Vite Interview Questions and Answers

1. What is Vite?

   • Answer: Vite is a build tool and development server that aims to provide a significantly faster and more efficient development experience for modern web projects. It leverages native ES modules for development and rollup.js for production builds.

2. How does Vite improve development speed compared to other tools like Webpack?

   • Answer: Vite serves your code as native ES modules directly from the browser, eliminating the need for bundling during development. This results in significantly faster hot module replacement (HMR) and initial startup times. Webpack, on the other hand, bundles the entire application before serving it.

3. Explain the concept of "native ES modules" in Vite's development server.

   • Answer: Vite leverages the browser's native support for ES modules. This means it serves modules directly to the browser, which can then load and execute them on demand, without the need for a bundler during development. This results in much faster initial load times and significantly improved HMR speed.

4. What is the role of Rollup.js in Vite?

   • Answer: Rollup.js is used by Vite for production builds. It bundles your code into optimized files for production deployment, resulting in smaller file sizes and improved performance.

5. How does Vite handle code splitting?

   • Answer: Vite intelligently handles code splitting during both development and production. During development, it serves modules on demand. During production, Rollup.js performs code splitting based on your application's structure and configuration, creating smaller, more efficient chunks.

6. What are the advantages of using Vite over Webpack?

   • Answer: Vite offers faster cold start, instant HMR, and a more streamlined development experience. It's often simpler to configure and use than Webpack, particularly for smaller to medium-sized projects.

7. What are some of the disadvantages of using Vite?

   • Answer: Vite's ecosystem is relatively newer compared to Webpack, so there might be fewer readily available plugins or community support for niche use cases. Some advanced configurations might require a deeper understanding of Rollup.js.

8. Explain the concept of Vite's "dev server".

   • Answer: The Vite dev server is responsible for serving your application during development. It uses native ES modules and provides features like instant HMR and efficient module loading, leading to a significantly faster development experience.

9. What is Hot Module Replacement (HMR) in Vite?

   • Answer: HMR allows you to update your code during development without requiring a full page reload. Changes are applied instantly, improving the developer workflow.

10. How do you configure Vite for different frameworks like React, Vue, or Svelte?

    • Answer: Vite provides official templates and plugins for these frameworks. You can create a new project using the Vite CLI with a framework template (e.g., `npm create vite@latest my-react-app --template react`), or install the necessary plugins in an existing Vite project.

11. How to configure environment variables in Vite?

    • Answer: Vite uses environment variables defined in `.env` files. Different files cater to different environments (e.g., `.env`, `.env.development`, `.env.production`). Variables are accessed via `import.meta.env`.

12. Explain the purpose of the `vite.config.js` file.

    • Answer: This file is where you configure Vite's behavior, including plugins, build options, server settings, and more. It's crucial for customizing Vite to your project's needs.

13. How to use CSS preprocessors like Sass or Less with Vite?

    • Answer: You'd typically use a Vite plugin for this. For example, there are plugins specifically designed for Sass or Less support, which handle the compilation during development and build.

14. What are some common Vite plugins you might use?

    • Answer: Popular plugins include those for CSS preprocessors (Sass, Less, Stylus), static asset handling, image optimization, and various framework-specific enhancements.

15. How does Vite handle static assets?

    • Answer: Vite serves static assets directly during development and optimizes them during the build process, potentially using techniques like image compression.

16. How to optimize images for production with Vite?

    • Answer: Use image optimization plugins that can compress and format images (like WebP) for smaller file sizes and improved performance.

17. Explain the build process in Vite.

    • Answer: Vite uses Rollup.js to bundle your code into optimized files for production. This process includes code splitting, minification, and other optimizations.

18. How to deploy a Vite application?

    • Answer: The deployment method depends on your hosting provider. Typically, you'll build your application using `vite build` and then deploy the resulting `dist` folder to your server.

19. What is Server-Side Rendering (SSR) in Vite?

    • Answer: SSR allows rendering your application on the server, sending fully rendered HTML to the client, improving SEO and initial load time. Vite supports SSR through plugins and frameworks.

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