I’m working on an Angular project and I’m confused about when to use different commands to start my application.
From what I understand:
The ng serve command launches the Angular development server for your project
The npm start command executes whatever command is defined in the “start” script inside package.json. If there’s no start script defined, it defaults to running node server.js
It looks like ng serve fires up the built-in development server while npm start launches a Node.js server instead.
Could someone explain the practical differences and help me understand when I should use each command? I want to make sure I’m using the right approach for development.
yea, totally get ya! a lotta projects just use ‘npm start’ to run ‘ng serve’ so it’s kinda the same. just peek at your package.json scripts to double-check, but i usually roll with ‘ng serve’ for ease.
The choice between ‘npm start’ and ‘ng serve’ largely depends on your project’s configuration and personal preference. In many Angular setups, ‘npm start’ is configured to run ‘ng serve’, functioning similarly in that context. However, ‘ng serve’ provides greater flexibility, allowing you to use Angular CLI flags directly, such as ‘–host’ for network access, without altering package.json. On the other hand, ‘npm start’ ensures consistency across various frameworks, making it a reliable option when collaborating with teams unfamiliar with Angular CLI. Always check your package.json to understand what ‘npm start’ executes before deciding which command to use.
Yeah, I get why this is confusing - these commands basically do the same thing in most Angular projects. npm start usually just runs ng serve under the hood. But there are a few key differences. With ng serve, you can directly use Angular CLI flags like --port, --open, or --configuration without touching your package.json. That’s handy when you’re tweaking server settings a lot. npm start is more about consistency though. If you’re jumping between different frameworks or working with devs who don’t know Angular CLI well, npm start just works everywhere. Both are fine for development as long as your package.json is set up right. I use ng serve when I’m constantly changing settings, but npm start when I’m on a team where consistency beats flexibility.