# johnpapa/lite-server

Lightweight node server

Repository: https://github.com/johnpapa/lite-server
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lite-server
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: nodejs, npm, browsersync, devserver, web, tools, devtools
Last push: 2026-07-17T17:14:05+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 74/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 93, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3972, "days_push": 47, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2306, forks 261 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:35.768040+00:00)

## What it is
lite-server is a lightweight development-only Node.js server that wraps BrowserSync to serve web apps with live reload and CSS injection. It adds an HTML5 history API fallback so single-page application deep links resolve to index.html instead of 404ing.

## Use cases
- serve a static web app during development with auto refresh
- run a dev server for an Angular or other SPA with route fallback
- live reload the browser when HTML or JavaScript files change
- inject CSS changes without a full page refresh
- quickly preview a local folder in the browser with npx lite-server

## When to choose
- you are developing a SPA that needs HTML5 history API fallback to index.html
- you want a zero-config lightweight dev server with live reload
- you are serving static content and want browser auto-refresh on file changes

## When to avoid
- you need a production web server or reverse proxy
- you need server-side rendering, APIs, or backend logic
- you already use a bundler dev server like Vite or webpack-dev-server

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: http-server, developer-tools
- domain: web-development, frontend, developer-tools
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: devserver, browsersync, spa, live-reload, static-files, hot-reload, command-line, nodejs

## Member repositories
- johnpapa/lite-server (main) score 74

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:35.768040+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:39:41.156979+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/johnpapa/lite-server (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:35.768040+00:00, sha dfd4f9a099bb)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/lite-server (fetched 2026-08-29T10:20:21.699533+00:00, sha c91282b96325)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.