blog-cover

Setting Up a Vite Project

1. Start a project with Vite

To start a project with Vite, you can either create a basic project or directly specify a template

1.1. Option 1. Install Vite

npm create vite@latest my-vite-app

Replace my-vite-app with your project name.

1.2 Option 2. Choose a Template

Vite supports vanilla JavaScript, React, Vue, Svelte, and more. For example, to create a React app, you can specify it directly:

npm create vite@latest my-react-app -- --template react

2. Install Dependencies After creating the project, navigate into the directory and install the dependencies:

cd my-vite-app
npm install

3. Run the Development Server Start the development server with:

npm run dev

Vite's blazing-fast Hot Module Replacement (HMR) ensures near-instantaneous updates as you code.

Key Configuration Options

Configuring your vite.config.js is crucial for improving the development experience.

1. Alias Imports

Simplify your imports by defining aliases:

import { defineConfig } from 'vite';
import path from 'path';

export default defineConfig({
    resolve: {
        alias: {
            '@': path.resolve(__dirname, './src')
        }
    }
});

2. Environment Variables

Vite supports .env files for managing configurations. Create a .env file and define variables:

VITE_API_URL=https://api.example.com

Access these variables in your app with import.meta.env:

console.log(import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL);

3. Plugins

Extend Vite's functionality using plugins, such as @vitejs/plugin-react for React projects. Install it and add it to your configuration:

npm install @vitejs/plugin-react

import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react';
    export default defineConfig({
    plugins: [react()]
});

Challenges and Considerations

While Vite offers a powerful development experience, there are some challenges to keep in mind:

  1. Hot Module Replacement (HMR) Vite's HMR is fast, but integrating it with certain frameworks or configurations (like Module Federation) may require additional effort.

  2. Build Performance Vite leverages Rollup for production builds, which may require fine-tuning for large applications.

  3. Cross-Browser Compatibility Ensure your app is transpiled for older browsers using the @vitejs/plugin-legacy plugin.

npm install @vitejs/plugin-legacy

import legacy from '@vitejs/plugin-legacy';

export default defineConfig({
    plugins: [legacy()]
});

garnalds

Resources