A Vite React project and its dev server

Vite creates and serves a React project. Run npm create vite@latest and pick React. Then npm run dev starts a dev server that reloads instantly as you edit.

npm run build produces static files for production. Learn what each generated file does. index.html is the entry point, src/main.jsx starts the app, and everything it imports is bundled together for the browser.

Environment variables for the browser must start with VITE_ and are read with import.meta.env. They end up in the public code anyone can read, so never put a secret there. Your API usually runs on another port while you develop.

The browser treats that as another site and may block the call with a CORS error. The Vite proxy fixes this by forwarding /api requests to your backend for you. In production you configure CORS or serve both from one address, which later stages cover.