Common pitfalls when developing routing for single‐page app

I have been working on a vanilla-typescript single-page application and built a custom routing system which seemed to function well initially. However, I encountered an issue when navigating to the /cart page and refreshing it, causing the app to crash with the error: Cannot GET /cart, accompanied by a 404 response from the server.

Since this project doesn't involve server-side operations and aims to showcase the possibility of building a minimal viable product (MVP) without relying on frameworks like React or Svelte, setting up a server isn't an option. This issue became particularly cumbersome while using the Live Server extension in VSCode, which auto-refreshes the page upon saving files, requiring manual navigation back to the intended page post a 404 error.

Though hash routing (e.g., /#cart) is a common workaround for SPAs to prevent server requests on refresh, it isn't a preferred solution for me.

Enabling Index.html Forwarding

Luckily, the Live Server extension allows for a configuration to always serve the index.html file regardless of the route, effectively solving the refresh issue:

1. Access VSCode Settings:

   • Open the settings in VSCode.
   • In the search bar, type liveserver or navigate to the "Live Server Config" menu.

2. Update Live Server Settings:

   • Locate "Live Server > Settings: File" and specify your main file (for me, it's index.html).

3. Restart Live Server:

   • Restart the Live Server to apply the changes.

Now, irrespective of the route, Live Server will always serve the index.html file, ensuring your SPA remains functional on refresh.

It might be beneficial to configure a custom 404 page for unmatched routes, as this setup bypasses the typical 404 responses, even for nonexistent routes.