Reporch IDE

Use previews

Inspect a running web server and supported images, PDFs, audio, video, fonts, and spreadsheets.

Overview

Reporch IDE offers a web Preview for a running server and a file preview for supported Explorer files.

  • Web Preview: Displays a URL for a port opened by the development server
  • Image: Shows the image and its dimensions or format
  • PDF: Renders document pages
  • Audio and video: Plays through browser media controls
  • Font: Displays a font sample
  • Spreadsheet: Shows supported worksheet data as a table

Before you start

  • For a web Preview, prepare the workspace terminal and development server command.
  • For a file preview, confirm that the target file is completely saved.
  • Before sharing, check the access scope of the Preview URL or file.

Steps

1. Find the project command

Read package.json, README, or framework settings for the development server command. A Next.js template commonly provides a script such as bun run dev.

2. Start the server

Run it from the project root. Check the terminal for the port and any startup errors.

3. Wait for detection

The IDE detects the running process and accessible URL. When ready, it can show a Preview-opened notification and port information.

4. Open it inside the IDE

Use the notification or Preview action. Verify that the URL belongs to the current workspace and port.

5. Check changes

Save a file and verify that refresh or the framework's Hot Reload updates the Preview.

Open a file preview

Select a supported file from Explorer and use its preview action. Binary files that cannot be edited as source open in a dedicated preview tab. Before downloading or opening externally, confirm that the file is safe to expose outside the workspace.

Expected result

  • The page served by the opened port appears in an IDE Preview tab.
  • Saved source changes appear after refresh or Hot Reload.
  • Supported images, PDFs, media, fonts, and spreadsheets open in a dedicated preview.

Troubleshooting

  • Preview is not detected: Confirm that the server process is still running and actually listening on a port.
  • Blank web page: Check whether the server is bound only to an inaccessible interface and whether the app's base path is correct.
  • Unsupported file type: Download the original or create a text representation for inspection.
  • Image or PDF fails: Verify that the file is fully saved, not corrupted, and not excessively large.
  • Changes do not appear: Check saved state and Hot Reload logs, then refresh Preview.
Reporch Team