Host Open Dir Server

Why this exists

• Docker containers cannot launch host applications (e.g., macOS Finder) because they are isolated from the host OS.
• The Gradio frontend runs in a container and cannot run open, xdg-open, or start on the host.
• This small FastAPI service runs on the host and receives a path from the frontend, then asks the host OS to open that path.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ on the host (outside Docker).

Setup (virtual environment)

eval "$(python setup_env.py)"
cd open_dir_server
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

Environment variables (PLANEXE_ prefixed):

• PLANEXE_OPEN_DIR_SERVER_HOST (default 127.0.0.1)
• PLANEXE_OPEN_DIR_SERVER_PORT (default 5100)
• PLANEXE_HOST_RUN_DIR: required; only allow opening paths under this directory.

Frontend configuration:

• Set PLANEXE_OPEN_DIR_SERVER_URL so the container can reach the host service (e.g., http://host.docker.internal:5100).

Start the server

From open_dir_server:

eval "$(python setup_env.py)"
source venv/bin/activate
python app.py

The service will listen on PLANEXE_OPEN_DIR_SERVER_HOST:PLANEXE_OPEN_DIR_SERVER_PORT.

Stop the server

• Press Ctrl+C in the terminal where it is running.