GetWebStack is a CLI tool and developer platform that automatically analyzes your project and spins up a fully isolated, production-like development environment in a single command. It detects your stack — frameworks, databases, services — and generates all the necessary Dockerfiles, Kubernetes manifests, and routing configuration without any manual setup. Environments run locally or on your own on-premise Kubernetes cluster, meaning your source code never leaves your infrastructure. It scales from a solo developer running one environment to a fleet of AI coding agents each working in parallel sandboxes on the same cluster.

GetWebStack is built for any developer or team that loses time to environment setup and configuration. Solo developers use it to eliminate the daily ritual of starting services manually. Engineering teams use it to ensure every developer works in an environment that mirrors production exactly, eliminating "works on my machine" failures. It is also purpose-built for AI-forward teams running coding agents like Claude, Cursor, or Codex — each agent gets its own isolated sandbox with a real running stack to develop and validate against, rather than coding blindly without feedback.

Setting up a development environment typically takes anywhere from 30 minutes to several days, depending on the project complexity. GetWebStack reduces that to a single command — gws init analyzes your repo and generates everything, then gws up starts your entire stack. Beyond speed, it guarantees production parity: your local environment uses the same infrastructure configuration as your production deployment, so bugs caused by environment drift are eliminated. For teams using AI coding agents, it solves a fundamental problem: agents can now test and verify their own work against real infrastructure instead of making assumptions.

How does zero config work?

When you run gws init in your project directory, GetWebStack scans your repository structure, detects your frameworks, identifies service dependencies like databases and APIs, and automatically generates all the configuration needed to run your environment. This includes Dockerfiles, Kubernetes manifests, environment variables, and domain routing — none of which you write manually. Currently supports all JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and Go frameworks. Any developer or AI agent cloning the project can run gws up and get an identical environment immediately.

GetWebStack is designed with a local-first, on-premise architecture, which means your source code never leaves your machine or your own infrastructure. There is no cloud dependency and no third-party service that processes or stores your code. When running on a shared on-premise cluster, each developer and AI agent works in a fully isolated Kubernetes namespace, preventing any cross-environment access. This makes GetWebStack suitable for teams with strict data residency requirements or those working on proprietary codebases.

What AI agents work with it?

MCP support is on our roadmap. Currently, AI agents interact with GWS through the CLI directly. gws up -w spins up an isolated sandbox any agent can work against. Join our Discord to follow MCP progress and get early access when it ships.

Can multiple developers share the same cluster?

Yes. When deployed to a shared on-premise Kubernetes cluster, GetWebStack gives each developer or AI agent their own isolated namespace with a full running stack — frontend, backend, database, and routing — all without conflicts. Ten developers can work on ten different features simultaneously on the same cluster, each with their own live URL and independent environment. For local development, each developer runs their own independent cluster instance on their machine. This architecture also supports advanced workflows like PR preview environments, where every pull request automatically gets its own live environment for reviewers to test against.

GetWebstack vs Tilt

Two tools built to give developers real environments to work against. Same problem space, completely different philosophy.

GetWebstack

Auto-detects your stack — no config files to write
Full isolated environment per developer or agent
Automatic code sync on every file change — zero config
Configurable watchers for smart rebuilds on file changes
MCP-native AI agent support out of the box
Pricing based on projects and users

Tilt

Powerful real-time UI showing your entire running system
Mature, well-documented inner loop for Kubernetes teams
Requires a Tiltfile and an existing cluster
Sync and watch rules must be explicitly configured per service
Acquired by Docker in 2022 — actively maintained
Open source, free to use

Setup & configuration

Zero config vs.
define your environment as code

GetWebstack works from a fresh clone with a single command. Tilt requires a Tiltfile, an existing cluster, and Kubernetes knowledge before anything runs.

GetWebstack

Run `gws init` — done

Auto-detects your stack — no config files to write
No pre-existing cluster or kube-context needed
No Kubernetes knowledge required
Works on a fresh clone immediately

Tilt

Write a Tiltfile before anything runs

Tiltfile required — written in Starlark, maintained by your team
Requires existing Kubernetes cluster and kube-context
Existing Dockerfiles and Kubernetes YAML expected
Kubernetes knowledge expected to debug setup issues

Environment model

Isolated stacks vs.
shared services

Both tools support code sync, file pattern filtering, and rebuilds without container restart. The differences are in isolation and setup cost.

GetWebstack

Each developer gets their own complete stack

Full isolated stack per developer — frontend, backend, DB, HTTPS
Sync scoped per namespace — no cross-developer contamination
Parallel environments per branch via gws up -w
PR preview environments built-in

Tilt

Shared running system, manually configured

No built-in isolation — developers typically share a cluster
Real-time UI dashboard for all services, logs, and errors
No built-in PR preview environments

AI Agent Support

MCP-native sandboxes vs.
no agent integration

Tilt has no AI agent support. GetWebstack is MCP-native — any compatible agent gets a real isolated environment immediately.

GetWebstack

Any MCP agent, zero setup

Install once with gws mcp install
Claude, Cursor, Codex, Opencode — any MCP-compatible agent
Each agent gets its own fully isolated environment
Agents validate their own work against real infrastructure

Tilt

No AI agent support

No MCP support
No agent sandbox concept
No mechanism for autonomous environment creation
Would require significant custom scripting to integrate

Project ownership

Tilt is a Docker project

Tilt is actively maintained, but the team's focus is now shared across multiple Docker products.

GetWebstack

Focused product roadmap

Team's sole focus is developer and AI agent environments
Actively investing in zero-config detection, MCP, and isolation
Roadmap driven by direct customer feedback

Tilt

Maintained by Docker since May 2022

Acquired by Docker in May 2022
Actively maintained with real feature commits
Team also works on Docker Compose and Docker Desktop
Open source

Bottom line: Tilt is actively developed with Docker's backing. The consideration is whether Tilt's roadmap will prioritise the features your team needs long-term, given that the team's attention is shared across multiple Docker products.

Side by side

Feature comparison

The full picture at a glance.

Feature

GetWebstack

Tilt

Configuration required

✓ None — auto-detected

✗ Tiltfile required

Existing cluster required

✓ Not required

✗ Required

Kubernetes knowledge needed

✓ None

✗ Expected

Works on fresh repos

✓ Immediately

✗ Tiltfile setup required

Environment isolation per developer

✓ Automatic

~ Manual namespace config

Automatic code sync

✓ Zero config — always on

~ Explicit rules per service in Tiltfile

Configurable rebuild watchers

✓ Built-in, configurable

✓ Built-in, via Tiltfile

Real-time service dashboard UI

✓ Built-in

AI agent support (MCP)

✓ Native

✗ None

PR preview environments

✓ Built-in

~ Manual setup

HTTPS out of the box

✓ Yes

~ Port-forwarding only

Works locally without a cluster

✓ Yes

✗ Cluster required

Source code stays on your infra

✓ Always

Open source

~ Commercial product

✓ Fully open source

Active development

✓ Active

✓ Active (Docker)

Pricing

Per project and user

Free (open source)

Decision guide

Which one is right for you?

Both tools solve real problems. The right choice depends on what's slowing your team down and how much infrastructure investment you're willing to make upfront.

Choose GetWebstack if…

✓ You want each developer and AI agent to have their own complete environment without any infrastructure knowledge required
✓ You are starting a new project or onboarding developers and want the fastest path from clone to a running, isolated full stack
✓ You want AI agents working against real infrastructure using tools you already use — Claude, Cursor, or Codex — with zero prerequisites
✓ You want PR preview environments, parallel feature environments, and HTTPS without writing any configuration
✓ Your team does not have a dedicated Kubernetes expert to own and maintain a Tiltfile

Choose Tilt if…

✓ You already have a running Kubernetes cluster and a developer willing to invest in writing and maintaining a Tiltfile
✓ The inner dev loop — how fast a file save reaches a running container — is your primary bottleneck, and live_update's sub-second updates would meaningfully change how your team works
✓ You want a real-time visual dashboard showing the health and logs of all your services in one place during development
✓ Your team is already Docker-native and wants tight integration with Docker Desktop and Docker Compose
✓ You need a free, open source solution and have the Kubernetes expertise to get value from it

Try GetWebstack free

No cloud account. No credit card. Your stack, running locally in under 5 minutes.

GetWebstack vs Tilt

Zero config vs.define your environment as code

Run gws init — done

Write a Tiltfile before anything runs

Isolated stacks vs.shared services

Each developer gets their own complete stack

Shared running system, manually configured

MCP-native sandboxes vs.no agent integration

Any MCP agent, zero setup

No AI agent support

Tilt is a Docker project

Focused product roadmap

Maintained by Docker since May 2022

Feature comparison

Which one is right for you?

Choose GetWebstack if…

Choose Tilt if…

Try GetWebstack free

Zero config vs.
define your environment as code

Run `gws init` — done

Isolated stacks vs.
shared services

MCP-native sandboxes vs.
no agent integration