CLI Commands

Complete reference for all Vite CLI commands including dev server, build, preview, and optimize

Vite provides a command-line interface for development, building, and previewing your application.

Dev Server

vite

Start the Vite development server in the current directory.

Default

vite

Aliases: vite dev, vite serve

Parameters

root · string

The root directory to serve. Defaults to current directory.

vite ./my-project

Command Options

--host · string

Specify the hostname for the server. Use 0.0.0.0 or true to listen on all addresses, including LAN and public addresses.

vite --host 0.0.0.0
vite --host

--port · number

Specify the port number. Default is 5173.

vite --port 3000

--open · boolean | string

Automatically open the app in the browser on server start. Can optionally specify a URL path.

vite --open
vite --open /docs/index.html

--cors · boolean

Enable CORS for the development server.

vite --cors

--strictPort · boolean

Exit if the specified port is already in use, instead of automatically trying the next available port.

vite --port 3000 --strictPort

--force · boolean

Force the optimizer to ignore the cache and re-bundle dependencies.

vite --force

--experimentalBundle · boolean

Enable experimental full bundle mode. This is highly experimental.

vite --experimentalBundle

Terminal Output

When starting the dev server, you’ll see output like:

  VITE v6.0.0  ready in 350 ms

  ➜  Local:   http://localhost:5173/
  ➜  Network: use --host to expose
  ➜  press h + enter to show help

CLI Shortcuts

While the dev server is running, you can use these keyboard shortcuts:

• r + enter - Restart the server
• u + enter - Show server URLs
• o + enter - Open in browser
• c + enter - Clear console
• q + enter - Quit the server
• h + enter - Show help

---

Build

vite build

Build your application for production.

Default

vite build

Parameters

root · string

The root directory to build. Defaults to current directory.

vite build ./my-project

Command Options

--target · string · default: "baseline-widely-available"

Transpile target for the build. Determines browser compatibility.

vite build --target esnext
vite build --target chrome90

--outDir · string · default: "dist"

Output directory for the production build.

vite build --outDir build
vite build --outDir public/dist

--assetsDir · string · default: "assets"

Directory under outDir to place assets in.

vite build --assetsDir static

--assetsInlineLimit · number · default: 4096

Static asset base64 inline threshold in bytes. Assets smaller than this will be inlined as base64.

vite build --assetsInlineLimit 8192
vite build --assetsInlineLimit 0  # disable inlining

--ssr · string

Build specified entry for server-side rendering.

vite build --ssr src/entry-server.js

--sourcemap · boolean | 'inline' | 'hidden' · default: false

Output source maps for the build.

• true - Generate separate sourcemap files
• 'inline' - Inline sourcemaps in the output files
• 'hidden' - Generate sourcemaps but don’t reference them in files

vite build --sourcemap
vite build --sourcemap inline
vite build --sourcemap hidden

--minify · boolean | 'terser' | 'esbuild' · default: "esbuild"

Enable/disable minification, or specify the minifier to use.

vite build --minify terser
vite build --minify false

--manifest · boolean | string

Emit a manifest.json file in the output directory with a mapping of non-hashed asset filenames to their hashed versions.

vite build --manifest
vite build --manifest manifest.json
vite build --manifest .vite/manifest.json

--ssrManifest · boolean | string

Emit an SSR manifest file for determining style links and asset preload directives in production.

vite build --ssrManifest
vite build --ssrManifest ssr-manifest.json

--emptyOutDir · boolean

Force Vite to empty the output directory even if it’s outside of the project root. By default, Vite will warn and not empty it.

vite build --emptyOutDir

--watch · boolean

Enable watch mode. Rebuilds when modules have changed on disk.

vite build --watch

--app · boolean

Build all environments. Same as setting builder: {} in config. This is experimental.

vite build --app

Terminal Output

When building for production, you’ll see output like:

vite v6.0.0 building for production...
✓ 127 modules transformed.
dist/index.html                   0.45 kB │ gzip:  0.30 kB
dist/assets/index-DlrS5zTx.css    1.23 kB │ gzip:  0.61 kB
dist/assets/index-BN7I0VLa.js   143.48 kB │ gzip: 46.13 kB
✓ built in 1.25s

---

Preview

vite preview

Locally preview the production build. This command starts a static web server that serves the files from outDir (default: dist).

vite preview is intended for previewing the build locally and is not meant to be used as a production server.

Default

vite preview

Parameters

root · string

The root directory containing the build. Defaults to current directory.

vite preview ./my-project

Command Options

--host · string

Specify the hostname for the preview server.

vite preview --host 0.0.0.0
vite preview --host

--port · number

Specify the port number. Default is 4173.

vite preview --port 8080

--strictPort · boolean

Exit if the specified port is already in use.

vite preview --port 8080 --strictPort

--open · boolean | string

Automatically open the app in the browser on server start.

vite preview --open
vite preview --open /about

--outDir · string · default: "dist"

Output directory to serve.

vite preview --outDir build

Terminal Output

When starting the preview server, you’ll see output like:

  ➜  Local:   http://localhost:4173/
  ➜  Network: use --host to expose
  ➜  press h + enter to show help

---

Optimize

vite optimize

Deprecated: The pre-bundle process runs automatically during development and does not need to be called manually.

Pre-bundle dependencies. This command was used to manually trigger dependency optimization, but it’s now done automatically when starting the dev server.

Default

vite optimize

Parameters

root · string

The root directory. Defaults to current directory.

vite optimize ./my-project

Command Options

--force · boolean

Force the optimizer to ignore the cache and re-bundle dependencies.

vite optimize --force

---

NPM Scripts

Typical usage in package.json:

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "build": "vite build",
    "preview": "vite preview"
  }
}

You can specify additional CLI options using flags:

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vite --port 3000 --open",
    "build": "vite build --outDir build",
    "preview": "vite preview --port 8080"
  }
}

Then run:

npm

npm run dev
npm run build
npm run preview