Configuration

Project settings via pane.json.

Overview

Drop a pane.json file in the root of your project directory to configure the project name and declare services. The file is optional — without it, the project name falls back to the directory basename.

Pane reads the file every time a workspace opens and when you click Reload in the Services panel, so edits are picked up without restarting the app.

Full example

{
  "name": "My Project",
  "scripts": {
    "setup": "scripts/setup.sh",
    "archive": "scripts/archive.sh"
  },
  "services": [
    {
      "name": "api",
      "command": "bun run dev",
      "cwd": "apps/api",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000"
    },
    {
      "name": "worker",
      "command": "bun run worker",
      "cwd": "apps/api"
    },
    {
      "name": "storybook",
      "command": "npm run storybook",
      "cwd": "apps/web",
      "url": "http://localhost:6006"
    }
  ]
}

Fields

`name`

Display name shown in the sidebar and dashboard. Falls back to the directory basename when pane.json is missing or the field is omitted.

`scripts`

Optional lifecycle scripts associated with the project.

`setup`	Shell command for initial project setup.
`archive`	Shell command for archiving / cleanup.

`services`

An array of long-running processes that Pane manages as detached tmux sessions. Each service appears in the Services panel with start/stop controls and live health indicators.

Field	Required	Description
`name`	Yes	Unique display name. Also used as the tmux session suffix.
`command`	Yes	Shell command to run. Multi-word commands are wrapped in `sh -c`.
`cwd`	No	Working directory. Relative paths resolve against the workspace root (so git worktrees each get their own copy). Defaults to the workspace root.
`url`	No	Health-check URL. HTTP/HTTPS URLs also add a clickable browser button. `tcp://host:port` URLs are checked via port probe only.

Service health checks

Health is determined by the combination of tmux session state and URL probing:

Status	Indicator	Condition
Stopped	Gray dot	tmux session does not exist
Starting	Yellow dot	tmux session exists, but URL probe fails
Running	Green dot	tmux session exists and URL probe succeeds (or no URL defined)

Health checks run on the server, not your laptop — so localhost:3000 checks the server's port 3000, not yours.

Service URLs and the browser

When a service defines an HTTP or HTTPS url, clicking the globe icon in the Services panel opens it in a browser tab routed through the server. DNS resolution and TCP connections happen on the remote host, so internal hostnames and localhost ports work without any port forwarding setup.