The hardest part of working on several projects at once is not the always writing code, but it can be in dealing with all the tools and services that arise from local development.
Which environments are running? What’s the local URL? Which terminal window belongs to this project? Where are the database connection details? Did I leave a site running after I switched to something else?
Lando and DDEV already make it possible to run consistent development environments locally. However, when you work across a collection of projects (like I do), the small tasks around them start to add up. You move between provider commands, terminal tabs, browser URLs, database tools, logs, and project folders.
These constant needs is why I started building Env Menu to bring those everyday tasks closer together.
One place to see local projects
Env Menu is a macOS menu bar app for discovering and managing local Lando and DDEV projects. It doesn’t replace either provider, and it doesn’t replace Docker or the rest of your development setup. It gives you one place to see your projects and reach the tools you use with them.
During setup, you choose a parent folder for your projects. Env Menu looks in that folder for Lando’s .lando.yml and DDEV’s .ddev/config.yaml files. You can keep projects organized in folders by client, site, or however you already work; they don’t need to be added one at a time.
The project list shows which environments are running or stopped. It can also show a project’s primary URL and common actions. Search helps find a project by name, while filters narrow the list to running projects, stopped projects, favorites, or recent projects.
Project actions where I need them
The available actions depend on the project and its state. For a stopped project, I can start or rebuild it and open its folder, terminal, or in an editor. For a running project, I can open its site URL, inspect logs, connect to a database, or stop and restart the environment.
Env Menu keeps those actions tied to the project they belong to. If one project is taking a while to start or rebuild, its row shows that it’s working while I can continue using the rest of the list.
Some actions are provider-specific. DDEV projects can use Env Menu’s snapshot manager to create and restore database snapshots. Restoring replaces the current database state, so the app asks for confirmation.
For database work, Env Menu can pass detected connection details to TablePlus. A project with one supported database can open it directly; if there are multiple databases, the app can present a chooser. TablePlus is optional, and the integration depends on the project exposing database details Env Menu can use. I'm looking into adding additional database tools in the future, so that users don't have to rely on one tool for managing databases.
The app can also open project URLs and add-on services when it detects them. That keeps common destinations close without asking Env Menu to become another place where I manually maintain project configurations.
The command line and launchers are part of the workflow
I still use the terminal constantly, so Env Menu includes an optional envmenu command. After installing it from Settings, I can run commands from a project directory:
cd ~/Projects/example-site
envmenu status
envmenu start
envmenu stop
envmenu db
The CLI gives me a consistent entry point while leaving Lando or DDEV responsible for the actual environment. When something fails, the provider’s own output is still the best place to look for details.
Env Menu also supports envmenu:// links for actions such as starting a project or opening its terminal:
envmenu://project/start?name=example-site
envmenu://project/open?name=example-site&type=terminal
I can use those links with Stream Deck, Raycast, Alfred, Shortcuts, or another launcher.
What Env Menu is and isn’t
Env Menu is for people who work with local Lando or DDEV projects on a Mac and want a clearer way to move between them. It brings project status, common actions, and launch points together without taking over the work of the tools underneath.
It won’t fix a broken provider configuration, replace a backup strategy, or make every project expose the same services. Lando and DDEV remain responsible for their environments. Env Menu helps me find the right project and get to the next task with fewer small interruptions.
That’s the problem I wanted to solve: not a new development stack, but less friction around the one that my team and I already use daily.
Env Menu is free to download. You can find the app and the documentation at envmenu.com.