---
title: "axiom dev"
description: "Start a local development server with hot reload"
category: reference
surfaces: [cli]
related: [reference/cli/axiom, guides/create-a-node-python, guides/create-a-node-go, guides/create-a-node-typescript, guides/create-a-node-rust, guides/create-a-node-java, guides/create-a-node-csharp]
last_reviewed: 2026-06-06
---

<!-- GENERATED by docs/scripts/gen-cli-reference — DO NOT EDIT.
     Source of truth: the cobra command definitions in cmd/axiom/cmd/.
     Regenerate from the repo root with: go run ./docs/scripts/gen-cli-reference -->

# axiom dev

Start a local development server with hot reload

Start a local development server with hot reload.

Generates the gRPC service (identical to the publish pipeline), compiles and
runs it natively, then starts an HTTP bridge for easy testing with curl or any
HTTP client. JSON payloads are automatically converted to and from Protobuf.

Watches nodes/, messages/, and axiom.yaml for changes and recompiles/restarts
the service automatically. Failed builds leave the previous service running so
you always have a working server while you fix errors.

Supported for all six languages. Go, Rust, Java, and C# use a
rebuild-on-save-restart loop: each change recompiles the native artifact and
restarts the process (there is no in-process hot-swap), so the first reload of a
compiled package is slower while its toolchain warms up. Python and TypeScript
run from source.

## Usage

```sh
axiom dev [flags]
```

## Flags

| Flag | Shorthand | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `--help` | `-h` | bool |  | help for dev |
| `--port` | `-p` | int | `8083` | HTTP bridge port |
| `--socket` |  | string | `/tmp/axiom.sock` | Unix socket path for gRPC service |
| `--with-memory` |  | bool |  | Start the local Axiom memory service (requires PostgreSQL+pgvector via PG_CONN env var) |

## See also

- [axiom](./axiom.md) — Axiom CLI — build and push node packages
- Guide: [Create a node (Python)](../../guides/create-a-node-python.md)
- Guide: [Create a node (Go)](../../guides/create-a-node-go.md)
- Guide: [Create a node (TypeScript)](../../guides/create-a-node-typescript.md)
- Guide: [Create a node (Rust)](../../guides/create-a-node-rust.md)
- Guide: [Create a node (Java)](../../guides/create-a-node-java.md)
- Guide: [Create a node (C#)](../../guides/create-a-node-csharp.md)