diff --git a/src/main/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJava.java b/src/main/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJava.java
index 2da256a..a264d8f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJava.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJava.java
@@ -61,11 +61,33 @@ public MitmproxyJava start() throws IOException, TimeoutException {
         // python script file is zipped inside our jar. extract it into a temporary file.
         String pythonScriptPath = extractPythonScriptToFile();
 
+        final List<String> mitmproxyStartParams = buildMitmproxyStartParams(pythonScriptPath);
+
+        mitmproxyProcess = new ProcessExecutor()
+                .command(mitmproxyStartParams)
+                .redirectOutput(Slf4jStream.ofCaller().asInfo())
+                .destroyOnExit()
+                .start()
+                .getFuture();
+
+        if (isLocalModeOnly()) {
+            waitForLocalModeToStart();
+            log.info("Mitmproxy started in local mode");
+        } else {
+            waitForPortToBeInUse(proxyPort);
+            log.info("Mitmproxy started on port {}", proxyPort);
+        }
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    List<String> buildMitmproxyStartParams(String pythonScriptPath) {
         final List<String> mitmproxyStartParams = new ArrayList<>();
         mitmproxyStartParams.add(mitmproxyPath);
         mitmproxyStartParams.add("--anticache");
-        mitmproxyStartParams.add("-p");
-        mitmproxyStartParams.add(String.valueOf(proxyPort));
+        if (!isLocalModeOnly()) {
+            mitmproxyStartParams.add("-p");
+            mitmproxyStartParams.add(String.valueOf(proxyPort));
+        }
         mitmproxyStartParams.add("-s");
         mitmproxyStartParams.add(pythonScriptPath);
 
@@ -73,17 +95,39 @@ public MitmproxyJava start() throws IOException, TimeoutException {
         if (isNotEmpty(this.extraMitmdumpParams)) {
             mitmproxyStartParams.addAll(this.extraMitmdumpParams);
         }
+        return mitmproxyStartParams;
+    }
 
-        mitmproxyProcess = new ProcessExecutor()
-                .command(mitmproxyStartParams)
-                .redirectOutput(Slf4jStream.ofCaller().asInfo())
-                .destroyOnExit()
-                .start()
-                .getFuture();
-
-        waitForPortToBeInUse(proxyPort);
-        log.info("Mitmproxy started on port {}", proxyPort);
-        return this;
+    boolean isLocalModeOnly() {
+        if (!isNotEmpty(this.extraMitmdumpParams)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        boolean hasLocalMode = false;
+        for (int i = 0; i < this.extraMitmdumpParams.size(); i++) {
+            String param = this.extraMitmdumpParams.get(i);
+            if (param == null) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            String modeSpec = null;
+            if ("--mode".equals(param) || "-m".equals(param)) {
+                if (i + 1 < this.extraMitmdumpParams.size()) {
+                    modeSpec = this.extraMitmdumpParams.get(++i);
+                }
+            } else if (param.startsWith("--mode=")) {
+                modeSpec = param.substring("--mode=".length());
+            } else if (param.startsWith("-m=")) {
+                modeSpec = param.substring("-m=".length());
+            }
+            if (modeSpec != null) {
+                String normalized = modeSpec.trim().toLowerCase();
+                if (normalized.equals("local") || normalized.startsWith("local:") || normalized.startsWith("!local")) {
+                    hasLocalMode = true;
+                } else {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return hasLocalMode;
     }
 
     private String extractPythonScriptToFile() throws IOException {
@@ -103,8 +147,34 @@ public void stop() throws InterruptedException {
         if (mitmproxyProcess != null) {
             mitmproxyProcess.cancel(true);
         }
-        server.stop(1000);
-        waitForPortToBeFree(proxyPort);
+        if (server != null) {
+            server.stop(1000);
+        }
+        if (!isLocalModeOnly()) {
+            waitForPortToBeFree(proxyPort);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @SneakyThrows
+    private void waitForLocalModeToStart() {
+        final LocalDateTime timeoutTime = LocalDateTime.now().plusMinutes(TIMEOUT_FOR_SOCKET_CHECKING_MINS);
+
+        while (true) {
+            if (timeoutTime.isBefore(LocalDateTime.now())) {
+                throw new TimeoutException("Timed out waiting for mitmproxy to start in local mode");
+            }
+            if (mitmproxyProcess != null && mitmproxyProcess.isDone()) {
+                throw new TimeoutException("Mitmproxy process exited prematurely during startup");
+            }
+            if (server != null && !server.getConnections().isEmpty()) {
+                return;
+            }
+            try {
+                Thread.sleep(100);
+            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                e.printStackTrace();
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     @SneakyThrows
@@ -138,6 +208,10 @@ private void waitForPortToBeInUse(int port) {
                 throw new TimeoutException("Timed out waiting for mitmproxy to start");
             }
 
+            if (mitmproxyProcess != null && mitmproxyProcess.isDone()) {
+                throw new TimeoutException("Mitmproxy process exited prematurely during startup");
+            }
+
             try (Socket s = new Socket(LOCALHOST_IP, port)) {
                 return;
             } catch (IOException ioe) {
diff --git a/src/test/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJavaTest.java b/src/test/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJavaTest.java
index 85ea9c3..16bfcc0 100644
--- a/src/test/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJavaTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/io/appium/mitmproxy/MitmproxyJavaTest.java
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
 
@@ -131,4 +132,54 @@ public void shouldAddParametersToMitmdumpStart() throws IOException, TimeoutExce
         verify(spiedParams).toArray();
 
     }
+
+    @Test
+    public void shouldOmitPortArgumentInLocalModeOnly() {
+        MitmproxyJava localProxy = new MitmproxyJava(
+                MITMDUMP_PATH,
+                (InterceptedMessage m) -> m,
+                8089,
+                Arrays.asList("--mode", "local", "--showhost")
+        );
+
+        assertThat(localProxy.isLocalModeOnly()).isTrue();
+        assertThat(localProxy.buildMitmproxyStartParams("/path/to/proxy.py")).containsExactly(
+                MITMDUMP_PATH,
+                "--anticache",
+                "-s",
+                "/path/to/proxy.py",
+                "--mode",
+                "local",
+                "--showhost"
+        );
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void shouldIncludePortArgumentInRegularOrMixedMode() {
+        MitmproxyJava defaultProxy = new MitmproxyJava(
+                MITMDUMP_PATH,
+                (InterceptedMessage m) -> m,
+                8089,
+                Arrays.asList("--showhost")
+        );
+        MitmproxyJava mixedModeProxy = new MitmproxyJava(
+                MITMDUMP_PATH,
+                (InterceptedMessage m) -> m,
+                8089,
+                Arrays.asList("--mode", "local:curl", "--mode", "regular")
+        );
+
+        assertThat(defaultProxy.isLocalModeOnly()).isFalse();
+        assertThat(defaultProxy.buildMitmproxyStartParams("/path/to/proxy.py")).containsExactly(
+                MITMDUMP_PATH,
+                "--anticache",
+                "-p",
+                "8089",
+                "-s",
+                "/path/to/proxy.py",
+                "--showhost"
+        );
+        assertThat(mixedModeProxy.isLocalModeOnly()).isFalse();
+        assertThat(mixedModeProxy.buildMitmproxyStartParams("/path/to/proxy.py")).contains("-p", "8089");
+    }
 }
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