lil

A simple local web server with modest live-coding functionality, written in node.js.

Installation

$ npm install lil -g

Be sure to add the line ...

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/share/npm/bin

... to your shell config file, eg. ~/.profile or ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

Usage

$ lil

Starts a local webserver in the current working directory at http://localhost:8000. A socket server is started at http://localhost:8001 which tells your index.html to reload individual assets as they are modified.

When reloading JavaScript files, lil does its best to safely destroy any side-effects that file introduced:

1. Variables introduced to window scope.
2. Added event listeners.
3. Appended DOM elements.

If lil encounters any exceptions trying to reverse these actions, it will reload the page in its entirety. This ensures that your development process mimics your audience's experience as closely as possible, without sacrificing feedback time.