Webpack-dev-server compiles files but does not refresh or make compiled javascript available to browser

Question

I'm trying to use webpack-dev-server to compile files and start up a dev web server.

In my package.json I have the script property set to:

"scripts": {
  "dev": "webpack-dev-server --hot --inline",
 }

So the --hot and --inline should enable the webserver and the hot reloading (as I understand it).

In my webpack.config.js file I set the entry, output, and devServer settings as well as add a loader to look for changes in .vue files:

module.exports = {
    entry: './src/index.js',
    output: {
        path: __dirname + '/public',
        publicPath: '/public',
        filename: 'bundle.js'
    },
    devtool: 'source-map',
    devServer:{
        contentBase: __dirname + '/public'
    },
    module:{
        loaders:[
            { test: /\.vue$/, loader: 'vue'}
        ]
    }
};

So with this setup, I run npm run dev. The webpack-dev-server starts up, the module loader test works (i.e. when I save any .vue file it causes webpack to recompile), but:

• The browser never refreshes
• The compiled javascript that gets stored in memory is never made available to the browser

On that second bullet, I can see this because in the browser window the vue placeholders are never replaced and if I open up the javascript console the Vue instance is never created or made available globally.

What am I missing?

Solution 1

Two things were causing my problems here:

module.exports = {
    entry: './src/index.js',
    output: {

        // For some reason, the `__dirname` was not evaluating and `/public` was
        // trying to write files to a `public` folder at the root of my HD.
        path: __dirname + '/public', 

        // Public path refers to the location from the _browser's_ perspective, so 
        // `/public' would be referring to `mydomain.com/public/` instead of just
        // `mydomain.com`.
        publicPath: '/public',
        filename: 'bundle.js'
    },
    devtool: 'source-map',
    devServer:{

        // `contentBase` specifies what folder to server relative to the 
        // current directory. This technically isn't false since it's an absolute
        // path, but the use of `__dirname` isn't necessary. 
        contentBase: __dirname + '/public'
    },
    module:{
        loaders:[
            { test: /\.vue$/, loader: 'vue'}
        ]
    }
};

Here's the fixed webpack.config.js:

var path = require('path');

module.exports = {
    entry: [
        './src/PlaceMapper/index.js'
    ],
    output:{
        filename: 'bundle.js',
        path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'public/')
    },
    devtool: 'source-map',
    devServer:{
        contentBase: 'public'
    },
    module:{
        loaders:[
            { test: /\.vue$/, loader: 'vue'}
        ]
    }
};

Solution 2

After a long search I found the solution for my problem, in my case output path wasn't configured correctly.

This configuration solved my problem:

const path = require('path');

module.exports = {
  "entry": ['./app/index.js'],
  "output": {
    path: path.join(__dirname, 'build'),
    publicPath: "/build/",
    "filename": "bundle.js"
  }....

Solution 3

the right solution

Tell dev-server to watch the files served by the devServer.watchContentBase option.

It is disabled by default.

When enabled, file changes will trigger a full page reload.

Example:

module.exports = {
  //...
  devServer: {
    // ...
    watchContentBase: true
  }
};

Solution 4

I also had a problem with my devserver which stopping working. Previously it had worked, then I added a ton of extras to get a production build. Then when I came back to devserver it didn't work any more.

Took lots of sleuthing - eventually starting with a prior commit in git, then reintroducing changes one-by-one until I figured it out.

Turns out it was a change I had made to package.json, specifically this line:

  "browserslist": "> 1%, not dead",

This was useful to guide postcss, regarding the browsers to target.

But, it stops devserver working. Workaround is to add this to the dev webpack config:

target: 'web', 

I found the solution here: https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-server/issues/2812

Hope that saves someone a few hours of trouble!

Solution 5

Somehow, for my case, removing "--hot" makes it work. So, I removed hot: true

webpack.dev.js

module.exports = merge(common, {
  mode: 'development',
  devtool: 'inline-source-map',
  devServer: {
    publicPath: '/js/',
    contentBase: path.resolve(__dirname, 'docs'),
    watchContentBase: true,
  }
});

webpack.common.js

  output: {
    path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'docs/js'),
    filename: '[name].min.js',
    library: ['[name]']
  },

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