172 lines
5.7 KiB
Markdown
172 lines
5.7 KiB
Markdown
# lite-server
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Lightweight *development only* node server that serves a web app, opens it in the browser, refreshes when html or javascript change, injects CSS changes using sockets, and has a fallback page when a route is not found.
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[](https://david-dm.org/johnpapa/lite-server)
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[](http://badge.fury.io/js/lite-server)
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[](https://travis-ci.org/johnpapa/lite-server)
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## Why
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BrowserSync does most of what we want in a super fast lightweight development server. It serves the static content, detects changes, refreshes the browser, and offers many customizations.
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When creating a SPA there are routes that are only known to the browser. For example, `/customer/21` may be a client side route for an Angular app. If this route is entered manually or linked to directly as the entry point of the Angular app (aka a deep link) the static server will receive the request, because Angular is not loaded yet. The server will not find a match for the route and thus return a 404. The desired behavior in this case is to return the `index.html` (or whatever starting page of the app we have defined). BrowserSync does not automatically allow for a fallback page. But it does allow for custom middleware. This is where `lite-server` steps in.
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`lite-server` is a simple customized wrapper around BrowserSync to make it easy to serve SPAs.
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## Installation and Usage
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The recommended installation method is a local NPM install for your project:
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```bash
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$ npm install lite-server --save-dev
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$ yarn add lite-server --dev # or yarn
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```
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...and add a "script" entry within your project's `package.json` file:
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```json
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# Inside package.json...
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"scripts": {
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"dev": "lite-server"
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},
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```
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With the above script entry, you can then start `lite-server` via:
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```bash
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$ npm run dev
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```
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Other options for running locally installed NPM binaries is discussed in this Stack Overflow question: [How to use package installed locally in node_modules](http://stackoverflow.com/q/9679932)
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### Global Installation
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lite-server can be also installed globally, if preferred:
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```bash
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$ npm install -g lite-server
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# To run:
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$ lite-server
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```
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## Custom Configuration
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The default behavior serves from the current folder, opens a browser, and applies a HTML5 route fallback to `./index.html`.
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lite-server uses [BrowserSync](https://www.browsersync.io/), and allows for configuration overrides via a local `bs-config.json` or `bs-config.js` file in your project.
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You can provide custom path to your config file via `-c` or `--config=` run time options:
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```bash
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lite-server -c configs/my-bs-config.js
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```
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For example, to change the server port, watched file paths, and base directory for your project, create a `bs-config.json` in your project's folder:
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```json
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{
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"port": 8000,
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"files": ["./src/**/*.{html,htm,css,js}"],
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"server": { "baseDir": "./src" }
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}
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```
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You can also provide custom path to your base directory `--baseDir=` run time options:
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```bash
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lite-server --baseDir="dist"
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```
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A more complicated example with modifications to the server middleware can be done with a `bs-config.js` file, which requires the `module.exports = { ... };` syntax:
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```js
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module.exports = {
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server: {
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middleware: {
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// overrides the second middleware default with new settings
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1: require('connect-history-api-fallback')({index: '/index.html', verbose: true})
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}
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}
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};
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```
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The `bs-config.js` file may also export a function that receives the lite-server Browsersync instance as its only argument. While not required, the return value of this function will be used to extend the default lite-server configuration.
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```js
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module.exports = function(bs) {
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return {
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server: {
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middleware: {
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// overrides the second middleware default with new settings
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1: require('connect-history-api-fallback')({
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index: '/index.html',
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verbose: true
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})
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}
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}
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};
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};
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```
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**NOTE:** Keep in mind that when using middleware overrides the specific middleware module must be installed in your project. For the above example, you'll need to do:
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```bash
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$ npm install connect-history-api-fallback --save-dev
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```
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...otherwise you'll get an error similar to:
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```
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Error: Cannot find module 'connect-history-api-fallback'
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```
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Another example: To remove one of the [default middlewares](./lib/config-defaults.js), such as `connect-logger`, you can set it's array index to `null`:
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```js
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module.exports = {
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server: {
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middleware: {
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0: null // removes default `connect-logger` middleware
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}
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}
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};
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```
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A list of the entire set of BrowserSync options can be found in its docs: <http://www.browsersync.io/docs/options/>
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## Testing
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When using `lite-server` to run end to end tests, we may not want to log verbosely. We may also want to prevent the browser from opening. These options in the `bs-config.js` will silence all logging from `lite-server`:
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```js
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open: false
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logLevel: "silent",
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server: {
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middleware: {
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0: null
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}
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}
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```
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## Known Issues
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CSS with Angular 2 is embedded thus even though BrowserSync detects the file change to CSS, it does not inject the file via sockets. As a workaround, `injectChanges` defaults to `false`.
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## Contributing
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1. Fork and clone it
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1. Install dependencies: `npm install`
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1. Create a feature branch: `git checkout -b new-feature`
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1. Commit changes: `git commit -am 'Added a feature'`
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1. Run static code analysis and unit tests: `npm test`
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1. Push to the remote branch: `git push origin new-feature`
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1. Create a new [Pull Request](https://github.com/johnpapa/lite-server/pull/new/master)
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## License
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Code released under the [MIT license](./LICENSE).
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