diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 343d841..d838f96 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -26,4 +26,5 @@ tasks/construction_tasks/train_multiagent_construction_tasks.json
 tasks/construction_tasks/test/**
 tasks/construction_tasks/train/**
 server_data*
-**/.DS_Store
\ No newline at end of file
+**/.DS_Store
+src/mindcraft-py/__pycache__/
diff --git a/main.js b/main.js
index 10b3e28..590348c 100644
--- a/main.js
+++ b/main.js
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ if (process.env.LOG_ALL) {
     settings.log_all_prompts = process.env.LOG_ALL;
 }
 
-Mindcraft.init(settings.mindserver_host, settings.mindserver_port);
+Mindcraft.init(false, settings.mindserver_port);
 
 for (let profile of settings.profiles) {
     const profile_json = JSON.parse(readFileSync(profile, 'utf8'));
diff --git a/settings.js b/settings.js
index 16f8b0f..ece1b14 100644
--- a/settings.js
+++ b/settings.js
@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@ const settings = {
     "auth": "offline", // or "microsoft"
 
     // the mindserver manages all agents and hosts the UI
-    "host_mindserver": true, // if true, the mindserver will be hosted on this machine. otherwise, specify a public IP address
-    "mindserver_host": "localhost",
     "mindserver_port": 8080,
     
     // the base profile is shared by all bots for default prompts/examples/modes
diff --git a/src/agent/mindserver_proxy.js b/src/agent/mindserver_proxy.js
index da098e1..4907253 100644
--- a/src/agent/mindserver_proxy.js
+++ b/src/agent/mindserver_proxy.js
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ import { io } from 'socket.io-client';
 import convoManager from './conversation.js';
 import { setSettings } from './settings.js';
 
+// agents connection to mindserver
+// always connect to localhost
+
 class MindServerProxy {
     constructor() {
         if (MindServerProxy.instance) {
@@ -14,11 +17,11 @@ class MindServerProxy {
         MindServerProxy.instance = this;
     }
 
-    async connect(name, host, port) {
+    async connect(name, port) {
         if (this.connected) return;
         
         this.name = name;
-        this.socket = io(`http://${host}:${port}`);
+        this.socket = io(`http://localhost:${port}`);
 
         await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
             this.socket.on('connect', resolve);
diff --git a/src/mindcraft-py/example.py b/src/mindcraft-py/example.py
index dde5610..b5775c1 100644
--- a/src/mindcraft-py/example.py
+++ b/src/mindcraft-py/example.py
@@ -17,5 +17,11 @@ try:
     
     settings = {"profile": profile_data}
     mindcraft.create_agent(settings)
+
+    settings_copy = settings.copy()
+    settings_copy['profile']['name'] = 'andy2'
+    mindcraft.create_agent(settings_copy)
 except FileNotFoundError:
     print(f"Error: Could not find andy.json at {profile_path}")
+
+mindcraft.wait()
diff --git a/src/mindcraft-py/init-mindcraft.js b/src/mindcraft-py/init-mindcraft.js
index 2ba8399..01a07e6 100644
--- a/src/mindcraft-py/init-mindcraft.js
+++ b/src/mindcraft-py/init-mindcraft.js
@@ -5,11 +5,6 @@ import { hideBin } from 'yargs/helpers';
 
 function parseArguments() {
     return yargs(hideBin(process.argv))
-        .option('mindserver_host', {
-            type: 'string',
-            describe: 'Mindserver host',
-            default: settings.mindserver_host
-        })
         .option('mindserver_port', {
             type: 'number',
             describe: 'Mindserver port',
@@ -22,9 +17,8 @@ function parseArguments() {
 
 const args = parseArguments();
 
-settings.mindserver_host = args.mindserver_host;
 settings.mindserver_port = args.mindserver_port;
 
-Mindcraft.init(settings.mindserver_host, settings.mindserver_port);
+Mindcraft.init(settings.mindserver_port);
 
-console.log(`Mindcraft initialized with MindServer at ${settings.mindserver_host}:${settings.mindserver_port}`); 
\ No newline at end of file
+console.log(`Mindcraft initialized with MindServer at localhost:${settings.mindserver_port}`); 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/mindcraft-py/mindcraft.py b/src/mindcraft-py/mindcraft.py
index 911caa8..d3c6049 100644
--- a/src/mindcraft-py/mindcraft.py
+++ b/src/mindcraft-py/mindcraft.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import os
 import atexit
 import threading
 import sys
+import signal
 
 class Mindcraft:
     def __init__(self):
@@ -19,11 +20,10 @@ class Mindcraft:
             sys.stdout.write(f'[Node.js] {line}')
             sys.stdout.flush()
 
-    def init(self, host='localhost', port=8080):
+    def init(self, port=8080):
         if self.process:
             return
 
-        self.host = host
         self.port = port
         
         node_script_path = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'init-mindcraft.js'))
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ class Mindcraft:
         self.process = subprocess.Popen([
             'node',
             node_script_path,
-            '--mindserver_host', self.host,
             '--mindserver_port', str(self.port)
         ], stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT, text=True, bufsize=1)
         
@@ -40,12 +39,12 @@ class Mindcraft:
         self.log_thread.start()
 
         atexit.register(self.shutdown)
-        time.sleep(2)
+        time.sleep(2) # Give server time to start before connecting
 
         try:
-            self.sio.connect(f'http://{self.host}:{self.port}')
+            self.sio.connect(f'http://localhost:{self.port}')
             self.connected = True
-            print("Connected to MindServer")
+            print("Connected to MindServer. Mindcraft is initialized.")
         except socketio.exceptions.ConnectionError as e:
             print(f"Failed to connect to MindServer: {e}")
             self.shutdown()
@@ -64,7 +63,6 @@ class Mindcraft:
                 print(f"Error creating agent: {response.get('error', 'Unknown error')}")
 
         self.sio.emit('create-agent', settings_json, callback=callback)
-        self.sio.wait()
 
     def shutdown(self):
         if self.sio.connected:
@@ -76,10 +74,20 @@ class Mindcraft:
             self.process = None
         print("Mindcraft shut down.")
 
+    def wait(self):
+        """Block the main thread until Ctrl+C is pressed so the server stays up,"""
+        print("Server is running. Press Ctrl+C to exit.")
+        try:
+            while True:
+                time.sleep(1)
+        except KeyboardInterrupt:
+            print("\nCtrl+C detected. Exiting...")
+            self.shutdown()
+
 mindcraft_instance = Mindcraft()
 
-def init(host='localhost', port=8080):
-    mindcraft_instance.init(host, port)
+def init(port=8080):
+    mindcraft_instance.init(port)
 
 def create_agent(settings_json):
     mindcraft_instance.create_agent(settings_json)
@@ -88,4 +96,4 @@ def shutdown():
     mindcraft_instance.shutdown()
 
 def wait():
-    mindcraft_instance.wait() 
\ No newline at end of file
+    mindcraft_instance.wait()
diff --git a/src/mindcraft/mindcraft.js b/src/mindcraft/mindcraft.js
index a36bbdc..cd18748 100644
--- a/src/mindcraft/mindcraft.js
+++ b/src/mindcraft/mindcraft.js
@@ -8,13 +8,12 @@ let agent_count = 0;
 let host = 'localhost';
 let port = 8080;
 
-export async function init(host='localhost', port=8080) {
+export async function init(host_public=false, port=8080) {
     if (connected) {
         console.error('Already initiliazed!');
         return;
     }
-    mindserver = createMindServer(host, port);
-    host = host;
+    mindserver = createMindServer(host_public, port);
     port = port;
     connected = true;
 }
@@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ export async function createAgent(settings) {
     registerAgent(settings);
     let load_memory = settings.load_memory || false;
     let init_message = settings.init_message || null;
-    const agentProcess = new AgentProcess(agent_name, host, port);
+    const agentProcess = new AgentProcess(agent_name, port);
     agentProcess.start(load_memory, init_message, agent_count);
     agent_count++;
     agent_processes[settings.profile.name] = agentProcess;
diff --git a/src/mindcraft/mindserver.js b/src/mindcraft/mindserver.js
index 1d51854..d6d81a1 100644
--- a/src/mindcraft/mindserver.js
+++ b/src/mindcraft/mindserver.js
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ export function logoutAgent(agentName) {
 }
 
 // Initialize the server
-export function createMindServer(host = 'localhost', port = 8080) {
+export function createMindServer(host_public = false, port = 8080) {
     const app = express();
     server = http.createServer(app);
     io = new Server(server);
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ export function createMindServer(host = 'localhost', port = 8080) {
 		});
     });
 
+    let host = host_public ? '0.0.0.0' : 'localhost';
     server.listen(port, host, () => {
         console.log(`MindServer running on port ${port}`);
     });
diff --git a/src/process/agent_process.js b/src/process/agent_process.js
index 07f5230..0219c7d 100644
--- a/src/process/agent_process.js
+++ b/src/process/agent_process.js
@@ -2,9 +2,8 @@ import { spawn } from 'child_process';
 import { logoutAgent } from '../mindcraft/mindserver.js';
 
 export class AgentProcess {
-    constructor(name, host, port) {
+    constructor(name, port) {
         this.name = name;
-        this.host = host;
         this.port = port;
     }
 
@@ -19,7 +18,6 @@ export class AgentProcess {
             args.push('-l', load_memory);
         if (init_message)
             args.push('-m', init_message);
-        args.push('-h', this.host);
         args.push('-p', this.port);
 
         const agentProcess = spawn('node', args, {
@@ -45,7 +43,7 @@ export class AgentProcess {
                     return;
                 }
                 console.log('Restarting agent...');
-                this.start(true, 'Agent process restarted.', count_id, this.host, this.port);
+                this.start(true, 'Agent process restarted.', count_id, this.port);
                 last_restart = Date.now();
             }
         });
diff --git a/src/process/init_agent.js b/src/process/init_agent.js
index 1af31b1..8cbbd95 100644
--- a/src/process/init_agent.js
+++ b/src/process/init_agent.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import yargs from 'yargs';
 
 const args = process.argv.slice(2);
 if (args.length < 1) {
-    console.log('Usage: node init_agent.js <agent_name> [profile] [load_memory] [init_message]');
+    console.log('Usage: node init_agent.js -n <agent_name> -p <port> -l <load_memory> -m <init_message> -c <count_id>');
     process.exit(1);
 }
 
@@ -30,11 +30,6 @@ const argv = yargs(args)
         default: 0,
         description: 'identifying count for multi-agent scenarios',
     })
-    .option('host', {
-        alias: 'h',
-        type: 'string',
-        description: 'host of mindserver'
-    })
     .option('port', {
         alias: 'p',
         type: 'number',
@@ -45,7 +40,7 @@ const argv = yargs(args)
 (async () => {
     try {
         console.log('Connecting to MindServer');
-        await serverProxy.connect(argv.name, argv.host, argv.port);
+        await serverProxy.connect(argv.name, argv.port);
         console.log('Starting agent');
         const agent = new Agent();
         serverProxy.setAgent(agent);