How can I edit on my server files without restarting nodejs when i want to see the changes?

Question

I\'m trying to setup my own nodejs server, but I\'m having a problem. I can\'t figure out how to see changes to my application without restarting it. Is there a way to edit

Answer 1

if you would like to reload a module without restarting the node process, you can do this by the help of the watchFile function in fs module and cache clearing feature of require:

Lets say you loaded a module with a simple require:

var my_module = require('./my_module');

In order to watch that file and reload when updated add the following to a convenient place in your code.

fs.watchFile(require.resolve('./my_module'), function () {
    console.log("Module changed, reloading...");
    delete require.cache[require.resolve('./my_module')]
    my_module = require('./my_module');
});

If your module is required in multiple files this operation will not affect other assignments, so keeping module in a global variable and using it where it is needed from global rather than requiring several times is an option. So the code above will be like this:

global.my_module = require ('./my_module');
//..
fs.watchFile(require.resolve('./my_module'), function () {
    console.log("Module changed, reloading...");
    delete require.cache[require.resolve('./my_module')]
    global.my_module = require('./my_module');
});