Live Reload

Experience instant feedback. Soli's development server automatically detects changes and updates your browser without a restart.

Zero Configuration

Live reload is enabled by default in development mode. No browser extensions or complex build tools required.

How It Works

When you run the development server, Soli watches your project files. When a change is detected:

1. File Changed

You save a controller, view, or model file.

2. Recompile

Soli instantly recompiles the necessary bytecode in memory.

3. Refresh

The server notifies your browser via WebSocket to refresh the page.

Starting the Server

Use the CLI to start your app in development mode:

Terminal

# Run with hot reload (default)
soli serve .

# Specify port
soli serve . --port 8080

Styling with Tailwind

For CSS changes to reflect instantly, you need to run the Tailwind watcher in parallel.

package.json

"scripts": {
  "watch:css": "tailwindcss -i ./app/assets/css/application.css -o ./public/css/application.css --watch",
  "dev": "concurrently \"npm run watch:css\" \"soli serve .\""
}

Production Note

Live reload is disabled automatically when you build for release (`cargo build --release`). Your production app will be optimized for performance, not developer experience.