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.

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Usage
  • With the CLI
  • With NPM Scripts
  • The Result
• Browser Support
• Support
• Contributing
• Attribution
• License

Getting Started

First things 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 webpack CLI. In the directory where your webpack.config.js is, run:

npx webpack serve

Following options are available with webpack serve:

Usage: webpack serve|s [entries...] [options]

Options:
  -c, --config <value...>          Provide path to a webpack configuration file e.g. ./webpack.config.js.
  --config-name <value...>         Name of the configuration to use.
  -m, --merge                      Merge two or more configurations using 'webpack-merge'.
  --env <value...>                 Environment passed to the configuration when it is a function.
  --node-env <value>               Sets process.env.NODE_ENV to the specified value.
  --progress [value]               Print compilation progress during build.
  -j, --json [value]               Prints result as JSON or store it in a file.
  -d, --devtool <value>            Determine source maps to use.
  --no-devtool                     Do not generate source maps.
  --entry <value...>               The entry point(s) of your application e.g. ./src/main.js.
  --mode <value>                   Defines the mode to pass to webpack.
  --name <value>                   Name of the configuration. Used when loading multiple configurations.
  -o, --output-path <value>        Output location of the file generated by webpack e.g. ./dist/.
  --stats [value]                  It instructs webpack on how to treat the stats e.g. verbose.
  --no-stats                       Disable stats output.
  -t, --target <value...>          Sets the build target e.g. node.
  --no-target                      Negative 'target' option.
  --watch-options-stdin            Stop watching when stdin stream has ended.
  --no-watch-options-stdin         Do not stop watching when stdin stream has ended.
  --host <value>                   The hostname/ip address the server will bind to.
  --port <value>                   The port server will listen to.
  --static [value...]              A directory to serve static content from.
  --no-static                      Negative 'static' option.
  --static-directory <value>       Directory for static contents.
  --static-public-path <value...>  The bundled files will be available in the browser under this path.
  --static-serve-index             Tells dev-server to use serveIndex middleware.
  --no-static-serve-index          Do not tell dev-server to use serveIndex middleware.
  --static-watch                   Watch for files in static content directory.
  --no-static-watch                Do not watch for files in static content directory.
  --live-reload                    Enables live reloading on changing files.
  --no-live-reload                 Disables live reloading on changing files.
  --https                          Use HTTPS protocol.
  --no-https                       Do not use HTTPS protocol.
  --http2                          Use HTTP/2, must be used with HTTPS.
  --no-http2                       Do not use HTTP/2.
  --bonjour                        Broadcasts the server via ZeroConf networking on start.
  --no-bonjour                     Do not broadcast the server via ZeroConf networking on start.
  --client-progress                Print compilation progress in percentage in the browser.
  --no-client-progress             Do not print compilation progress in percentage in the browser.
  --client-overlay                 Show a full-screen overlay in the browser when there are compiler errors or warnings.
  --no-client-overlay              Do not show a full-screen overlay in the browser when there are compiler errors or warnings.
  --open [value...]                Open the default browser.
  --no-open                        Do not open the default browser.
  --open-app <value>               Open specified browser.
  --open-target [value...]         Open specified route in browser.
  --no-open-target                 Do not open specified route in browser.
  --client-logging <value>         Log level in the browser (none, error, warn, info, log, verbose).
  --history-api-fallback           Fallback to /index.html for Single Page Applications.
  --no-history-api-fallback        Do not fallback to /index.html for Single Page Applications.
  --compress                       Enable gzip compression.
  --no-compress                    Disable gzip compression.
  --public <value>                 The public hostname/ip address of the server.
  --firewall [value...]            Enable firewall or set hosts that are allowed to access the dev server.
  --no-firewall                    Disable firewall.
  --watch-files <value...>         Watch static files for file changes.

Global options:
  --color                          Enable colors on console.
  --no-color                       Disable colors on console.
  -v, --version                    Output the version number of 'webpack', 'webpack-cli' and 'webpack-dev-server' and commands.
  -h, --help [verbose]             Display help for commands and options.

Note: For more information on above options explore this link.

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": {
    "serve": "webpack serve"
  }
}

And run the following in your terminal/console:

npm run serve

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.

Browser Support

While webpack-dev-server transpiles the client (browser) scripts to an ES5 state, the project only officially supports the last two versions of major browsers. We simply don't have the resources to support every whacky browser out there.

If you find a bug with an obscure / old browser, we would actively welcome a Pull Request to resolve the bug.

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 be 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 🐛, have a feature suggestion, or 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.

Attribution

This project is heavily inspired by peerigon/nof5.

License

MIT