4 min read 810 words Updated Mar 14, 2026 Created Mar 14, 2026

Dev Command

The dev command combines the Generate Command and Serve Command into a single workflow. It performs an initial full build of your vault, then watches for file changes and automatically rebuilds while serving the site on a local HTTP server. This gives you a live development loop where edits to your Obsidian notes are reflected in the browser without running separate commands.

The dev command accepts all the same flags as generate plus --port from serve, so you can customize themes, fonts, layouts, and other settings exactly as you would with a standalone build.

Usage

kiln dev [flags]

A minimal dev session with default settings:

kiln dev

This reads from ./vault, writes to ./public, applies the default theme, font, and layout, and starts a local server on port 8080. Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser to preview the site.

Flags

FlagShortDefaultDescription
--theme-tdefaultSets the color scheme. See [Themes & Visuals](../Features/User Interface/Themes.md) for available options.
--font-finterSets the font family. See [Fonts & Typography](../Features/User Interface/Fonts.md) for available options.
--url-u""The public URL of your site (e.g., https://example.com). Required for [Sitemap.xml](../Features/SEO/Sitemap xml.md) and [Robots.txt](../Features/SEO/Robots txt.md) generation.
--name-nMy NotesThe site name displayed in the browser tab and [Meta Tags & SEO](../Features/SEO/Meta Tags.md).
--input-i./vaultPath to the source directory containing your Markdown notes.
--output-o./publicPath where the generated HTML files are saved.
--mode-mdefaultBuild mode. Use default for standard vault rendering or custom for [Custom Mode](../Features/Custom Mode/What is Custom Mode.md) with collection configs and templates.
--layout-LdefaultPage layout to use. See [Layouts](../Features/User Interface/Layouts.md) for available options.
--flat-urlsfalseGenerate flat files (note.html) instead of directories (note/index.html).
--disable-tocfalseHides the [Table of Contents](../Features/User Interface/Table of Contents.md) from the right sidebar.
--disable-local-graphfalseHides the [Local Graph](../Features/User Interface/Local Graph.md) from the right sidebar.
--disable-backlinksfalseHides the Backlinks panel from the right sidebar.
--lang-genLanguage code for the site (e.g., en, it, fr).
--accent-color-a""Accent color from the theme palette (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, cyan). Defaults to the theme's built-in accent.
--log-linfoLog verbosity. Choose info or debug.
--port-p8080Port number for the local development server.

How It Works

When you run kiln dev, the following steps happen in order:

  1. Initial full build — the entire vault is built exactly as the Generate Command would, producing a complete static site in the output directory.
  2. Modification-time baseline — a snapshot of every file's last-modified timestamp is recorded. This baseline is used to detect which files change on subsequent edits.
  3. Dependency graph — wikilinks between notes are parsed to build a graph of dependencies. When a note changes, the graph determines which other pages need to be rebuilt (for example, pages that link to or embed the changed note).
  4. Filesystem watcher — a watcher (powered by fsnotify) is started on the input directory. File system events are debounced to avoid redundant rebuilds during rapid edits.
  5. Local HTTP server — a development server starts on the configured port, serving the output directory with the same clean URL support as the standalone serve command.
  6. Incremental rebuild — when the watcher detects a file change, it compares current modification times against the baseline, computes a changeset of affected files using the dependency graph, and triggers a rebuild.

Press Ctrl+C to cleanly shut down both the watcher and the server. The command intercepts SIGINT and SIGTERM signals for a graceful exit.

Examples

Basic Development Session

Start a dev server with the default settings and open http://localhost:8080:

kiln dev

Themed Development with a Custom Port

Preview your vault with the Nord theme on port 3000:

kiln dev \
  --theme "nord" \
  --font "merriweather" \
  --name "My Digital Garden" \
  --port 3000

Custom Input and Output Directories

Work with a non-default vault location and a separate build folder:

kiln dev \
  --input ./notes \
  --output ./dist \
  --url "https://example.com/docs"