Skip to content

Configure Panel Live Server

This guide shows you how to configure Panel Live Server, the Panel web server that executes Python code snippets and renders interactive visualizations.

Prerequisites

Default Configuration

Panel Live Server runs on localhost with sensible defaults. No configuration file is required for local use.

Setting Default Description
Port per-environment (base 5077) Panel server port, derived from the active interpreter unless PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_PORT is set. Each Python environment gets its own port so servers in different environments do not collide.
Host localhost Server host address
Database ~/.panel-live-server/snippets/snippets.db SQLite database path
Max restarts 3 Maximum automatic restarts on failure
Draft retention 24 hours How long a draft the AI has not shown you is kept before being swept. Set with PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_DRAFT_RETENTION_HOURS.
AI instructions built-in Prompts sent to the AI in MCP mode. Override per section with pls mcp --prompts <file>.

Configure via Environment Variables

All settings are controlled through environment variables:

macOS / Linux:

export PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_PORT=9999
export PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
export PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_DB_PATH=/data/my-snippets.db
export PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_MAX_RESTARTS=5
export PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_DRAFT_RETENTION_HOURS=24

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_PORT="9999"
$env:PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_HOST="127.0.0.1"
$env:PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_DB_PATH="C:\data\my-snippets.db"
$env:PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_MAX_RESTARTS="5"

Windows (Command Prompt):

set PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_PORT=9999
set PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
set PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_DB_PATH=C:\data\my-snippets.db
set PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_MAX_RESTARTS=5

Then start the server, in standalone mode:

pls serve

Or in MCP mode:

pls mcp

Configure via CLI Flags

Alternatively, pass settings directly to pls serve:

pls serve --port 9999
pls serve --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080
pls serve --db-path /data/my-snippets.db

Run pls serve --help for the full list of options.

Custom Database Location

By default the SQLite database is stored at ~/.panel-live-server/snippets/snippets.db. To use a different location.

macOS / Linux:

export PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_DB_PATH=/path/to/your/snippets.db

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_DB_PATH="C:\path\to\your\snippets.db"

pls serve

Or via CLI:

pls serve --db-path /path/to/your/snippets.db

Configuring Auto-Restart Behaviour

Panel Live Server automatically restarts the Panel subprocess if it becomes unhealthy, up to max_restarts times. Adjust this limit.

macOS / Linux:

export PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_MAX_RESTARTS=5

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:PANEL_LIVE_SERVER_MAX_RESTARTS="5"

pls mcp

Set to 0 to disable automatic restarts.

Next Steps