Connect your first repository and start a watch

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1. Connect the folder you actually use

On Home, choose Connect repository and select the project folder on this Mac. CTK saves the association locally and reserves one repository within your plan. It does not upload the source tree or clone a remote repository.

Connecting the same folder twice is rejected. If you have multiple checkouts, choose the one from which you actually run the service. A connected repository can remain Not watching.

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2. Pick the method that matches the workload

Open Start watching and review Set up a watch. Use Already running for processes already launched from the repository folder or its descendants. Shells and editor helper processes are not the service you are trying to observe.

Use Docker Compose for this repository’s existing Compose containers. Use Start with Toolkit only when you want CTK to run the start script from package.json. SSH and Kubernetes require their own remote connection details and an eligible plan.

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3. Prepare the service before an observing watch

For Already running, start your application through your usual terminal or development tool. For Docker Compose, start Docker and the project’s services yourself before returning to CTK.

If you choose Start with Toolkit, inspect and trust the project’s existing start script first. CTK uses pnpm when it finds a pnpm lockfile, yarn for a yarn lockfile, otherwise npm. The submit button says Launch and watch because this method starts a process.

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4. Start and inspect the first reading

Choose Start watching for an observing method, or Launch and watch for Toolkit. Wait for the request to finish instead of clicking repeatedly. A plan limit or unavailable connector is a setup failure to resolve, not evidence that the application is down.

Open the repository and check Observe. Confirm the service identity, state, time and How field. A source that supplies a process state but no health check does not establish application health.

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5. Handle an empty result

If CTK reports no services for the target, check the selected folder and how the process was launched. A process running from a different working directory may not belong to this watch. For Compose, check the project directory associated with the containers.

Stop the watch before choosing a different method. Stopping an Already running or Docker Compose watch leaves the external workload running. Stopping a Toolkit watch stops the process CTK launched.

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What success looks like

Home says Watching for the intended repository and Observe identifies the intended service. A recent successful reading is stronger confirmation than the badge alone. Keep CTK open while you want new observations to be collected.