sass-dev

1.0.13 verified Fri May 01 auth: no javascript

sass-dev is a command-line tool that uses esbuild to dynamically compile Sass/SCSS files to CSS, designed for development workflows. Current stable version is 1.0.13. It supports watching directories and rebuilding on changes. Unlike full-featured build tools like Webpack or Gulp, sass-dev focuses solely on Sass compilation with minimal configuration, leveraging esbuild's speed. It is a lightweight alternative to node-sass or sass CLI, but offers no customization options like output style or source maps. Release cadence is low; maintained sporadically on GitHub. Not recommended for production use.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'esbuild' ↓

cause esbuild is a peer dependency required at runtime but not auto-installed with -g flag.

fix

Install esbuild globally: npm install -g esbuild

Warnings

gotcha As of v1.0.13, sass-dev does not support output style options (nested, expanded, compressed) or source maps. Output is always expanded. ↓

fix Use node-sass or sass CLI for full feature set.

gotcha sass-dev may not handle partial files (files starting with underscore) correctly. It compiles them to CSS, which may be undesirable. ↓

fix Manually exclude partial files from input paths.

Install

npm install sass-dev

yarn add sass-dev

pnpm add sass-dev

Quickstart

Installs globally and runs as a CLI command to watch and compile Sass files.

// sass-dev is a CLI tool, not an importable module. To use it:
// Install globally: npm install -g sass-dev
// Then run in terminal:
sass-dev .
// Or specify paths:
sass-dev src/styles dist/css
// This will watch src/styles for .scss files and compile to dist/css.