Registry / web-framework / esbuild-plugin-dev-server

esbuild-plugin-dev-server

library4.2.10jsnpmunverified

Dev server plugin for esbuild that provides live reload and error overlay. Current stable version is 4.2.10, released on npm with frequent updates. Key differentiators: integrates directly with esbuild's build process, supports Express and Electron examples, provides built-in error overlay for development. Requires Node >=18. Ships TypeScript types.

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npm install esbuild-plugin-dev-server

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · ESBUILD-PLUGIN-DEV

esbuild-plugin-dev-server

web-frameworkjavascriptv4.2.10

harness data pending

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

No compatibility data collected yet for this library.

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

default

✓ import devServer from 'esbuild-plugin-dev-server';

✗ const devServer = require('esbuild-plugin-dev-server');

Package is ESM-first; CommonJS require works but is deprecated. Use import for best compatibility with modern JS/TS.

DevServerOptions

✓ import type { DevServerOptions } from 'esbuild-plugin-dev-server';

✗ import DevServerOptions from 'esbuild-plugin-dev-server';

TypeScript users should import type using `import type` for the options interface; it's not a runtime value.

Plugin

✓ import devServer, { Plugin } from 'esbuild-plugin-dev-server';

✗ const { Plugin } = require('esbuild-plugin-dev-server');

Plugin is a named export for type checking; using require to destructure is incorrect as it's a type export.

Sets up a basic esbuild build with the dev server plugin serving static files from './public' on port 3000.

import esbuild from 'esbuild'; import devServer from 'esbuild-plugin-dev-server'; await esbuild.build({ entryPoints: ['./src/index.js'], bundle: true, outfile: './public/bundle.js', plugins: [devServer({ public: './public', port: 3000 })], });

Debug

Known issues

breakingIn v4.0.0, the plugin signature changed from `devServer()` returning an esbuild plugin object to `devServer(options)` that must be called directly in the plugins array.

fix

Update plugin usage: `plugins: [devServer(options)]` instead of `plugins: [devServer.plugin(options)]`.

affects: >=4.0.0

breakingNode <18 is no longer supported in v4.0.0+. Older versions may fail with syntax errors.

fix

Upgrade Node to version 18 or later.

affects: >=4.0.0

gotchaThe dev server does not automatically open a browser. You must configure that yourself if needed.

fix

Add a separate script or use a library like `open` to open the browser after the build is complete.

affects: *

deprecatedUsing CommonJS `require()` to load the package is deprecated in favor of ESM `import`.

fix

Switch to `import devServer from 'esbuild-plugin-dev-server'`.

affects: >=4.0.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

TypeError: devServer is not a function

Using outdated API where devServer returns an object with a `plugin` method.

fix

Update to v4+ and use `devServer(options)` directly in plugins array.

Error: The plugin must be called with an options object

Calling devServer() without arguments or with invalid arguments.

fix

Call devServer with an options object: `devServer({ public: './public' })`.

Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'esbuild-plugin-dev-server'

Package not installed or not in node_modules.

fix

Run `npm install esbuild-plugin-dev-server`.

Upgrade

Version history

4.2.10latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

esbuildrequiredPeer dependency; plugin integrates with esbuild build process

Agent activity

4 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/kmalakoff/esbuild-plugin-dev-server ↗

packagehttps://www.npmjs.com/package/esbuild-plugin-dev-server ↗