Device preview
When a minion builds a web page, a screenshot only proves it rendered on the minion’s desktop, and VNC only shows you that desktop. Device preview gives you a URL you open on your own phone, so you review the real rendering, the real viewport and real touch behaviour.
Ask the minion for a preview
Section titled “Ask the minion for a preview”Previews are created by the minion, not from the dashboard. The minion is the one that knows which port its dev server is on, so it registers the port and hands you back a URL. Ask for one in chat:
Start the dev server and share it as a preview.
The minion replies with a link. It can also share one on its own after finishing a piece of web work.
Find the previews you already have
Section titled “Find the previews you already have”Open the minion — click it on the Minions page or in the office view — and go to the Preview tab, next to Chat, Terminal, Files and VNC. It lists everything that minion is sharing right now:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open | Opens the preview in a new tab |
| Copy link | Copies the URL, for sending to your phone |
| Stop sharing | Revokes the URL immediately |
Each entry shows the port, the label the minion gave it, and how long it has left. The list refreshes on its own, so a preview registered while you have the tab open appears within a few seconds.
Open it on your phone
Section titled “Open it on your phone”The URL works only for the owner of the minion, and only in a browser signed in to Minion. On a phone that has not signed in yet, you land on the login page first and are returned to the preview afterwards.
Passing the URL to someone else does not give them access — they get “This preview is not available”, the same page an expired link shows.
Lifetime and limits
Section titled “Lifetime and limits”| Expiry | 8 hours, counted from when the minion registered it |
| Concurrent previews | 3 per minion |
| Ports | Dev server ports only. The minion refuses its own runtime ports, and any port that nothing is actually listening on |
Expired previews drop off the tab on their own, so there is nothing to clean up. Use Stop sharing when you want a URL dead before its time — it takes effect on the very next request, not when the link would have expired.
What to expect
Section titled “What to expect”- Hot reload is off. Previews are for review, so the minion starts the dev server with hot reload disabled — a dev server that keeps failing to reach its reload socket looks broken even when it is fine. Reload the page to pick up a change.
- The first load can be slow. A dev server compiles the page on first request. The minion warms it up when it registers the preview, but a large page can still take a moment the first time.
- A preview survives a restart of the dev server. As long as the minion re-registers the same preview, the URL you already have on your phone keeps working.
If a preview does not open
Section titled “If a preview does not open”| What you see | Why |
|---|---|
| ”This preview is not available” | The link expired, someone pressed Stop sharing, or you are signed in as someone who does not own the minion |
| The login page | The browser is not signed in to Minion. Sign in and you are returned to the preview |
| Blank page or missing styles | The dev server is not serving that path any more. Ask the minion to check it is still running |
| The minion says it cannot share the port | Nothing is listening on it yet, or it is a port the minion runtime reserves for itself. Start the dev server first, then ask again |