hugo-server

Build and serve a site

$ hugo server

$ hugo server [[-p|--port]] [port_number]

$ hugo server --minify

$ hugo server [[-e|--environment]] [production] --disableFastRender --minify

$ hugo server [[-h|--help]]

hugo server [--bind=<addr>] [--port=<port>] [--baseURL=<url>] [--watch] [flags]

-w, --watch
    Watch filesystem for changes and rebuild (default true)

--port int
    Port to listen on (default 1313)

--bind string
    Address to bind to (default 127.0.0.1)

--baseURL string
    Hostname (and scheme) for relative URLs

--appendPort
    Append port number to baseURL

--disableLiveReload
    Disable LiveReload.js

--disableFastRender
    Disable fast render loop

-D, --buildDrafts
    Include drafts in build

-F, --buildFuture
    Include future content

-A, --all
    Include all content (drafts, future, expired)

--destination string
    Output directory (default public)

--themesDir string
    Themes directory

--minify
    Minify HTML, CSS, JS

--enableGitInfo
    Add Git info to content

--logLevel string
    Set log level (info, warn, debug)

The hugo server command launches a local development server for Hugo static sites, providing instant previews with hot reloading. Hugo, a fast static site generator written in Go, rebuilds the site automatically upon content changes, CSS edits, or theme modifications.

Key features include:
• LiveReload: Browser auto-refreshes on file changes.
• Draft content support via -D flag.
• Customizable port (--port) and bind address (--bind).
• Serves from public/ directory by default.

Ideal for rapid prototyping, it watches the filesystem (unless disabled with -w=false) and regenerates pages efficiently. Supports future and expired content with flags like -F and -I. Use --baseURL for previewing production-like URLs. Disable features like LiveReload for headless testing.

Not for production; lacks HTTPS, compression, or caching optimizations found in servers like Nginx. Output mimics hugo build but streams to HTTP.

Development-only; no production optimizations like HTTPS or caching. LiveReload requires JavaScript-enabled browser. High memory use with large sites or many watchers.

Injects livereload.js for auto-refresh. Configure via disableLiveReload or browser extensions.

Flags override config.toml settings like baseURL. Use --environment for dev/prod.

Hugo created in 2013 by Steve Francia (spf13). Server command introduced early for dev workflows, evolved with fast render (2015) and LiveReload improvements in v0.14+ (2015). Actively maintained by gohugo.io team.

hugo(1), nginx(8), python3 -m http.server(1)