[Solved] MacOS Error - “Port 5000 Already in Use”

Ever tried to start your local server only to see that “Port 5000 is already in use”?

It turns out Control Center might be the culprit.

Running lsof -i :5000 showed me that Control Center was occupying the port, and even after trying to kill the process, it kept restarting—thanks to AirPlay.

The solution? Head to System Settings › General › AirDrop & Handoff and uncheck AirPlay Receiver. That’ll free up port 5000 so you can get back to coding without a hitch.