Vite: Lightning Fast Frontend Build Tool

Webpack has dominated the frontend for years, but slow dev server startup times are killing productivity. Enter **Vite** (French for “fast”), created by Evan You (Vue.js creator). It leverages Native ES Modules (ESM) in the browser to offer instant server start.

How Vite Woks (vs Webpack)

graph LR
    subgraph Webpack
        S1[Source] --> B1[Bundle Everything]
        B1 --> Serve1[Dev Server]
    end
    
    subgraph Vite
        S2[Source] --> Serve2[Dev Server]
        Serve2 -->|ESM Import| Browser
        Browser -->|Request| S2
    end
    
    style Vite fill:#E1F5FE,stroke:#0277BD

Scaffolding a Project

npm init vite@latest my-vue-app --template vue-ts

Key Takeaways

• Instant HMR (Hot Module Replacement) regardless of app size.
• Uses **esbuild** for pre-bundling dependencies (10-100x faster than JS bundlers).
• Production builds still use Rollup for optimal tree-shaking.