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Live Previews let you open a web app or API that is running inside a Roomote task sandbox. They are live application URLs, not screenshots: you can navigate the app while reviewing the task, open it in a new tab, and check desktop or mobile layouts without pulling the branch locally. Each preview comes from a named port in the task’s environment. Preview authentication protects proxied ports by default.

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Prerequisites

Live Preview is available when:
  • the task runs in an environment rather than directly against a repository
  • an administrator has configured the deployment’s preview runtime
  • the environment exposes at least one named preview port
  • the app or API is running on the configured port
For a self-hosted deployment, an administrator can configure the preview runtime from the Live Preview pane on a task. Remote deployments need a public preview origin, DNS records for the base and wildcard hosts, and a TLS certificate that covers both. Operators can manage the preview origin with PREVIEW_PROXY_BASE_URL instead; see the Live previews environment variables. Configure application ports under Settings > Environments in the Exposed Ports section. Choose a primary port when one service should open first, and set an initial path when reviewers should land somewhere other than /. See the environment definition port reference for the equivalent YAML and all supported port options. Environment changes apply to new tasks. If ports were added after a task started, start a new task or put the existing task to sleep and wake it again to attach the preview.

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Open and use a preview

  1. Open a task that runs in the configured environment.
  2. Select Live Preview in the task’s right sidebar.
  3. If the environment exposes multiple services, use the Available Services menu to switch between them.
The preview toolbar lets you go back or forward, reload the page, enter a path, and switch between desktop and resizable mobile views. Select Open Live Preview in a new tab when you need more room or browser tools outside the task workspace. Fresh tasks can take a couple of minutes to start the application. While environment services are starting, the preview reports that state and reloads after setup finishes.

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Recover a preview

Use the state shown in the task to choose the next action: If a preview opens but the app itself is broken, review the task’s Logs panel. Common application-side causes include a server that did not start, a port mismatch, or host, framing, and cross-origin rules that do not allow the preview proxy. Tasks that run directly against a repository do not have a sandbox application to expose, so their task sidebar does not show Live Preview. Start the work in an environment when it needs a runnable app or preview. See Review a task for the other logs, diffs, artifacts, and visual evidence available in the task workspace.