{"id":20826,"library":"webpack-serve","title":"webpack-serve","description":"A CLI wrapper for webpack-plugin-serve, providing a premier webpack development server. Current stable version is 4.0.0 (as of last release, no updates since). Release cadence has been sporadic; the package was forked from webpack-contrib/webpack-serve and is now maintained separately. Key differentiators: offers a simple CLI interface for webpack-plugin-serve, supports HMR, live reload, HTTP2, compression, history API fallback, and progress. However, the authors recommend using webpack-plugin-serve directly with webpack-nano instead of this CLI. Only works with Node versions 8.0.0-8.x, 10.0.0-10.13.x, and >=10.15.0 (not 10.14.0 due to a bug). Requires webpack ^4.29.0 as a peer dependency.","status":"active","version":"4.0.0","language":"javascript","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/shellscape/webpack-serve","tags":["javascript","development","devserver","serve","server","webpack"],"install":[{"cmd":"npm install webpack-serve","lang":"bash","label":"npm"},{"cmd":"yarn add webpack-serve","lang":"bash","label":"yarn"},{"cmd":"pnpm add webpack-serve","lang":"bash","label":"pnpm"}],"dependencies":[{"reason":"peer dependency, required at version ^4.29.0","package":"webpack","optional":false}],"imports":[{"note":"webpack-serve v3+ is a CLI-only tool; it does not export a programmatic API. Use webpack-plugin-serve directly for API usage.","wrong":"const serve = require('webpack-serve')","symbol":"default (CLI)","correct":"npx webpack-serve --config webpack.config.js"},{"note":"Prior to v3, webpack-serve exported a function. In v3+ the programmatic API is removed; use webpack-plugin-serve instead.","wrong":"import serve from 'webpack-serve'","symbol":"programmatic API (v2.x)","correct":"const serve = require('webpack-serve'); serve({ config: './webpack.config.js' })"},{"note":"webpack-serve v3+ is a thin CLI over webpack-plugin-serve. For config-based setups, use webpack-plugin-serve directly.","wrong":"const WebpackPluginServe = require('webpack-serve')","symbol":"webpack-plugin-serve usage","correct":"const WebpackPluginServe = require('webpack-plugin-serve'); plugins.push(new WebpackPluginServe({ port: 8080 }))"}],"quickstart":{"code":"npm install webpack-serve --save-dev\n# webpack.config.js\nconst WebpackPluginServe = require('webpack-plugin-serve');\nconst { watch } = require('fs');\n\nmodule.exports = {\n  entry: './src/index.js',\n  output: { path: __dirname + '/dist' },\n  plugins: [\n    new WebpackPluginServe({\n      port: process.env.PORT || 8080,\n      static: __dirname + '/public',\n      liveReload: true,\n      hmr: true\n    })\n  ]\n};\n\n# Run with CLI\nnpx webpack-serve --config webpack.config.js --port 8080 --open","lang":"javascript","description":"Demonstrates installing webpack-serve, configuring webpack-plugin-serve in webpack.config.js, and running the CLI with options for port and auto-open browser."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Use webpack-plugin-serve directly for programmatic usage.","message":"v3.0.0 removed the programmatic API; webpack-serve is now CLI-only.","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":">=3.0.0"},{"fix":"Use a supported Node version. If on 10.14.0, upgrade to 10.15.0 or later.","message":"Node version restrictions: v8.0.0-8.x, v10.0.0-10.13.x, >=10.15.0 (10.14.0 excluded due to bug).","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":">=3.0.0"},{"fix":"Switch to webpack-plugin-serve and webpack-nano for more flexibility.","message":"Recommendation from authors: use webpack-plugin-serve with webpack-nano instead of this CLI.","severity":"deprecated","affected_versions":">=3.0.0"},{"fix":"Ensure your Node version has HTTP2 support (Node >=8.4.0 with --http2 flag).","message":"The --http2 flag requires Node.js built-in HTTP2 support, which may not work with all Node versions.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=3.0.0"},{"fix":"Review the Feature Comparison doc before migrating.","message":"webpack-plugin-serve feature parity may differ from webpack-dev-server, especially for complex configurations.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=3.0.0"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-04-25T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-24T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"Install webpack-plugin-serve explicitly: npm install webpack-plugin-serve --save-dev","cause":"Missing required peer dependency webpack-plugin-serve (installed automatically with npm v7+ but not npm v6).","error":"Error: Cannot find module 'webpack-plugin-serve'"},{"fix":"Install webpack 4.29+: npm install webpack@^4.29.0 --save-dev","cause":"webpack is not installed or version mismatch.","error":"webpack-serve requires a peer of webpack@^4.29.0 but none was installed."},{"fix":"Use webpack-plugin-serve directly: const WebpackPluginServe = require('webpack-plugin-serve');","cause":"Attempting to use webpack-serve programmatically with require('webpack-serve') in v3+.","error":"TypeError: serve is not a function"},{"fix":"Upgrade Node to >=10.15.0 or downgrade to 10.13.x.","cause":"Node 10.14.0 has a known bug that breaks webpack-serve.","error":"Node v10.14.0 is not supported. Please use a supported version."}],"ecosystem":"npm","meta_description":null,"install_score":null,"install_tag":null,"quickstart_score":null,"quickstart_tag":null}