vite: command not found / 'vite' is not recognized

Which message does your shell print?

The cause is the same in every shell. Only the wording changes, depending on which shell ran the command. npm runs scripts with /bin/sh on Unix-like systems and with cmd.exe on Windows, so the message from npm run dev comes from that shell, not from your terminal. The exit code is 127 in every Unix case below. Reproduced on 5 October 2026 with Vite 8.3.2 and npm 11.17.0.

• macOS, npm run dev: sh: vite: command not found
• macOS, vite typed in zsh: zsh: command not found: vite
• bash: bash: vite: command not found
• Debian or Ubuntu container (node:24-slim, sh is dash): sh: 1: vite: not found
• Alpine container (node:24-alpine): sh: vite: not found
• Windows, cmd.exe: 'vite' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. (Not reproduced here; we have no Windows machine.)

Vite is installed, but typing vite still fails

This is expected. A scaffolded Vite project lists vite under devDependencies, so npm installs it into node_modules/.bin of the project, not into a directory on your PATH. npm run adds node_modules/.bin to the PATH, but only for the script it runs. Reproduced: with vite installed in the project, npm run dev starts the server on 5173, and the same vite typed straight into zsh exits with 127.

$ npm run dev
  ➜  Local:   http://localhost:5173/

$ vite
zsh: command not found: vite

# both of these use the project's own copy
$ npx vite
$ ./node_modules/.bin/vite

npm run dev fails: the package is not in node_modules

If the error comes from npm run dev, the binary is really missing in this project. The usual reasons are a fresh clone (node_modules is not in the repository), an interrupted install, or an install that ran in a different directory. The fix is the install in the directory where package.json is.

$ ls node_modules/.bin/vite
ls: node_modules/.bin/vite: No such file or directory

# in the folder that contains package.json
$ npm install
$ npm run dev

The install ran, but skipped devDependencies

vite is a devDependency, and npm leaves devDependencies out when NODE_ENV is production or when you pass --omit=dev. The install finishes without an error, and npm run dev then fails exactly as if nothing were installed. We reproduced both on macOS and NODE_ENV=production in a node:24-slim container: no node_modules/.bin/vite, exit 127. This is the most common cause in Dockerfiles and CI, where NODE_ENV=production is often set globally.

$ NODE_ENV=production npm install
$ npm run dev
sh: 1: vite: not found

# install devDependencies anyway
$ npm install --include=dev

Why npx vite is not a safe workaround

npx first looks in the project. If vite is not there, it downloads the package into the npm cache and runs that copy. Without a terminal attached, for example in a script or a container, it did not ask: in an empty folder, npx vite printed a warning, installed [email protected] (the latest version on 5 October 2026) and started it. Your project may pin an older major with different server defaults. Install the project dependencies instead of letting npx pick a version for you.

$ npx vite --version
npm warn exec The following package was not found and will be installed: [email protected]
vite/8.3.2 darwin-arm64 node-v24.19.0

Should you install vite globally?

It makes vite available in the terminal, but it is not what the Vite docs suggest. They say to use the vite binary in npm scripts or to run it with npx vite. A global install runs one version for all your projects, whatever version each project expects. The scripts in package.json already run the right one.

Read the error in order

• Error from npm run dev: the package is missing in this project. Run npm install where package.json is.
• Error only when you type vite: nothing is broken. Use npm run dev or npx vite.
• Error after an install in CI or Docker: check NODE_ENV and --omit=dev.
• No error, but no address block either: the binary was found and the problem is later in the start. See the startup sequence.

• What happens between npm run dev and the page on localhost:5173Starting the Vite dev server takes five steps: npm resolves the vite binary, Vite reads the config, dependencies are pre-bundled, the server listens on 5173, and the browser opens an HMR WebSocket on the first request.
• When npm run dev does not bring up localhost:5173Read the terminal before the browser: npm run dev fails at one of four points — a missing script, a missing binary, a config error, or a port that is not the one you are opening.
• localhost:5173 — the port itselfWhat the address means, common dev ports, and the autocomplete fix.