diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 37b61a6..ff33246 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -31,12 +31,12 @@ Use the [pact][pact] gem if you would like the full Pact DSL, mock service and v
 Otherwise:
 
     $ gem install pact-mock_service
-    $ pact-mock-service --consumer Foo --provider Bar --port 1234
+    $ pact-mock-service --consumer Foo --provider Bar --port 8888
 
 Or add `gem "pact-mock_service"` to your Gemfile then run:
 
     $ bundle install
-    $ bundle exec pact-mock-service --consumer Foo --provider Bar --port 1234
+    $ bundle exec pact-mock-service --consumer Foo --provider Bar --port 8888
 
 Run `pact-mock-service help` for command line options.
 
@@ -84,11 +84,11 @@ You can find more documentation for the mock service in the repository [wiki][wi
 
 If you need to use the mock service with HTTPS, you can use the built-in SSL mode which relies on and generates a self-signed certificate.
 
-    $ pact-mock-service --port 1234 --ssl
+    $ pact-mock-service --port 8888 --ssl
 
 If you need to provide your own certificate and key, use the following syntax.
 
-    $ pact-mock-service --port 1234 --ssl --sslcert PATH_TO_CERT --sslkey PATH_TO_KEY
+    $ pact-mock-service --port 8888 --ssl --sslcert PATH_TO_CERT --sslkey PATH_TO_KEY
 
 ### With CORS
 
diff --git a/lib/pact/mock_service/cli.rb b/lib/pact/mock_service/cli.rb
index 5aaec32..b0367a8 100755
--- a/lib/pact/mock_service/cli.rb
+++ b/lib/pact/mock_service/cli.rb
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def control
       desc 'start', "Start a mock service. If the consumer, provider and pact-dir options are provided, the pact will be written automatically on shutdown (INT)."
       method_option :consumer, desc: "Consumer name"
       method_option :provider, desc: "Provider name"
-      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", default: '1234', desc: "Port on which to run the service"
+      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", default: '8888', desc: "Port on which to run the service"
       method_option :host, aliases: "-h", desc: "Host on which to bind the service", default: 'localhost'
       method_option :pact_dir, aliases: "-d", desc: "Directory to which the pacts will be written"
       method_option :pact_file_write_mode, aliases: "-m", desc: PACT_FILE_WRITE_MODE_DESC, type: :string, default: 'overwrite'
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ def start
       end
 
       desc 'stop', "Stop a Pact mock service"
-      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port of the service to stop", default: '1234', required: true
+      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port of the service to stop", default: '8888', required: true
       method_option :pid_dir, desc: "PID dir, defaults to tmp/pids", default: "tmp/pids"
 
       def stop
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ def stop
       desc 'restart', "Start or restart a mock service. If the consumer, provider and pact-dir options are provided, the pact will be written automatically on shutdown (INT)."
       method_option :consumer, desc: "Consumer name"
       method_option :provider, desc: "Provider name"
-      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", default: '1234', desc: "Port on which to run the service"
+      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", default: '8888', desc: "Port on which to run the service"
       method_option :host, aliases: "-h", desc: "Host on which to bind the service", default: 'localhost'
       method_option :pact_dir, aliases: "-d", desc: "Directory to which the pacts will be written"
       method_option :pact_file_write_mode, aliases: "-m", desc: PACT_FILE_WRITE_MODE_DESC, type: :string, default: 'overwrite'
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ def restart
       end
 
       desc 'control-start', "Start a Pact mock service control server."
-      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port on which to run the service", default: '1234'
+      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port on which to run the service", default: '8888'
       method_option :host, aliases: "-h", desc: "Host on which to bind the service", default: 'localhost'
       method_option :log_dir, aliases: "-l", desc: "File to which to log output", default: "log"
       method_option :log_level, desc: "Log level. Options are DEBUG INFO WARN ERROR", default: "DEBUG"
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ def control_start
       end
 
       desc 'control-stop', "Stop a Pact mock service control server."
-      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port of control server to stop", default: "1234"
+      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port of control server to stop", default: "8888"
       method_option :pid_dir, desc: "PID dir, defaults to tmp/pids", default: "tmp/pids"
 
       def control_stop
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ def control_stop
       end
 
       desc 'control-restart', "Start a Pact mock service control server."
-      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port on which to run the service", default: '1234'
+      method_option :port, aliases: "-p", desc: "Port on which to run the service", default: '8888'
       method_option :host, aliases: "-h", desc: "Host on which to bind the service", default: 'localhost'
       method_option :log_dir, aliases: "-l", desc: "File to which to log output", default: "log"
       method_option :log_level, desc: "Log level. Options are DEBUG INFO WARN ERROR", default: "DEBUG"
diff --git a/packaging/RELEASE_NOTES.md.template b/packaging/RELEASE_NOTES.md.template
index 32f48a0..389e089 100644
--- a/packaging/RELEASE_NOTES.md.template
+++ b/packaging/RELEASE_NOTES.md.template
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ To install and run on OSX:
 curl -LO https://github.com/bethesque/pact-mock_service/releases/download/<TAG_NAME>/pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-osx.tar.gz
 tar xzf pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-osx.tar.gz
 cd pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-osx/bin
-./pact-mock-service -p 1234
+./pact-mock-service -p 8888
 ```
 
 To install and run on Linux 64 bit:
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ To install and run on Linux 64 bit:
 curl -LO https://github.com/bethesque/pact-mock_service/releases/download/<TAG_NAME>/pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
 tar xzf pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
 cd pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-linux-x86_64/bin
-./pact-mock-service -p 1234
+./pact-mock-service -p 8888
 ```
 
 To install and run on Linux 32 bit:
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ To install and run on Linux 32 bit:
 curl -LO https://github.com/bethesque/pact-mock_service/releases/download/<TAG_NAME>/pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-linux-x86.tar.gz
 tar xzf pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-linux-x86.tar.gz
 cd pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-linux-x86/bin
-./pact-mock-service -p 1234
+./pact-mock-service -p 8888
 ```
 
 To install and run on Windows:
@@ -32,5 +32,5 @@ To install and run on Windows:
 Download package, unzip, cd to pact-mock-service-<PACKAGE_VERSION>-win32 and then run:
 
 ```
-$ .\bin\pact-mock-service.bat -p 1234
+$ .\bin\pact-mock-service.bat -p 8888
 ```
diff --git a/script/example.sh b/script/example.sh
index 4d93934..5e0d989 100755
--- a/script/example.sh
+++ b/script/example.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # BEFORE SUITE start mock service
 # invoked by the pact framework
 bundle exec bin/pact-mock-service service \
-  --port 1234 \
+  --port 8888 \
   --consumer Foo \
   --provider Bar \
   --pact-specification-version 2 \
@@ -14,37 +14,37 @@ pid=$!
 
 # BEFORE SUITE wait for mock service to start up
 # invoked by the pact framework
-while [ "200" -ne "$(curl -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" localhost:1234)" ]; do sleep 0.5; done
+while [ "200" -ne "$(curl -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" localhost:8888)" ]; do sleep 0.5; done
 
 # uncomment this line to see the curl commands interleaved with the responses
 # set -x
 
 # BEFORE EACH TEST clear interactions from previous test
 # invoked by the pact framework
-curl -X DELETE -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" localhost:1234/interactions
+curl -X DELETE -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" localhost:8888/interactions
 
 # BEFORE A TEST set up interaction(s) just for that test
 # The contents of this would be written by the developer in the provided pact DSL for
 # your language eg. mockService.given(...).uponReceiving(...). ...
 # This can be called mulitple times. Alternatively PUT could be used
 # with a body of `{interactions: [...]}` which would negate the need to call DELETE.
-curl -X POST -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -d@script/consumer-interaction.json localhost:1234/interactions
+curl -X POST -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -d@script/consumer-interaction.json localhost:8888/interactions
 
 # IN A TEST execute interaction(s)
 # this would be done by the consumer code under test
-curl localhost:1234/foo
+curl localhost:8888/foo
 echo ''
 
 # AFTER EACH TEST verify interaction(s) took place
 # This would be done explicitly by the developer or automatically by the framework,
 # depending on the language
-curl -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" localhost:1234/interactions/verification
+curl -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" localhost:8888/interactions/verification
 
 # AFTER SUITE
 # write pact
 # this would be invoked explictly by the developer or automatically framework,
 # depending on the language
-curl -X POST -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -H "Content-Length: 0" localhost:1234/pact
+curl -X POST -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -H "Content-Length: 0" localhost:8888/pact
 
 # AFTER SUITE stop mock service
 # this would be invoked by the test framework
diff --git a/script/stub_example.sh b/script/stub_example.sh
index a416669..410b524 100755
--- a/script/stub_example.sh
+++ b/script/stub_example.sh
@@ -3,17 +3,17 @@
 # BEFORE SUITE start mock service
 # invoked by the pact framework
 bundle exec pact-stub-service script/foo-bar.json \
-  --port 1234 \
+  --port 8888 \
   --log ./tmp/bar_stub_service.log &
 pid=$!
 
 # BEFORE SUITE wait for mock service to start up
 # invoked by the pact framework
-while [ "200" -ne "$(curl -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -s -o /dev/null  -w "%{http_code}" localhost:1234)" ]; do sleep 0.5; done
+while [ "200" -ne "$(curl -H "X-Pact-Mock-Service: true" -s -o /dev/null  -w "%{http_code}" localhost:8888)" ]; do sleep 0.5; done
 
 # IN A TEST execute interaction(s)
 # this would be done by the consumer code under test
-curl localhost:1234/foo
+curl localhost:8888/foo
 echo ''
 
 
diff --git a/spec/features/administration_endpoints_cors_spec.rb b/spec/features/administration_endpoints_cors_spec.rb
index da23c4a..833f603 100644
--- a/spec/features/administration_endpoints_cors_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/administration_endpoints_cors_spec.rb
@@ -108,8 +108,8 @@
 
       context "when the Origin header is set" do
         it "sets the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header to be the Origin" do
-          options '/pact', nil, { 'HTTP_ACCESS_CONTROL_REQUEST_HEADERS' => 'X-Pact-Mock-Service, Content-Type', 'HTTP_ORIGIN' => 'http://localhost:1234' }
-          expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Origin']).to eq 'http://localhost:1234'
+          options '/pact', nil, { 'HTTP_ACCESS_CONTROL_REQUEST_HEADERS' => 'X-Pact-Mock-Service, Content-Type', 'HTTP_ORIGIN' => 'http://localhost:8888' }
+          expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Origin']).to eq 'http://localhost:8888'
         end
       end
     end
diff --git a/spec/features/mock_interactions_with_cors_spec.rb b/spec/features/mock_interactions_with_cors_spec.rb
index 3bbdd81..ed51ec8 100644
--- a/spec/features/mock_interactions_with_cors_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/mock_interactions_with_cors_spec.rb
@@ -56,21 +56,21 @@
         expect(last_response.status).to be 200
 
         # OPTIONS request from the browser for the request under test
-        options '/alligators/new', nil, { 'HTTP_ACCESS_CONTROL_REQUEST_HEADERS' => 'accept', 'HTTP_ORIGIN' => 'http://localhost:1234' }
+        options '/alligators/new', nil, { 'HTTP_ACCESS_CONTROL_REQUEST_HEADERS' => 'accept', 'HTTP_ORIGIN' => 'http://localhost:8888' }
 
         # Ensure it allows the browser to actually make the request
         expect(last_response.status).to eq 200
-        expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Origin']).to eq 'http://localhost:1234'
+        expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Origin']).to eq 'http://localhost:8888'
         expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Credentials']).to eq 'true'
         expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Headers']).to include 'accept'
         expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Methods']).to include "DELETE, POST, GET, HEAD, PUT, TRACE, CONNECT"
 
         # Make the request
-        post "/alligators/new", actual_request, { 'HTTP_ACCEPT' => 'application/json', 'HTTP_ORIGIN' => 'http://localhost:1234' }
+        post "/alligators/new", actual_request, { 'HTTP_ACCEPT' => 'application/json', 'HTTP_ORIGIN' => 'http://localhost:8888' }
 
         # Ensure that the response we get back was the one we expected
         # and includes the CORS header
-        expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Origin']).to eq 'http://localhost:1234'
+        expect(last_response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Origin']).to eq 'http://localhost:8888'
         expect(last_response.headers['Content-Type']).to eq 'application/json'
         expect(JSON.parse(last_response.body)).to eq([{ 'name' => 'Mary' }])
       end
diff --git a/spec/integration/cli_cors_spec.rb b/spec/integration/cli_cors_spec.rb
index d985255..30ef58b 100644
--- a/spec/integration/cli_cors_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/cli_cors_spec.rb
@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@
 
   before :all do
     clear_dirs
-    @pid = start_server 1234, '--cors'
+    @pid = start_server 8888, '--cors'
   end
 
   it "responds to an OPTIONS request for a non administration request" do
-    response = make_options_request 1234
+    response = make_options_request 8888
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
     expect(response.headers['Access-Control-Allow-Headers']).to_not be nil
   end
diff --git a/spec/integration/cli_spec.rb b/spec/integration/cli_spec.rb
index 5bde4fb..104920f 100644
--- a/spec/integration/cli_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/cli_spec.rb
@@ -7,32 +7,32 @@
 
   before :all do
     clear_dirs
-    @pid = start_server 1234, "--pact-specification-version 3.0.0"
+    @pid = start_server 8888, "--pact-specification-version 3.0.0"
   end
 
   it "starts up and responds with mocked responses" do
-    response = setup_interaction 1234
+    response = setup_interaction 8888
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
 
-    response = invoke_expected_request 1234
+    response = invoke_expected_request 8888
     puts response.body if response.status != 200
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
     expect(response.body).to eq 'Hello world'
 
-    write_pact 1234
+    write_pact 8888
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
   end
 
   it "respects headers with underscores" do
-    setup_interaction_with_underscored_header 1234
-    response = invoke_request_with_underscored_header 1234
+    setup_interaction_with_underscored_header 8888
+    response = invoke_request_with_underscored_header 8888
     puts response.body unless response.status == 200
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
   end
 
   it "sets the X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location header" do
-    response = setup_interaction 1234
-    expect(response.headers['X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location']).to eq 'http://0.0.0.0:1234'
+    response = setup_interaction 8888
+    expect(response.headers['X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location']).to eq 'http://0.0.0.0:8888'
   end
 
   it "writes logs to the specified log file" do
@@ -40,18 +40,18 @@
   end
 
   it "writes the pact to the specified directory" do
-    clear_interactions 1234
-    setup_interaction 1234
-    invoke_expected_request 1234
+    clear_interactions 8888
+    setup_interaction 8888
+    invoke_expected_request 8888
     expect(File.exist?('tmp/pacts/consumer-provider.json')).to be true
   end
 
   it "sets the pact specification version" do
-    clear_interactions 1234
-    setup_interaction 1234
-    invoke_expected_request 1234
+    clear_interactions 8888
+    setup_interaction 8888
+    invoke_expected_request 8888
 
-    write_pact 1234
+    write_pact 8888
     expect(File.read("tmp/pacts/consumer-provider.json")).to include "3.0.0"
   end
 
diff --git a/spec/integration/control_server_cli_spec.rb b/spec/integration/control_server_cli_spec.rb
index d38078b..d18bc78 100644
--- a/spec/integration/control_server_cli_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/control_server_cli_spec.rb
@@ -22,15 +22,15 @@ def mock_service_headers
 
   before :all do
     clear_dirs
-    @pid = start_control 1234, "--pact-specification-version 3"
+    @pid = start_control 8888, "--pact-specification-version 3"
   end
 
   it "starts up and responds with mocked responses" do
-    response = setup_interaction 1234
+    response = setup_interaction 8888
     puts response.body unless response.status == 200
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
     mock_service_port = URI(response.headers['X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location']).port
-    expect(mock_service_port).to_not eq 1234
+    expect(mock_service_port).to_not eq 8888
 
     response = invoke_expected_request mock_service_port
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
diff --git a/spec/integration/control_server_with_cors_cli_spec.rb b/spec/integration/control_server_with_cors_cli_spec.rb
index b1754d8..c041f7d 100644
--- a/spec/integration/control_server_with_cors_cli_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/control_server_with_cors_cli_spec.rb
@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@
 
   before :all do
     clear_dirs
-    @pid = start_control 1234, '--cors'
+    @pid = start_control 8888, '--cors'
   end
 
   it "responds to an OPTIONS request for a non administration request" do
-    response = setup_interaction 1234
+    response = setup_interaction 8888
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
     mock_service_port = URI(response.headers['X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location']).port
 
diff --git a/spec/integration/control_server_with_ssl_cli_spec.rb b/spec/integration/control_server_with_ssl_cli_spec.rb
index ec04585..a39e2e7 100644
--- a/spec/integration/control_server_with_ssl_cli_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/control_server_with_ssl_cli_spec.rb
@@ -7,16 +7,16 @@
 
   before :all do
     clear_dirs
-    @pid = start_control 1234, '--ssl'
+    @pid = start_control 8888, '--ssl'
   end
 
   it "sets the X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location with https" do
-    response = setup_interaction 1234
+    response = setup_interaction 8888
     expect(response.headers['X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location']).to start_with 'https://localhost:'
   end
 
   it "responds to an OPTIONS request for a non administration request" do
-    response = setup_interaction 1234
+    response = setup_interaction 8888
     expect(response.status).to eq 200
     mock_service_port = URI(response.headers['X-Pact-Mock-Service-Location']).port
     response = connect_via_ssl mock_service_port
diff --git a/spec/lib/pact/mock_service/app_manager_spec.rb b/spec/lib/pact/mock_service/app_manager_spec.rb
index 64dde99..24e0bbd 100644
--- a/spec/lib/pact/mock_service/app_manager_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/pact/mock_service/app_manager_spec.rb
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ module Pact::MockService
       let(:options) { { pact_specification_version: '3' } }
 
       context "for http://localhost" do
-        let(:url) { 'http://localhost:1234'}
+        let(:url) { 'http://localhost:8888'}
 
         it "starts a mock service at the given port on localhost" do
           expect_any_instance_of(AppRegistration).to receive(:spawn)
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ module Pact::MockService
 
         it "registers the mock service as running on the given port" do
           AppManager.instance.register_mock_service_for name, url, options
-          expect(AppManager.instance.app_registered_on?(1234)).to eq true
+          expect(AppManager.instance.app_registered_on?(8888)).to eq true
         end
 
         it "reports the metric for pact mock service started" do
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ module Pact::MockService
       end
 
       context "for https://" do
-        let(:url) { 'https://localhost:1234'}
+        let(:url) { 'https://localhost:8888'}
 
         it "should throw an unsupported error" do
           expect { AppManager.instance.register_mock_service_for name, url, options }.to raise_error "Currently only http is supported"