Performance impact of using css / javascript source-maps in production?

Question

• Should source-maps be used in production environment? Do they provide any benefits other than debugging?
• Do they impact app load time due to the additional se

Answer 1

A quick test using Charles Web Proxy shows that source maps are only loaded if developer tools are opened. If you load a page without dev tools opened, there is no http request for source maps.

The behaviour was the same in Chrome 43 and Firefox 38.

So it appears they would be no impact on production environment.