependencies
• Fastify — fastify in dependencies
• NestJS — @nestjs/core in dependencies
• Astro — astro.config.mjs
• Gatsby — gatsby-config.js
• Remix — @remix-run/react in dependencies

Python Frameworks

• Django — django in requirements or manage.py
• FastAPI — fastapi in requirements
• Flask — flask in requirements
• Streamlit — streamlit in requirements

Go Frameworks

• Gin — github.com/gin-gonic/gin in go.mod
• Echo — github.com/labstack/echo in go.mod
• Fiber — github.com/gofiber/fiber in go.mod

Rust Frameworks

• Axum — axum in Cargo.toml
• Actix — actix-web in Cargo.toml
• Rocket — rocket in Cargo.toml

Ruby Frameworks

• Rails — rails in Gemfile
• Sinatra — sinatra in Gemfile

PHP Frameworks

• Laravel — laravel/framework in composer.json
• Symfony — symfony/framework-bundle in composer.json

Default Ports

Each framework has a default port:

Framework	Default Port
Next.js	3000
Nuxt	3000
Vite	5173
Create React App	3000
Vue CLI	8080
Angular	4200
Express	3000
FastAPI	8000
Django	8000
Flask	5000
Rails	3000

Scan Directories

Configure which directories to scan:

1. Go to Settings → General
2. Add directories under Scan Directories
3. Expose scans these directories recursively

Default Directories

• ~/Developer
• ~/Projects
• ~/Code

Excluded Directories

Expose ignores:

• node_modules/
• .git/
• vendor/
• __pycache__/
• Hidden directories (starting with .)

Project Groups

Projects in the same parent directory are grouped together. For example:

~/Projects/my-app/
├── frontend/    → "my-app / frontend"
├── backend/     → "my-app / backend"
└── docs/        → "my-app / docs"

Refreshing Projects

To rescan for projects:

1. Click Rescan in the toolbar
2. Or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘R

Projects are also scanned automatically:

• On app launch
• When scan directories change
• Every 5 minutes in the background