Live Server Plus for Sublime Text

A lightweight development server with WebSocket‑based live reload.

Installation

Package Control (recommended)

1. Open the Command Palette: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P
   
2. Select Package Control: Install Package
   
3. Search for “LiveServerPlus” and install.

Manual

1. Download or clone this repository.
   
2. In Sublime Text, choose Preferences ▸ Browse Packages…
   
3. Copy the folder into the Packages directory and name it LiveServerPlus.

Usage

Open a file, folder or workspace (File ▸ Open Folder) first.

Main menu

Tools ▸ Live Server Plus:

Command Palette

Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → type:

• Live Server Plus: Start Server
  
• Live Server Plus: Stop Server
  
• Live Server Plus: Open in Browser
  
• Live Server Plus: Show Mobile QR Code
  
• Live Server Plus: Enable LAN Access
• Live Server Plus: Disable LAN Access
• Live Server Plus: Enable Live Reload
  
• Live Server Plus: Disable Live Reload
  
• Live Server Plus: Change Port…
  
• Live Server Plus: Enable Debug Logging
• Live Server Plus: Disable Debug Logging
• Live Server Plus: Settings

Example workflow

1. Open your project folder.
   
2. Run Live Server Plus: Start Server.
   
3. Edit and save—your browser refreshes automatically.

Features

• Instant reload on file changes; optional CSS-only injection. Enable Sublime-only mode when you want immediate reloads on save, or leave it disabled to monitor external tools via Watchdog.
  
• GitHub-style Markdown preview with live scroll sync—defaults to editor→browser, switch to “sync” for two-way or false to disable. GitHub alert callouts (> [!NOTE]) and heading anchors are always on; syntax highlighting, math, and Mermaid diagrams are opt-in (see below).
  
• Mobile preview: scan a QR code to open the site on devices on the same network. Local-only is the default; LAN access is opt-in.
• Port selection: choose a port at startup or set "port": 0 for a free one.
  
• Automatic watcher fallback: native watchers for performance, seamless polling fallback when macOS hits the file-descriptor limit.
  
• Runs in Sublime’s bundled Python—no external runtime required.

Optional key bindings

[
    { "keys": ["alt+shift+s"], "command": "live_server_start" },
    { "keys": ["alt+shift+o"], "command": "open_current_file_live_server" },
    { "keys": ["alt+shift+x"], "command": "live_server_stop" }
]

Settings quick reference

// LiveServerPlus.sublime-settings (user)
{
    "customBrowser": "",
    "openBrowser": true,
    "showInfoMessages": true,
    "verifyTags": true,
    "fullReload": false,
    "liveReload": false,
    "host": "127.0.0.1",
    // Local-only by default. Use "useLocalIp": true or Enable LAN Access for phone/tablet QR preview.
    "maxThreads": 64,
    "maxWatchedDirs": 50,
    "renderMarkdownPreview": true,
    "markdownScrollSync": "editor", // "editor", "sync", or false
    "markdownSyntaxHighlighting": false, // highlight.js
    "markdownMath": false,               // KaTeX, $...$ and $$...$$
    "markdownMermaid": false,            // ```mermaid diagrams
    "ignoreFiles": ["**/node_modules/**", "**/.git/**", "**/__pycache__/**"],
    "logging": false,
    "port": 5500,
    "showOnStatusbar": true,
    "useLocalIp": false,
    "useWebExt": false,
    "wait": 100
}

Restart the server after changing settings.

Markdown preview extras

Three preview features are off by default:

{
    "markdownSyntaxHighlighting": true, // highlight fenced code blocks
    "markdownMath": true,               // render $...$ and $$...$$
    "markdownMermaid": true             // render ```mermaid diagrams
}

These libraries (highlight.js, KaTeX, Mermaid) ship with the plugin and are served from your own dev server — nothing is fetched from a CDN, so previews keep working offline and over LAN/QR on a phone.

They are opt-in because each one adds JavaScript that the browser re-parses on every reload, and the preview reloads on every keystroke. A script is only included when the document actually uses it: a file with no diagrams never loads Mermaid. Mermaid is by far the heaviest (~3.5 MB vs ~125 KB for highlight.js), so enable it only if you use diagrams.

Always on, since they cost nothing extra: GitHub alert callouts (> [!NOTE], > [!WARNING], …), tables, task lists, and heading anchors.

Math is detected server-side, which keeps ordinary prose safe — a line like it costs $5 and $10 is left alone rather than being turned into math, and dollar signs inside code blocks and `code spans` are never touched.

Local vs LAN access

By default Live Server Plus is local-only:

{
    "host": "127.0.0.1",
    "useLocalIp": false
}

This is the safest mode. Your desktop browser can open the server, but your phone cannot.

For phone/tablet preview, run Live Server Plus: Enable LAN Access or set:

{
    "useLocalIp": true
}

LAN access lets devices on the same network reach your dev server. The server still opens in your desktop browser, and the mobile QR code uses your machine's LAN IP.

Security note: LAN access exposes the dev server to devices on your local network. Use it on trusted networks.

Troubleshooting

• QR code does not open on the phone: make sure LAN access is enabled, the phone is on the same Wi-Fi/network, and firewall/VPN settings are not blocking local connections.
• Browser does not open where expected: set "customBrowser" to "chrome", "firefox", "safari", "edge", or "brave". Leave it empty to use the system default.
• Package Control has not updated yet: Package Control can take a while to index new releases. Run Package Control: Upgrade Package or try again later.

Requirements

• Sublime Text 4 (Build ≥ 4152)
  
• Browser with WebSocket support (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)

Known limitations

• Watchdog mode watches up to 50 directories; adjust ignore globs or reduce scope for very large projects. When Live Reload is enabled, only saves inside Sublime trigger refreshes.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Issues and pull requests are welcome.

Vendored dependencies

Python:

• Watchdog – filesystem events
  
• PyQRCode and pypng – QR generation
• markdown2 – Markdown → HTML conversion

Browser assets for the Markdown preview, served from the dev server itself (never a CDN), each under its own upstream license:

• highlight.js – code syntax highlighting
• KaTeX – math rendering
• Mermaid – diagrams

All vendored under liveserverplus_lib/vendor/.

Support

Report bugs/issues on GitHub: https://github.com/ifrederico/sublime-liveserverplus/issues

License

MIT