Custom Node server with webpack

By Mitchell Hillman on Sep 9, 2022 webpack node.js

My application has a custom node.js server for local development. It is very custom and can’t be easily replaced by the more idiomatic webpack-dev-server. I need the custom script to run after the webpack build is complete and I want the server to run automatically.

In package.json:

"scripts": {
  "start":
    "webpack --env local development serve --config ./webpack.config.js",
  "server": "cd ./my-custom-server && node ./server.js",
  // other scripts...
}

To run the server script I’ve created an ad-hoc plugin in my webpack config.

In webpack.config.js:

module.exports = (env) => {
  return {
    // other settings...
    plugins: [
      // other plugins...
      {
        apply: (compiler) => {
          console.log("Running local server on port 7000");
          compiler.hooks.afterEmit.tap("foobar", () => {
            exec("npm run server");
          });
        },
      },
    ],
  };
};

Now, I only run npm start and don’t need to open a new terminal window for npm run server

See webpack documentation on Compiler Hooks for more details.