browser-b-gone

A connect middleware to reload the browser from the server.

Usage with Express

First, import the build function from browser-b-gone and call it:

import { build } from "browser-b-gone";

const [reload, middleware] = build();

You will get back two functions:

• reload is a function you can call to reload the page in all connected browsers.
• middleware is the Express middleware you need to use

Now, use the middleware:

app.use(middleware);

We do not inject anything into your HTML. You need to do that yourself. You need to load the JavaScript file /reload in your code (in development):

<script src="/reload" type="module"></script>

Now, whenever you call the reload() function in your backend, the browsers will reload.

Configuration

By default, browser-b-gone uses /reload for serving the JavaScript and delivering the change stream. You can change that by providing a different endpoint:

const [reload, middleware] = build({
	endpoint: "/my-reload"
});

If you do so, please remember to adjust your script tag accordingly:

<script src="/my-reload" type="module"></script>

Comparison to other solutions

• It has no dependencies and is very lightweight.
• It is easy to understand.
• It does not inject anything into your HTML.
• You can hook it into your code to reload on your behalf, sharing the watch process to be easy on your resources.

License

browser-b-gone is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License.