@thizjs/dev

A blazingly fast, lightweight development server for THIZ.js — because you deserve better than slow, bloated watchers.

What is thiz?

@thizjs/dev is the official development runtime for THIZ.js — a clean, fast backend framework with file-based routing for Express. Thiz package provides hot-reloading for your server without the overhead of nodemon or other heavy watchers.

Features:

• ⚡ Lightning fast — restarts your server in milliseconds
• 🪶 Lightweight — minimal dependencies, maximum speed
• 🎨 Beautiful output — clean, colorful console logs
• 🔥 Smart watching — debounced restarts with intelligent file filtering
• 🛠️ Zero config — works out of the box with sensible defaults

Quick Start

If you're starting a new THIZ.js project:

npx create-thiz-app my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev

That's it. You now have a production-ready MEN stack with file-based routing and hot-reloading.

👉 Learn more: create-thiz-app

Installation

For existing projects:

npm install --save-dev @thizjs/dev

Add to your package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "thiz-dev"
  }
}

Run:

npm run dev

Usage

Command Line

The simplest way to use @thizjs/dev:

npx thiz-dev

By default, it watches the src directory and runs src/server.js.

Programmatic API

Need more control? Use the programmatic API:

import { createWatcher } from '@thizjs/dev';

const watcher = createWatcher({
  entry: 'src/server.js',      // Entry point for your server
  watch: 'src',                 // Directory/glob to watch
  ignore: ['**/node_modules/**'], // Patterns to ignore
  nodeArgs: ['--enable-source-maps'], // Node.js arguments
  env: { PORT: 3000 },          // Environment variables
  debounce: 150,                // Restart debounce (ms)
  verbose: false,               // Detailed logging
});

watcher.start();

// Later...
// await watcher.stop();
// watcher.restart(); // Manual restart

Options

| Option | Type | Default | Description | |--------|------|---------|-------------| | entry | string | "src/server.js" | Path to your server entry file | | watch | string \| string[] | "src" | Paths or globs to watch for changes | | ignore | string[] | ["**/node_modules/**", "**/.git/**"] | Patterns to ignore | | nodeArgs | string[] | [] | Arguments to pass to Node.js (e.g., --inspect) | | env | object | {} | Environment variables for the child process | | debounce | number | 150 | Milliseconds to wait before restarting | | verbose | boolean | false | Enable detailed logging |

Why Not Nodemon?

We love nodemon, but:

• Size matters: nodemon has many dependencies and features you might not need. @thizjs/dev is just 6.9KB.
• Speed matters: Smart debouncing and minimal overhead mean faster restarts.
• Simplicity matters: Built specifically for THIZ.js workflows — no feature bloat.

How It Works

1. Watches your source files using chokidar
2. Detects changes with intelligent filtering (ignores node_modules, .git, etc.)
3. Restarts your server gracefully with SIGTERM → SIGKILL fallback
4. Debounces rapid changes to avoid restart spam
5. Logs everything beautifully with chalk

Examples

Watch Multiple Directories

createWatcher({
  watch: ['src', 'config', 'lib'],
}).start();

Debug Mode

createWatcher({
  nodeArgs: ['--inspect'],
  verbose: true,
}).start();

Custom Environment

createWatcher({
  env: {
    NODE_ENV: 'development',
    DEBUG: 'app:*',
  },
}).start();

Contributing

We welcome contributions! If you find a bug or want to add a feature:

1. Fork the repo: https://github.com/santhosh-2504/thizjs-dev
2. Create a branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-thing
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing thing'
4. Push and open a PR

About THIZ.js

THIZ.js is an opinionated MEN (MongoDB, Express, Node.js) stack generator that gives you:

• 📁 File-based routing — no more route boilerplate
• 🚀 Zero config — sensible defaults that just work
• 🛠️ Production ready — built for scale from day one

Start building backends that don't suck:

npx create-thiz-app my-awesome-api

License

MIT © Santhosh Kumar Anantha

Made with ❤️ for developers who value speed and simplicity.