PicThing local dev topology

What pnpm dev starts, where each service runs, and how its environment arrives.

Short answer

Clerk uses its hosted development instance. The SvelteKit app runs in Vite with Cloudflare’s platform proxy—not directly in wrangler dev. Convex runs locally. The image optimizer is the process that runs in wrangler dev.

Startup chain

pnpm dev
└─ infisical run --env=dev --path=/
   └─ pnpm run dev:local
      ├─ Vite / SvelteKit                 localhost:5173
      ├─ Wrangler image worker            localhost:8787
      ├─ Local anonymous Convex backend    127.0.0.1:3210
      └─ Raycast develop                  → localhost:5173

Infisical injects 12 shared development variables into the parent process. Every child inherits them. The root script then overrides PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL to http://127.0.0.1:3210, forcing the web app and Raycast-facing API onto local Convex.

Service matrix

Runtime and credential source for `pnpm dev`
Service	Where it runs	Environment
SvelteKit web	Local Vite server, port 5173	Infisical dev values exposed through SvelteKit env modules
Cloudflare compatibility	`adapter-cloudflare` platform proxy inside Vite	Bindings modeled from `apps/web/wrangler.jsonc`
Image optimizer	Local Workerd via `wrangler dev`, port 8787	Infisical process env; ignored local env files remain fallback only
Convex	Local anonymous backend, port 3210	Generated local Convex state plus two runtime vars pushed by the setup script
Clerk	Hosted Clerk development instance	Confirmed `pk_test_`/`sk_test_` credentials
Autumn	Hosted development API	Confirmed development/test secret key
UploadThing	Hosted API	Token supplied through backend `AppConfig`
PhotoRoom	Hosted API, only when background removal runs	Key inherited by the local image worker
Raycast	Local `ray develop`	Defaults its API URL to the local web server

Environment flow

Infisical dev project (/)
  ↓ inject into process
Vite + Wrangler + Convex + Raycast child processes
  ↓ SvelteKit adapter
$env/dynamic/private + $env/dynamic/public
  ↓ runtime.ts
explicit Effect ConfigProvider
  ↓ validate once
AppConfig service
  ↓
Clerk · Convex · Autumn · UploadThing · signing · webhooks

SvelteKit remains the source adapter. Backend application code does not read process.env directly.
Effect validates once. AppConfig parses required values and keeps secrets redacted until an SDK or crypto boundary.
Public values stay public. Clerk’s publishable key and the Convex URL can reach browser code; private keys cannot.
Local files are fallback only. .env.local files are ignored and optional; the stack was verified without them.

Local vs hosted boundaries

Local: Vite web server, Cloudflare platform proxy, image Workerd, KV/R2/Images emulation, Convex backend, Raycast extension.
Hosted: Clerk development, Autumn development, UploadThing, and PhotoRoom.
Not used by pnpm dev: The configured cloud Convex deployment. The local runner removes cloud deployment variables and substitutes port 3210.
Hosted Convex option: pnpm dev:hosted skips the local Convex process and points the app at the hosted development deployment.

External side effects are still real

Local development uses development credentials, but calls to Clerk, Autumn, UploadThing, and PhotoRoom leave the machine. Background removal can invoke PhotoRoom even though its cache and bucket bindings are local.

One wording correction: the web app is not itself running under wrangler dev during pnpm dev. Its package script is vite dev. Use the web package’s preview flow to build and run the complete web Worker through Wrangler.