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Say Hello to VirtualHostX Pro

2019-12-02T20:57:14+00:00

It's been a long time coming. In fact, work originally began on today's new VirtualHostX release back in February. So, I'm beyond excited to announce that VirtualHostX Pro is now available.

Well, kind of.

You can go download and use it. You can also buy it. But it's not 100% feature complete quite yet. It's definitely safe, stable, and waaay better than the previous version. But there are still a few more new features that are currently in-testing with a small group of users. The plan is to have everything completely finished in time for an official launch on January 6th.

So, what's new?

Well, for starters, it's the biggest update ever.

Modern, new UI.
Free, automatic SSL certificates.
Use Dropbox or iCloud to sync and restore backups of your websites and databases and rollback to previous versions.
Take control of your default web browser.
Automate VirtualHostX using AppleScript or the command line.
View your coworker's shared websites from the other cube or across the internet.
macOS Today widget.

And if you purchase before this Friday, December 6th, you'll save $15 off today's update and every future update, forever.

New, modern macOS UI

I've taken cues from the latest breed of powerful macOS developer tools and rebuilt VirtualHostX's UI to feel right at home on macOS Catalina.

But more than a fresh coat of paint, we've added a brand new status bar that keeps tabs on what's going on with your websites and the server, so you'll know at-a-glance that things are running smoothly.

Free, Automatic SSL Certificates.

Many of our customers use VirtualHostX to run production websites. Now they can do it securely.

VHX can install and configure a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for your public-facing website so your visitors see a trusted HTTPS padlock in their browser.

And if you're just testing your website locally, you can use our own SSL certificate or bring your own.

Backup and Restore.

We all make mistakes. Now you can take snapshots of your websites and restore to any previous version.

VHX can backup all of your website's files and databases, and you can optionally store them in Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive to keep them synced across your Macs.

Take Control of Your Default Web Browser.

Make VirtualHostX your default web browser.

That's right. You can now make VirtualHostX your Mac's default web browser. When you click a link in another app, VHX will prompt you to choose which of the actual web browsers on your Mac you want to open the link with.

Whether across the world or sitting in the other cubicle, VirtualHostX can help you share your in-progress websites with friends and coworkers.

And when they share websites with you, they'll automatically appear in the VHX sidebar beneath yours. It's a great way to gather feedback on what you're building.

But, privacy first! Nothing is ever shared without you first opting-in.

Automate VHX with AppleScript.

Ok, ok. This one's totally for the nerds, power users, and systems administrators.

Now you can bend VirtualHostX to your will by automatically creating and editing websites with AppleScript. You also have full control over starting/stopping/restarting the virtual machine and performing other tasks.

Want to include VirtualHostX in your CI tests or CD pipeline? Now you can.

A note about the new pricing model

Yes, VirtualHostX has switched to a subscription model. But, it probably won't actually affect you. Here's why.

Many of the new features in this release have been in development for the better part of 2019. I've been using the default browser picker functionality every day since March. It's great :-)

But adding big, new features to an app can be a problem for small, independent developers like me. The last paid upgrade was version 8.0 - over a year ago. It shipped with some significant updates and I continued to add new features and make improvements throughout the year.

However, the majority of my income comes from upgrades - not new customers. That means I have to give folks a reason to upgrade to newer versions. And if I continue to release significant new features into versions that have already been paid for one-time, when it comes time to release a paid upgrade, there's virtually no incentive for customers to upgrade.

It would be great if I could survive on new sales alone, but I can't. Not many small software companies can. So, we all end up holding back new features until they can be released in a big-splash paid update.

I don't mention all of the above to make it sound like "oh woe is me, a poor indie developer". It's just the facts of running a small software company.

So, what can be done to keep my little company in business and also keep things fair for customers? I like the solution I've settled on...

VirtualHostX is now a subscription. You can pay $49 USD / year or $5 USD / month.

The annual price is the same as the old one-time cost. And I'll note that I typically release a paid upgrade every 12 - 18 months. So, if you are like many of my amazing customers who do update to each new release, the cost of doing that vs a subscription are more or less the same.

But! There is a key point I want to make.

If you sign up for an annual subscription, you can cancel it at any time. In fact, you can subscribe, get the confirmation email, and then immediately cancel. Your license for the app will continue to work through the entire year.

Even better. Your license will remain valid and working forever.

The only caveat is you will be limited to using the last released version within your subscription period. If you find that the app works great for you and you want to cancel, please do! You're welcome to use the app as long as you are happy with it. But if you want continued bug fixes and new features, I just ask that you buy a new license when you're ready.

That way, you're incentivized to pay for my development time. And I'm incentivized to continue improving the software so that you're willing to pay for it again.

On the other hand, there is a monthly option for $5 USD. If you cancel a monthly plan, the app will stop working when your plan expires. Full stop. It's also clearly the more expensive option over the course of a year. So why offer it?

For individual users, freelancers, etc. I think the annual option is a way better deal. The monthly plan serves two purposes:

For customers who truly only do need to use the app very rarely or who just want a cheaper option to test the waters for a while.
It's primarily for businesses who want to offer VirtualHostX to their employees and may want adjust the number of licenses up or down on a month by month basis.

That said, if you are just getting to know VHX and using our free trial, please, please email me if you'd like more time than the standard 14 day trial to evaluate it. I'm more than happy to give you as much time as you need to make sure the app is right for you or your business.

Anyway, I hope that pricing structure makes sense and is a fair deal for everyone involved. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any comments or feedback. Happy to discuss things.

CommandQ 2.0 Now Available

2019-06-24T20:57:14+00:00

Hi, everyone.

Way back in 2011, I released a small Mac app called CommandQ. It only does one thing - it stops you from accidentally quitting an app and losing your work or the state it was in.

It does this by intercepting your ⌘Q keyboard shortcut. Instead of the current app immediately quitting, CommandQ shows a floating window with a short timer.

If you keep holding down ⌘Q until time runs out, your app quits. But if you let go before that, nothing happens - giving you a chance to “undo” a simple keyboard mistake.

It was a silly idea that I mainly just wanted for myself, but lots of other Mac users found it helpful, too.

For various boring, technical reasons, CommandQ hasn’t seen an update since 2012. But it’s continued to work just fine, and folks still occasionally email to tell me they find it useful.

Unfortunately, Apple’s Mojave OS introduced some bugs last Fall. And my early testing with macOS Catalina has shown CommandQ to be totally broken.

I didn’t want this little app to just die, so I spent a few nights last week and rebuilt it using Swift and modern macOS technologies. The result is what I’m calling version 2.0 - and it’s my goal for it to be built on a solid foundation to last for another eight years.

In this update…

I’ve added support for Mojave’s Dark Mode.
Included a new option to stop you from accidentally closing windows, too. (⌘W)
Fixed all known bugs and crashes.

If you’re an existing customer, you can upgrade to the new version for 30% off between now and the next two weeks. Check your email Tuesday (6/25/2019) for a coupon code from me to claim your discount.

If you’re a new customer and think CommandQ might be helpful, you can download a free 14-day trial. And you can purchase a new license for $9.99.

(And, just so you know, CommandQ is a one time purchase. It's not a subscription or a recurring charge like so many other apps are these days. Once you buy the app, it's yours to keep using forever.)

I’ve had fun using the app over the years, and I had a great time building this new version. I hope you enjoy it, too!

A quick note about pricing…

Back in 2011, I launched CommandQ for $3.99 and received a ton of hateful feedback via email and Twitter about how I was ripping off customers by charging "so much".

Well, those folks are going to be sorely disappointed to learn version 2.0 is now $9.99 (for new customers).

Why?

Because I practice sustainable software development.

Customers pay a fair, one-time, non-subscription price that allows me to eat, and in return they can expect a well-crafted app that will be supported into the future. Version 1.0 lasted eight years, and I'm pricing this new release to ensure 2.0 is around for a long time to come, too.

Of course, that’s just my opinion. I’m genuinely curious and interested in hearing any of your thoughts about how developers like myself can write software we love, make a living doing so, and still treat customers fairly. Feel free to send me your ideas here or on Twitter. I’d love to have a discussion.

Updates for 2019

2019-03-21T20:57:14+00:00

VirtualHostX

VirtualHostX 8.0 was released last September. Since then, we're now up to version 8.7.1 and have pushed out 28 app updates adding new features and squashing bugs. Here's a few highlights...

Improvements to Dark Mode in macOS Mojave.
VirtualHostX can now generate a "Public URL" for your websites that you can use to share them over the internet with another person or mobile device. This service is powered by the wonderful folks at Ngrok.
There is a new option in the Preferences window that, if enabled, will automatically save the domain names configured in VirtualHostX to your /etc/hosts file for you. This allows for fully offline functionality, however you'll be required to enter your administrator password each time you apply your changes. If you typically have a network connection when using VHX, there's no need to enable this setting.
A small tweak that makes VHX compatible with the newly released version 2.0 of Hostbuddy.
We now automatically add "AllowOverride All" to your website's custom directory directives when creating a new virtual host.
We've added a new option to the Preferences window where you can define your own Custom Directives templates. This lets you specify default custom directives that will be added to each new website you create.
VHX now offers a one-click install option for the Kirby CMS app.
Added a one-click installer for phpMyAdmin.
Added a one-click installer for Drupal.
Added a new "Local URL" text field which displays the URL you use to access your websites locally on your Mac. (Previously, this URL wasn't obvious for new users.)
VHX now parses out your ServerAlias domain names and can automatically add them to your /etc/hosts file for you. This will let you use any domain name you want to connect back to your locally hosted website.
We greatly improved the way the app handles detecting which port number the web server is running on. The app will display the currently active port number (either 80 or 8080) in the lower right corner of the main window. It also more gracefully handles switching between ports 80 and 8080 using the "Bind to Port..." command under the "Virtual Machine" menu.
The app now uses a trusted SSL certificate with your websites' HTTPS connections. This will allow you to automatically view your websites over a secure HTTPS connection without having to first manually import VHX's un-trusted SSL certificate into your Mac's keychain.
You can now view your web server's access and error logs by using the commands under the "Virtual Machine" menu.
You can now export backups of your websites. Each backup file contains the complete contents of your website's "Local Path" folder as well as a copy of its database(s), if any. You can pass along the backup file to another VHX user (or yourself) and they can import your data into a new or existing website.
Setting VirtualHostX's web server to run on ports 80/443 is now a permanent setting that lasts across reboots of your Mac. Once enabled, you can disable this setting at any time using the "Virtual Machine" menu.
Added a new "Sharing" section to the app's Preferences. From there, you can optionally configure the app to advertise your websites over your local network. Other folks running the new VirtualHostX for iOS app will be able to see your shared websites and open them in Mobile Safari. Also, you can tell VirtualHostX to advertise any websites you share publicly using the "Public URL" feature. This will send your publicly shared websites to people running the iOS app as well - whether or not they're connected to the same local network. All of this sharing is done securely by way of a four-digit PIN that VirtualHostX generates for you. Your friends and coworkers will need to enter this PIN before they can see your shared websites. And if you ever want to stop sharing your websites, you can generate a new PIN and everyone else will be disconnected.
VirtualHostX now keeps track of which websites have unsaved changes. If a website has a change that hasn't yet been saved into your web server's settings, it will appear in bold in the sidebar. Additionally, the status text in the bottom left corner of the app will give you a summary of your overall unsaved changes.
The sidebar of the app has received a visual refresh. I've cleaned up the website and folder icons, added a new status icon to let you know if a website is being publicly shared, and increased the white space to make things feel a bit less cramped.
The "Public URL" Connect button now changes appearance depending on the sharing status of the website. If a website is currently being shared, you can now click the button to disconnect.
Fixed a long-standing bug where editing a folder's name in the sidebar would cause some very ugly visual glitches.
The "Local URL", "LAN URL", and "Public URL" text labels are now clickable and will open their respective URLs in a new browser window.
Added right-click context menus to the sidebar. Right-click on a folder or website to add, edit, or delete.
Fixed a bug in our websocket library that prevented Auto Refresh from working in Firefox.

Whew! That's a lot. Also of note, VirtualHostX now requires macOS 10.12 or later.

Hostbuddy

Hostbuddy has received some love since it's big 2.0 release last Fall, too.

Made a lots of UI changes that are focused on cleaning up the interface and fixing a bunch of "paper cuts" within the app that didn't "feel right" and could get in your way.
Your host files in the sidebar are now sorted alphabetically.
You can now right-click on items in the sidebar to rename or delete them or add new ones.
After you add a new host file, we automatically select it for you in the sidebar so you can begin editing it right away.
We've rebuilt the sidebar to look a bit nicer and give your host files more spacing.
Added some whitespace around the code editor to make it breathe more. Previously, the text of your host file was right up against the edge of the screen, which didn't look very good.

Not as many updates as VHX, but Hostbuddy is a much simpler app and doesn't require as much maintenance. Nonetheless, we've got a few more new features in the works that I hope to get out the door in April.

Hobo

Our long neglected app for managing Vagrant on your Mac, Hobo, recieved a big 1.5 update in March.

This long-overdue update added compatibility with macOS 10.14 Mojave and also fixed all known bugs that had crept into the app over the last year.
Added support for Mojave's Dark Mode - including a great looking, new dark theme for the code editors.
You can now interactively choose boxes to install from Vagrant's website again.
Much like VirtualHostX, Hobo now downloads the VirtualBox and Vagrant install packages automatically for you - rather than sending you to their websites to download it yourself.

Other Improvements On Our Website

Finally, I've been paying attention to our website the last few weeks - particularly our Support Site and our Store.

First off, I've gone through our database of FAQ articles and updated them for the latest versions of our software. I've also written new ones including a detailed getting started guide for VirtualHostX, the differences bewteen our Personal and Commercial License options, as well as how to purchase additional licenses for previous orders.

Many of the new FAQs are focused on changes to our online store. I've improved the system running it to allow you to more easily

So, that's what we've been up to the past few months. I hope you enjoy all the improvements to our apps. I can't wait to get even better versions to you soon!

Hostbuddy 2.0 is Now Available

2018-10-10T20:57:14+00:00

Today I'm happy to release Hostbuddy 2.0 into the wild. It's a brand new version compatible with macOS 10.14 Mojave (and going back to 10.10 Yosemite).

The new highlight feature of this release is Remotely Hosted Hostfiles. With this feature you can create a new host group that points to a URL anywhere on the internet. Then, Hostbuddy will automatically download that hostfile's contents to your local machine and keep the two in sync from then on. It's a great way to subscribe to a shared hostfile. This can be super useful for businesses that need to share a list of development/staging/production server domain names and IP addresses. Or, you can subscribe to an ad blocking list that zeroes out all those pesky online trackers.

This new version is a paid upgrade available for $15 to existing customers.

Download Hostbuddy 2.0 today!

Migrating from macOS Server to VirtualHostX

2018-10-03T20:57:14+00:00

Earlier this week, Apple released version 5.7.1 of macOS Server. While this was only a minor version number change, it comes with some major differences. Specifically, Apple is completely removing support for Calendar Server, Contacts Server, the Mail Server, DNS, DHCP, VPN Server, and Websites. From their press release:

Apple continues to develop and support macOS Server, which includes Open Directory, Profile Manager, and Xsan management. The most popular server features—Caching Server, File Sharing Server, and Time Machine Server—have been bundled with every installation of macOS High Sierra since its release in fall 2017, so that even more customers have access to these essential services at no extra cost.

Starting with macOS Server 5.7.1, Apple no longer bundles open source services such as Calendar Server, Contacts Server, the Mail Server, DNS, DHCP, VPN Server, and Websites with macOS Server. Customers can get these same services directly from open-source providers. This way, macOS Server customers can install the most secure and up-to-date services as soon as they’re available.

The biggest change, for many of you reading this post, is that Apple will no longer support hosting one or more websites with Apache. You'll need to find an alternate solution.

Fortunately, VirtualHostX has your back. The latest version 8.0 is fully compatible with macOS 10.14 Mojave all the way back to 10.10 Yosemite. With VirtualHostX you can host an unlimited number of websites on your Mac - whether you're just testing development sites locallly or serving production traffic from a data center.

Beginning today, I'm offering former macOS Server customers a 40% discount on a commercial license of VirtualHostX. That'll save you $40! Just forward me a copy of your Server.app receipt and I'll get back to you ASAP with a coupon code you can use to claim your discount. Lost your receipt? No problem. Get in touch anyway and we'll work something out :-)

WordPress One-Click Install with VirtualHostX

2018-09-11T20:57:14+00:00

Today I'm thrilled to announce that one of VirtualHostX's most requested features is finally here - one click installs of your favorite web applications!

With one click, VHX can now download the latest version of a web app, such as WordPress, install the files, setup the database, and configure any additional settings needed.

We're rolling out this new feature with only WordPress at the moment since it's the most often requested web app. But we'd love to hear from you about which other web software you'd like to see included. Just give us a shout with your suggestion!

Using our new one-click install is simple. Just create an empty folder on your Mac and point a new virtual host at it. Then, choose "Install WordPress..." from the "One-Click Install" menu under the "Website" menu. VHX will take care of everything else from there for you.

VirtualHostX 8. - One Week In

2018-09-10T20:57:14+00:00

Last week I released version 8.0 of VirtualHostX. I've been overwhelmed with the feedback I've gotten from my amazing customers. Everyone is happy to see the app alive again and under active development. Since version 8's first release last week, I've pushed out nine updates to the app. I've been squashing bugs and adding new features aimed and streamlining and smoothing out all the rough edges that were present in version 7. I'd like to highlight two of the biggest improvements below...

First off, is a new install wizard. When running VHX for the first time, the app no longer sends you away to a 3rd party web page to download and install VirtualBox and Vagrant. Instead, I've built in a new download manager that automatically downloads all the neccessary support files and launches their install scripts. For new users, this means all they have to do is click "Next" inside the VirtualBox and Vagrant install apps when they appear. This new way is much, much faster and most importantly fool-proof. Also, as a minor addition, I've added three new menu items under the "Help" menu that let you re-install VHX's two supporting apps or uninstall them from your system completely.

Second, I've migrated VHX off of Ubuntu's official Vagrant box and onto a custom 3rd party one. You shouldn't notice any differences with the way your virtual machine behaves. However, this fixes a long standing bug where VirtualBox was trying to write the virtual machine's serial port log to an invalid directory. It may sound like a small bug, but this could prevent your web server from launching. As VHX's longest outstanding bug, I'm very happy to finally say it's been squashed.

In addition to the two bigger changes above, I've thrown in over thirty smaller fixes and improvements throughout the app that serve to make the whole experience a whole lot better. If you were a fan of VHX during the version 6.0 and earlier days, who may have had a bad experience with the changes I made in version 7 two years ago, I highly encourage you to download this new version and give it a try again. I think you'll love it :-)

Finally, here's a quick screencast I recorded that walks through the first-time setup process. It goes from zero to a fully baked Wordpress installation in two minutes.

VirtualHostX 8.0 is Now Available

2018-09-05T20:57:14+00:00

I’m pleased to announce that VirtualHostX 8.0 was released this evening. This is a brand new version that has been rewritten from the ground up for macOS Mojave.

This new version may come as a surprise to many of you if you read our previous blog post from this past February where we announced the shuttering of VirtualHostX. While we had fully planned on staying the course and working on new products, we recevied so much feedback from customers that, with a small angel investor, we've decided to bring back all of our apps.

Nottingham 3 is Now Available

2016-11-29T20:57:14+00:00

I’m pleased to announce that Nottingham 3.0 was released two weeks ago. (I’m just now getting around to writing about it.) This is a brand new version that has been rewritten from the ground up, with a focus on speed and stability.

As many of you might have found out, Nottingham 2.0 does not run on macOS Sierra. The technical reason for this is that prior versions of Nottingham were built with Apple’s (now-defunct) garbage collection technology. It’s certainly possible I could have just converted the project to use ARC, but that wouldn’t have solved the stability and speed problems that have plagued the app from the beginning.

With large collections of notes, more than 1,000, the app could really bog down. Especially when searching. And double especially when using WikiLinks between your notes.

This new version has been tested from the very beginning with a corpus of 50,000 notes - each a few KB in size. And now that I’m using Sqlite directly as a storage engine, I’m able to take advantage of its full-text search capabilities. The result? Search results appear as fast as you can type.

It was also a lot of fun simply rewriting the app as it gave me a chance to dive deeper into the latest version of Swift than my other projects have thus far.

I believe in releasing early and releasing often. That said, I wanted to get this new version out as quickly as possible since users who upgraded to Sierra were stuck without a working app at all. To make that happen I had to cut a few features. Notably, Simplenote syncing and Markdown previews. I know that both of those features are very important to many of Nottingham’s customers. So they’ll definitely be returning in the coming weeks and month(s).

So, if you haven’t already, download the latest version of Nottingham and take it for a spin. I’d love any feedback you can offer.

VirtualHostX 7 is Now Available

2016-06-01T20:57:14+00:00

After six months of development, we're ready to show you what we've been working on.

Download or Purchase Now

Back in January I announced all the big changes coming to this major new release of VirtualHostX. Today I'm thrilled to announce that work is complete and the app is now available for you to download.

This new version has been completely rewritten from the ground up to run on top of Vagrant and VirtualBox. This lets us run a real web server on your Mac just like your production machine - and it also means Apple's software updates can never again mess up your web server settings! Advanced users can even SSH into the virtual machine and bend it to their will.

I really, truly hope you love this brand new version of VHX. And, as always, thank you SO MUCH for being a customer of my tiny little company. Your support means the world to me and my family.

I've also opened up an issue tracker on GitHub where you can file bug reports and features requests. It's just part of an experiment in being more transparent with the development process.

And we also have a new discussion forum setup with you can chat with other VHX users.

VirtualHostX 7 Beta is Now Available for Testing

2016-05-23T20:57:14+00:00

I've released a beta version of VirtualHostX 7 which I would love for you to download and help test. It's fully capable of running alongside previous versions, so you're always able to roll-back if you don't like it.