Inspect the local Vite surface:
- Package version (vite@8.x preferred; snapshot 8.3.2). Node: ^20.19.0 || >=22.12.0.
- Config: vite.config.ts / .js, defineConfig, plugins, appType, top-level input.
- Defaults in use: Rolldown (bundle + optimize) + Oxc (transform/minify) + Lightning CSS (CSS minify). Vite 7- used esbuild/Rollup.
- Scripts: vite / vite build / vite preview; framework plugins (@vitejs/plugin-*).
For day-to-day how-to, follow usage-guide.md first.
Refresh docs when versions drift or the task is migration/SSR/Environment API/DevTools. Start from source-map.md.
Route deeper detail:
- Config, CLI, env, assets, CSS, HMR: config-cli-env.md.
- Plugins, build, lib mode, MPA, performance, DevTools: plugins-build.md.
- SSR, backend integration, proxy, middleware: ssr-backend.md.
- Vite 7→8 / Rolldown: migration-v8.md.
Prefer Vite 8 APIs (build.rolldownOptions, oxc, optimizeDeps.rolldownOptions). Treat Environment API as RC. Treat bundled Dev Mode, Lightning CSS as full transformer, --app / builder, and DevTools as experimental.
Verify with bunx vite build (or project scripts), vite preview, and separate tsc --noEmit when types matter.

Core Judgment

Vite = dev server (native ESM + HMR) + production bundler. Vite 8 defaults: bundler/optimizer Rolldown (rolldown@~1.2.11 in 8.3.2); JS transform/minify Oxc; CSS minify Lightning CSS. PostCSS remains the default CSS transformer.
Prefer bunx vite / bun create vite in command examples; keep narrative npm registry references when describing packages.
index.html is the app entry (not under public/). public/ is copy-as-is static files. Non-HTML entries: set top-level input (used in dev and build).
Vite does not typecheck — run tsc --noEmit (or project typecheck) separately. Oxc transpiles only.
Client env: only envPrefix (default VITE_) reaches import.meta.env. Never put secrets in VITE_*.
Config files do not auto-load .env — use loadEnv inside defineConfig.
Prefer build.rolldownOptions over deprecated build.rollupOptions; prefer oxc over deprecated esbuild config; prefer server.ws over deprecated WebSocket fields on server.hmr.
Chunk splitting: object manualChunks removed; function form deprecated → Rolldown output.codeSplitting.
vite preview is not a production server — use it only to smoke dist.
Dep cache: node_modules/.vite; force with vite --force (do not rely on deprecated vite optimize).
Official plugins live under @vitejs/*. PWA (vite-plugin-pwa) is community.
Environment API stays RC (stability between majors; some APIs still experimental). SPA/MPA apps usually need not configure environments. Prefer ssrLoadModule unless a framework already uses Module Runner.
SSR/backend: enforce real security/auth on the host server; Vite middleware is a tooling layer.

Verification

Prefer repository-owned commands. For meaningful Vite work, cover the relevant subset:

bunx vite --version (or project vite) and confirm major (7 vs 8) and minor (8.3 vs older 8.x).
Dev smoke: bun run dev / HMR for the changed module.
bun run build then bun run preview (or equivalent).
Typecheck separately when TS/paths/import type matter.
After config migration: confirm no remaining manualChunks object form; Rolldown options resolve via configResolved if debugging.
SSR: client + server builds; middleware mode smoke; import.meta.env.SSR branches.
Backend integration: manifest entries render correct CSS/JS URLs.

Report which checks ran, which did not, and any Vite version assumptions that remain.

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