Question 1

How to reserve a port for the lifetime of my process with get-port?

Accepted Answer

Set the reserve option to true when calling getPort(). This locks the port globally for the process duration, but be cautious as it requires using clearLockedPorts() to reset between runs.

Question 2

get-port vs using Node.js net module to find available ports – which is better?

Accepted Answer

get-port simplifies the process with built-in race condition protection and flexible port selection, while the net module requires more manual code. get-port is preferred for reliability in local development and testing.

Question 3

Does get-port work with IPv6 addresses?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by setting the host option to an IPv6 address, it checks availability specifically on that host, as documented in the API section for host-specific checks.

Question 4

Can get-port be used in production environments?

Accepted Answer

It's primarily designed for local development and testing. While usable with the reserve option, the admitted multi-process race condition risk means it's best suited for controlled environments.

Question 5

How to clear locked ports when running isolated tests?

Accepted Answer

Call clearLockedPorts() to reset the internal cache, ensuring port availability isn't affected by previous calls, as shown in the examples for isolated test runs.

Question 6

What happens if no ports are available in my preferred range with get-port?

Accepted Answer

It falls back to a random available port, ensuring you always get a port, but you should handle cases where specific ports are critical for your application logic.

get-port

What is get-port?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

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Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions