Hey HN!
I built HostScan after getting tired of manually typing IP addresses like
http://192.168.1.68:3000 into my phone every time I wanted to test responsive designs on real
devices.
What it does:
- Click one button in VS Code
- Automatically detects your running dev server (Next.js, Vite, Live Server, etc.)
- Generates a QR code
- Scan with your phone → instant mobile testing
Key features:
• Auto port detection (scans for ports 3000, 5173, 5500, etc.)
• Smart IP filtering (ignores Docker/WSL/Hyper-V virtual adapters)
• 100% local network (no external services, no accounts)
• Works with Next.js, Vite, React, Angular, Python, and more
It's open source (MIT): https://github.com/Intina47/hostscan
The biggest gotcha I learned: Most dev servers only listen on localhost by default. Users need
to bind to 0.0.0.0 (like `next dev -H 0.0.0.0`). The README has a comprehensive guide on this.
Would love feedback from the community! What other pain points do you have with mobile testing?