vite

Start the dev server using `vite.config.*` from the project root. Binds to `http://localhost:5173` by default; auto-detects framework preset.

--port <N>; --host <0.0.0.0|...> expose on network; --open open browser; --strict enforce port; --force re-prebundle deps

Bind the dev server to a specific port (the next free port is used if busy unless `--strict` is also passed).

Expose the dev server on every network interface (default is `localhost`). Combined with `--port` for a stable LAN URL.

Open the default browser to the dev server URL once it's ready.

--open /path/to/route open to a specific route

Force re-running dependency pre-bundling (esbuild) on the next request. Use when adding a new dep or after a `.vite` cache corruption.

Produce a production bundle into `dist/` by default. Uses Rollup; supports code-splitting, tree-shaking, CSS extraction, source maps, and asset hashing.

--mode development|production; --target es2020|...; --sourcemap; --minify esbuild|terser; --outDir dist

Production build that re-runs whenever a watched source file changes. Rarely needed; mainly for embedding Vite inside another build pipeline.

Pick a mode that drives `globalThis._importMeta_.env.MODE` and `.env.<mode>` overrides (`.env.development`, `.env.staging`).

Emit external `.map` files (default is hidden in production). Pair with deploy Sentry / LogRocket for stack traces.

Serve the freshly-built `dist/` over a local static server so you can sanity-check the production bundle before deploying.

--port <N>; --host; --strict; --outDir dist

Manual trigger of dependency pre-bundling without starting the dev server. Useful in CI to pre-populate `node_modules/.vite/deps`.

--force; --config <file>

Force pre-bundling of a CommonJS dep that's not detected automatically. Edit `optimizeDeps.include` in `vite.config.ts` instead of using CLI.

Print Vite's version.

Print environment details (Node version, OS, package manager, Vite version, key plugin versions) — paste this into bug reports.

Enable verbose internal logging. Pipe to a file when chasing plugin / HMR issues.

Point Vite at a custom config file (CI often uses `vite.config.ci.ts` with extra plugins).

Vite 6+ — choose how to load the config (`bundle` is the default since Vite 6; `runner` / `native` / `transform` are alternates for non-Node environments).

Stub commands registered by some Vite plugins (e.g. `vite-plugin-pwa`'s `vite pwa-asset-generate`). Pass through.

Set the public path for production assets (default `/`). Use `/my-site/` when serving from a sub-path behind a reverse proxy.

Control how much Vite logs: `info` (default) / `warn` / `error` / `silent`.

Don't clear the terminal between reloads — useful when piping Vite output to another tool (tmux / logs).

Tell Rollup the minimum browser targets. Vite handles syntax down-leveling per esbuild config; legacy targets emit larger bundles.

Emit CSS as separate chunks per route (default true since Vite 4). Pass `--cssCodeSplit=false` to inline everything into one file.

Choose the minifier. esbuild is the fast default; `terser` produces slightly smaller output for legacy browsers.

Drop `node_modules/.vite/deps` and re-bundle — fix for stale pre-bundled deps after a major upgrade.

Manually wipe the Vite cache. Same effect as `vite --force` on next dev start.

List every CLI flag with a one-line description.

Scaffold a Vite project (the old `create-vite` binary). Modern usage is `npm create vite@latest` (which routes through `npx`).

--template vue | react | svelte | lit | vanilla | etc.

Run a TypeScript script in the same environment Vite uses for SSR — full module resolution, aliases, and env variables.

--options.transformMode ssr | web

Force Vite to load its config as a CommonJS file (legacy projects). Use only when migrating from a CJS-only stack.