lite-server vs live-server: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this markdown code, I will provide the key differences between lite-server and live-server, two popular tools used for serving static websites during development.

1. Lite-server: Lite-server is a lightweight development server that is designed to improve the development workflow. It is based on the BrowserSync project and provides features like automatic browser refreshing, multi-device testing, and synchronized actions across different browsers. Lite-server also supports Gulp and Grunt task runners.

2. Live-server: Live-server is another development server tool that is focused on providing a fast and efficient live-reloading experience. It is a simple command-line tool that can be used to serve HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files during development. Live-server automatically reloads the browser whenever a file is modified, making it easy to see the changes immediately.

3. Installation: Lite-server requires the installation of Node.js and NPM (Node Package Manager) on your system. It can be installed globally or as a project dependency using the npm command. On the other hand, live-server can be installed globally using the npm command, without the need for Node.js or NPM.

4. Configuration: Lite-server provides a bs-config.js file where you can customize the server and its behavior. This file allows you to define server options, specify directories to serve, rewrite rules, and more. Live-server does not require any configuration file and uses sensible defaults for serving the current directory.

5. Additional Features: Lite-server comes with additional features like URL rewriting, HTML injection, and CSS injection. URL rewriting allows you to map specific URLs to different files, while HTML and CSS injection enables live reloading of HTML and CSS changes without a page reload. Live-server, on the other hand, focuses solely on live-reloading and does not provide these additional features.

6. Command-Line Interface: Lite-server provides a command-line interface (CLI) that allows you to start the server, specify the configuration file, and perform other actions. Live-server also provides a simple CLI but with limited options, mainly focused on starting the server and specifying the port number.

In summary, lite-server is a more feature-rich development server that requires Node.js and NPM for installation, offers configuration options, and provides additional features like URL rewriting and HTML/CSS injection. On the other hand, live-server is a simpler and lightweight alternative that does not require any additional tools for installation, does not need a configuration file, and focuses solely on live-reloading.