webpack-dev-server

What is webpack-dev-server?

webpack-dev-server is a development server that provides live reloading. It is intended to be used with webpack, a module bundler. It uses webpack's watch mode and, when changes are detected, it recompiles the bundle and notifies the client to reload the page.

What are webpack-dev-server's main functionalities?

Live Reloading

Automatically reloads the page when files are changed. The 'hot' option enables Hot Module Replacement without page refresh as fallback in case of build failures.

module.exports = {
  devServer: {
    contentBase: './dist',
    hot: true
  }
};

Custom Middleware

Allows developers to add custom routes before the server starts. Useful for mocking an API or other custom server logic.

module.exports = {
  devServer: {
    before: function(app, server) {
      app.get('/some/path', function(req, res) {
        res.json({ custom: 'response' });
      });
    }
  }
};

Proxying API Requests

Redirects API calls to another server. This is useful when you have a separate API backend development server and you want to send API requests on the same domain.

module.exports = {
  devServer: {
    proxy: {
      '/api': 'http://localhost:3000'
    }
  }
};

HTTPS Support

Allows serving the webpack application over HTTPS. This is useful for testing applications that require secure connections.

module.exports = {
  devServer: {
    https: true
  }
};

Other packages similar to webpack-dev-server

browser-sync

BrowserSync is an automation tool that makes web development faster. It synchronizes file changes and interactions across multiple devices. It's similar to webpack-dev-server but works across multiple browsers and devices.

lite-server

Lite-server is a lightweight development server that serves a web app, opens it in the browser, and refreshes the browser on file changes. It is built on top of BrowserSync and provides fewer configuration options compared to webpack-dev-server.

serve

Serve is a static server that lets you serve static files quickly. It is simpler than webpack-dev-server and does not have built-in support for live reloading or module bundling.

http-server

http-server is a simple, zero-configuration command-line HTTP server. It is powerful and has the ability to serve static files, but lacks the advanced features of webpack-dev-server like live reloading and module hot replacement.

README

webpack-dev-server

Use webpack with a development server that provides live reloading. This should be used for development only.

It uses webpack-dev-middleware under the hood, which provides fast in-memory access to the webpack assets.

Getting Started

First thing's first, install the module:

npm install webpack-dev-server --save-dev

Note: While you can install and run webpack-dev-server globally, we recommend installing it locally. webpack-dev-server will always use a local installation over a global one.

Usage

There are two main, recommended methods of using the module:

With the CLI

The easiest way to use it is with the CLI. In the directory where your webpack.config.js is, run:

node_modules/.bin/webpack-dev-server

With NPM Scripts

NPM package.json scripts are a convenient and useful means to run locally installed binaries without having to be concerned about their full paths. Simply define a script as such:

"scripts": {
  "start:dev": "webpack-dev-server"
}

And run the following in your terminal/console:

npm run start:dev

NPM will automagically reference the binary in node_modules for you, and execute the file or command.

The Result

Either method will start a server instance and begin listening for connections from localhost on port 8080.

webpack-dev-server is configured by default to support live-reload of files as you edit your assets while the server is running.

See the documentation for more use cases and options.

Caveats

Version 2.8.0 introduced a change which included ES6 keywords const and let within the scripts being served to the browser. This effects environments which support no ES6 whatsoever, including older versions of UglifyJS and Internet Explorer. This was not considered a breaking change at the time due to official support for oldIE ending in 2016, rather this was seen as a maintenance update. Those wishing to support oldIE should stick with version 2.7.1.

For version 2.8.0+ those using UglifyJS in their webpack configs should use the beta version of uglifyjs-webpack-plugin independently, and not the built-in plugin. This will change once the new version is out of beta.

Support

We do our best to keep Issues in the repository focused on bugs, features, and needed modifications to the code for the module. Because of that, we ask users with general support, "how-to", or "why isn't this working" questions to try one of the other support channels that are available.

Your first-stop-shop for support for webpack-dev-server should by the excellent documentation for the module. If you see an opportunity for improvement of those docs, please head over to the webpack.js.org repo and open a pull request.

From there, we encourage users to visit the webpack Gitter chat and talk to the fine folks there. If your quest for answers comes up dry in chat, head over to StackOverflow and do a quick search or open a new question. Remember; It's always much easier to answer questions that include your webpack.config.js and relevant files!

If you're twitter-savvy you can tweet #webpack with your question and someone should be able to reach out and lend a hand.

If you have discovered a :bug:, have a feature suggestion, of would like to see a modification, please feel free to create an issue on Github. Note: The issue template isn't optional, so please be sure not to remove it, and please fill it out completely.

Contributing

We welcome your contributions! Please have a read of CONTRIBUTING.md for more information on how to get involved.

Maintainers

Kees Kluskens

Andrew Powell

Attribution

This project is heavily inspired by peerigon/nof5.

License

MIT