I prefer to use vite - you get handling of imports without needing a separate bundler step, but you get hot reload as well. I find it is a nicer experience, YMM

I prefer to use vite - you get handling of imports without needing a separate bundler step, but you get hot reload as well. I find it is a nicer experience, YMMV but it is good to have alternative options: FROM node:19.1.0 WORKDIR /project/vite_project RUN npm init -y RUN npm install react react-dom RUN npm install -g esbuild RUN npm install vite EXPOSE 8081 CMD ["npm","run","dev"] The react install isn't normally there if I start light - but it shows that the path to throwing in a framework is smooth. Typically combined with: #!/usr/bin/env bash docker build -t vite_play -f Dockerfile.vite emp/ Obviously there is something to a bundler step happening in the background, but it is fast enough (and implicit) so it doesn't get in the way of rapid prototyping.