Laravel Vite Manifest Not Found Error – Fix for Local & Production Environments

“Fix the Laravel error Vite manifest not found at /public/build/manifest.json in local development and production. Step-by-step guide with npm, Vite, and Laravel solutions for beginners and junior developers.”

✅ Beginner-Friendly Solution
1. What is the Error?
Vite manifest not found at: /public/build/manifest.json


Laravel + Vite uses manifest.json to load CSS & JS assets.

If the file is missing, your frontend assets won’t load.

Common causes:

Dependencies not installed (node_modules missing)

Vite not running or production build not generated

Wrong paths in vite.config.js

public/build moved or missing

2. Solution for Local Development

Make sure Node.js & npm are installed.

Install dependencies:

npm install


Start Vite development server:

npm run dev


This generates manifest.json in public/build.

Keep the terminal running while working on the project.

3. Solution for Production

Build production assets:

npm run build


Optimized CSS & JS files are created in public/build.

manifest.json is generated automatically.

Ensure vite.config.js paths are correct:

export default defineConfig({
plugins: [vue()],
build: {
outDir: 'public/build',
emptyOutDir: true,
},
});


Clear Laravel caches:

php artisan view:clear
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:clear


Important: Make sure public/build is accessible and inside the public folder.

4. Best Practices

Do not upload node_modules to production.

Always run npm run build on the server after deployment.

Keep vite.config.js consistent between local & production.

Commit vite.config.js but ignore public/build in version control if desired.