CLI Options

Complete reference for all Vite CLI options and flags available across all commands

Vite’s CLI provides both global options that work with all commands and command-specific options.

Global Options

These options are available for all Vite commands (vite, vite build, vite preview, vite optimize).

Configuration

-c, --config · string

Use a specific configuration file instead of auto-resolving.

Vite will automatically try to resolve a config file named vite.config.js inside the project root. Use this option to specify a different config file.

vite --config vite.config.prod.js
vite build --config custom-config.js
vite --config config/vite.staging.js

--base · string · default: "/"

Public base path for the application. Must start and end with a slash.

This is useful when deploying to a subdirectory or using a CDN.

vite --base /my-app/
vite build --base https://cdn.example.com/
vite --base ./  # relative base for file protocol

When using a relative base like ./, make sure all asset paths are relative.

--configLoader · 'bundle' | 'runner' | 'native' · default: "bundle"

Specify how to load the configuration file.

• bundle - Bundle the config with Rolldown (default, most compatible)
• runner - Process the config on the fly (experimental)
• native - Load using the native runtime (experimental)

vite --configLoader runner
vite build --configLoader native

Logging

-l, --logLevel · 'info' | 'warn' | 'error' | 'silent' · default: "info"

Set the verbosity level of console output.

• info - Show all messages (default)
• warn - Only warnings and errors
• error - Only errors
• silent - No output

vite --logLevel warn
vite build --logLevel silent
vite --logLevel error

--clearScreen · boolean · default: true

Allow or disable clearing the terminal screen when logging.

vite --clearScreen false
vite build --clearScreen false

Debugging

-d, --debug · string | boolean

Show debug logs. Can optionally filter by namespace.

vite --debug
vite --debug vite:*
vite --debug vite:transform
vite build -d

You can use glob patterns to filter debug logs:

vite --debug vite:*         # All vite debug logs
vite --debug vite:deps      # Dependency optimization logs
vite --debug vite:transform # Transform logs
vite --debug *              # All debug logs

-f, --filter · string

Filter debug logs by pattern.

vite --debug --filter react
vite --debug vite:* --filter transform

Environment

-m, --mode · string

Set the environment mode. This determines which .env file is loaded.

vite --mode development
vite build --mode staging
vite --mode production

By default:

• vite uses development mode
• vite build uses production mode
• vite preview uses production mode

Mode determines which .env.[mode] file is loaded. See Env Variables for more details.

Help & Version

-h, --help · boolean

Display available CLI options.

vite --help
vite build --help
vite preview -h

-v, --version · boolean

Display the Vite version number.

vite --version
vite -v

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Dev Server Options

Options specific to the vite command (dev server).

Network

--host · string | boolean

Specify which IP addresses the server should listen on.

• Not set: Listen on localhost only
• true or no value: Listen on all addresses including LAN and public
• Specific IP: Listen on that IP address
• 0.0.0.0: Listen on all addresses

vite --host                    # Listen on all addresses
vite --host 0.0.0.0           # Listen on all addresses
vite --host 192.168.1.100     # Listen on specific IP

--port · number · default: 5173

Specify the port number for the dev server.

vite --port 3000
vite --port 8080

If the port is already in use, Vite will automatically try the next available port unless --strictPort is specified.

--strictPort · boolean

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

vite --port 3000 --strictPort

--cors · boolean

Enable CORS for the dev server. Allows requests from any origin.

vite --cors

Browser

--open · boolean | string

Automatically open the app in the browser on server start.

• true or no value: Open to the root path
• String: Open to the specified path

vite --open                   # Open to /
vite --open /docs             # Open to /docs
vite --open /about/index.html # Open to specific page

Optimization

--force · boolean

Force Vite to ignore the dependency optimization cache and re-bundle.

Use this when you want to force a fresh dependency optimization, for example after installing new packages or changing optimization configuration.

vite --force

Experimental

--experimentalBundle · boolean

Enable experimental full bundle mode.

This is highly experimental and may not work correctly. Do not use in production.

vite --experimentalBundle

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Build Options

Options specific to the vite build command.

Output

--outDir · string · default: "dist"

Output directory for the production build (relative to project root).

vite build --outDir build
vite build --outDir public/dist
vite build --outDir ../output

--assetsDir · string · default: "assets"

Directory (relative to outDir) to place assets in.

vite build --assetsDir static
vite build --assetsDir public/assets

--emptyOutDir · boolean

Force empty the output directory when it’s outside of the project root.

By default, Vite will:

• Empty outDir if it’s inside the project root
• Warn and not empty if it’s outside the project root

Use this flag to force emptying even when outside root.

vite build --outDir ../dist --emptyOutDir

Assets

--assetsInlineLimit · number · default: 4096

Static asset base64 inline threshold in bytes.

Assets smaller than this will be inlined as base64 strings. Set to 0 to disable inlining.

vite build --assetsInlineLimit 8192  # 8kb threshold
vite build --assetsInlineLimit 0     # Disable inlining

Code Processing

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

Transpile target for the build output.

Can be a specific browser version or one of the following:

• baseline-widely-available - Widely available baseline (default)
• esnext - Latest ECMAScript features
• Browser name and version (e.g., chrome90, safari13)

vite build --target esnext
vite build --target chrome90
vite build --target safari13
vite build --target es2015

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

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

• esbuild - Use esbuild (default, faster)
• terser - Use Terser (slower, better compression)
• false - Disable minification

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

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

Generate source maps for the build.

• true - Generate separate .map files
• inline - Inline source maps in the output files
• hidden - Generate source maps but don’t add source map comments
• false - Don’t generate source maps (default)

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

SSR

--ssr · string

Build the specified entry point for server-side rendering.

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

Manifests

--manifest · boolean | string

Emit a manifest file mapping non-hashed asset filenames to their hashed versions.

• true: Generate manifest.json in outDir
• String: Custom filename or path for the manifest

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

The manifest is useful for backend integration to resolve hashed filenames.

--ssrManifest · boolean | string

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

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

Watch Mode

-w, --watch · boolean

Enable watch mode. Rebuilds when source files change.

vite build --watch
vite build -w

Experimental

--app · boolean

Build all environments. Same as setting builder: {} in the configuration.

This is experimental and may change in future versions.

vite build --app

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Preview Options

Options specific to the vite preview command.

--host · string | boolean

Specify which IP addresses the preview server should listen on.

vite preview --host
vite preview --host 0.0.0.0

--port · number · default: 4173

Specify the port number for the preview server.

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.

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

--outDir · string · default: "dist"

Specify the output directory to serve.

vite preview --outDir build

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Optimize Options

Options specific to the vite optimize command (deprecated).

--force · boolean

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

vite optimize --force

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Environment Variables

You can pass additional arguments to Node.js using environment variables:

# Increase Node.js memory limit
NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096 vite build

# Enable Node.js debugging
NODE_OPTIONS=--inspect vite

# Set multiple options
NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=8192 --trace-warnings" vite build

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Passing Arguments to Scripts

You can pass extra arguments to your build scripts using --:

vite build -- --custom-flag

These arguments are available in the config via process.argv.

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Examples

Development with Custom Configuration

vite --config vite.config.dev.js --mode development --port 3000 --open

Production Build with Source Maps

vite build --mode production --sourcemap --minify terser --outDir dist

Preview Build with Custom Port

vite preview --port 8080 --host 0.0.0.0 --open

Debug Mode for Transforms

vite --debug vite:transform --filter .tsx

Force Dependency Re-optimization

vite --force --clearScreen false

SSR Build with Manifests

# Build client
vite build --outDir dist/client --manifest

# Build server
vite build --ssr src/entry-server.js --outDir dist/server --ssrManifest