Configuration | BitL Docs

bitl config

The same preferences as the app's Settings window, from the terminal.

bitl config                  # every key and its value (--json for scripts)bitl config get tldbitl config set editor cursorbitl config reset editor     # one key back to defaultbitl config reset            # everythingbitl config path             # where settings.json lives

Key	Values	Default
`tld`	letters and digits, e.g. test, localhost	`test`
`php-default`	an installed version, e.g. 8.4	`8.5`
`editor`	`vscode` `phpstorm` `sublime` `cursor` `zed`	`vscode`
`terminal`	`terminal` `iterm` `warp`	`terminal`
`browser`	`systemDefault` `safari` `chrome` `firefox` `arc`	`systemDefault`
`theme`	`auto` `light` `dark`	`auto`
`auto-start`	`true` `false` — launch BitL at login	`false`

Note. Changing tld affects sites you link afterwards. The resolver file for a new TLD needs root: echo 'nameserver 127.0.0.1' | sudo tee /etc/resolver/<tld>.

App settings

Open with ⌘ ,. General holds everything above plus a few app-only switches:

Start services on launch — bring up nginx, PHP-FPM and dnsmasq when BitL opens (on by default)
Stop services on quit
Auto-detect public folder — serve public/ when a project has one
Keep window on top
Watched Folders — the parked directories BitL monitors for new projects
Privileged Helper — its status, and an Install / Reinstall button if it needs repairing

The other tabs: Runtimes (PHP, Node, Python, Go, Flutter), Notifications, Certs (the local CA and every issued certificate), Keys (shortcuts) and About (version, updates).

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Where	Action
`⌘` `⇧` `B`	anywhere	Show or hide BitL (change it under Settings → Keys)
`⌘` `⇧` `E`	anywhere	Show or hide the Debug Bar
`⌘` `K`	in BitL	Quick Switcher: jump to a site, switch PHP, start or stop a service
`⌘` `R`	in BitL	Refresh status
`⌘` `,`	in BitL	Settings
`esc`	in BitL	Close the current panel
`⌘` `Q`	in BitL	Quit

Shell completions

Tab-complete every command, subcommand and flag.

bitl completions install              # detects your shellbitl completions install --shell fishbitl completions generate zsh > _bitl  # or wire it up yourself

Where things live

Everything user-level is under ~/Library/Application Support/BitL/:

Path	Contents
`config/settings.json`	Preferences (`bitl config path`)
`config/sites.json`	Linked and parked sites
`config/services.json`	Installed service instances
`config/groups.json`	Site groups
`nginx/vhosts/`	One nginx server block per site
`php/`	Per-version php.ini, php-fpm.conf and conf.d (xdebug.ini lands here)
`ssl/ca/ · ssl/certs/`	Local certificate authority and site certificates
`data/`	Service data directories — your databases
`snapshots/`	Database snapshots
`profiles/`	Saved profiler runs
`php-versions/ node-versions/ …`	Installed runtimes
`bin/`	Symlinks to the active php, node, python3, go, flutter, composer
`log/`	nginx, PHP-FPM and service logs
`plugins/`	Installed plugins

System-level pieces, written by the privileged helper:

Path	Contents
`/usr/local/bin/bitl`	CLI symlink → /usr/local/bitl/bin/bitl
`/etc/resolver/test`	Sends *.test lookups to dnsmasq on 127.0.0.1
`~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.bitl.service.*`	One launch agent per started service
`/tmp/bitl/`	Sockets and PID files

Tip. Back up config/ and ssl/ to carry your setup to a new Mac; restore them before first launch.

Plugins (preview)

A plugin is a directory with a plugin.json that declares extra service types and the lifecycle hooks it wants.

bitl plugin create my-service         # scaffold ./my-service with plugin.json and READMEbitl plugin install ./my-service      # or a Git URLbitl plugin listbitl plugin remove com.bitl.my-service