tessl/npm-live-server

A development HTTP server with automatic live reload functionality for front-end web development

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Live Server

Name: tessl/npm-live-server
Author: tessl

Live Server is a development HTTP server with automatic live reload functionality for front-end web development. It serves static files from a directory and automatically refreshes the browser when files change, eliminating the need for manual page refreshes during development.

Package Information

Package Name: live-server
Package Type: npm
Language: JavaScript
Installation: npm install -g live-server (recommended global installation)
Node.js Support: >=0.10.0

Core Imports

For programmatic use in Node.js:

const liveServer = require("live-server");

For ES modules:

import liveServer from "live-server";

Basic Usage

Command Line Usage

# Serve current directory
live-server

# Serve specific directory  
live-server /path/to/your/project

# Serve with custom port
live-server --port=3000

# Serve with HTTPS
live-server --https=path/to/https-config.js

Node.js API Usage

const liveServer = require("live-server");

// Start server with default options
liveServer.start();

// Start with custom configuration
liveServer.start({
  port: 8181,
  host: "0.0.0.0", 
  root: "/public",
  open: false,
  file: "index.html",
  wait: 1000
});

// Stop the server
liveServer.shutdown();

Architecture

Live Server consists of several key components:

HTTP/HTTPS Server: Built on Node.js http/https modules with Connect middleware stack
File Watcher: Uses Chokidar for efficient file system monitoring
WebSocket Communication: Faye-WebSocket for real-time browser-server communication
Code Injection: Automatically injects WebSocket client code into HTML files
Static File Server: Custom static server with live reload integration
Middleware System: Connect-compatible middleware support for extensibility

The live reload mechanism works by:

Watching for file changes using Chokidar
Injecting WebSocket client code into served HTML files
Sending reload/refresh messages to connected browsers via WebSocket
Handling CSS updates without full page reload when possible

Capabilities

Command Line Interface

Complete command-line tool for quick development server setup with extensive configuration options including port, host, HTTPS, authentication, proxying, and SPA support.

live-server [PATH] [OPTIONS]

# Core options
--port=NUMBER          # Port to use (default: 8080)
--host=ADDRESS         # Host address (default: 0.0.0.0)  
--open=PATH            # Browser path to open (default: server root)
--no-browser           # Suppress browser launch

# File handling
--watch=PATH           # Paths to watch (comma-separated)
--ignore=PATH          # Paths to ignore (comma-separated)
--entry-file=PATH      # Entry file for SPA routing

# Advanced features  
--https=PATH           # HTTPS configuration
--cors                 # Enable CORS
--htpasswd=PATH        # HTTP Basic authentication
--proxy=ROUTE:URL      # Proxy configuration
--middleware=PATH      # Custom middleware
--spa                  # Single Page App mode

Command Line Interface

Node.js Programmatic API

Programmatic interface for integrating live server functionality into build tools, development environments, and custom applications.

// Main API methods
liveServer.start(options?: LiveServerOptions): http.Server | https.Server;
liveServer.shutdown(): void;

// Configuration interface
interface LiveServerOptions {
  host?: string;           // Address to bind (default: '0.0.0.0')
  port?: number;           // Port number (default: 8080, 0 = random)
  root?: string;           // Root directory (default: process.cwd())
  open?: string | string[] | boolean; // Browser launch config
  file?: string;           // Entry point file for SPA
  wait?: number;           // Reload delay in ms (default: 100)
  logLevel?: number;       // 0=errors, 1=some, 2=lots (default: 2)
  
  // File watching
  watch?: string[];        // Paths to watch exclusively  
  ignore?: string[];       // Paths to ignore
  ignorePattern?: RegExp;  // Ignore pattern (deprecated)
  
  // Features
  cors?: boolean;          // Enable CORS
  noCssInject?: boolean;   // Disable CSS injection
  spa?: boolean;           // Enable SPA mode
  
  // Authentication & Security
  htpasswd?: string;       // Path to htpasswd file
  https?: string | object; // HTTPS configuration
  httpsModule?: string;    // Custom HTTPS module
  
  // Middleware & Proxying  
  middleware?: (string | Function)[]; // Connect middleware
  mount?: [string, string][]; // Mount point mappings
  proxy?: [string, string][]; // Proxy configurations
  
  // Legacy options
  browser?: string;        // Browser to launch
  noBrowser?: boolean;     // Deprecated: use open: false
}

Node.js API

Types

// Server instance (return type of liveServer.start())
interface LiveServerInstance extends http.Server {
  // Standard Node.js HTTP server with additional live server functionality
}

// Main LiveServer object structure
interface LiveServer {
  server: http.Server | https.Server | null;
  watcher: object | null; // Chokidar watcher instance  
  logLevel: number;
  start(options?: LiveServerOptions): http.Server | https.Server;
  shutdown(): void;
}