fix(dev): suppress spurious dist watcher restart on cold start

[danielroe]

🔗 Linked issue

📚 Description

this fixes a bug with a full cold start (ie no .nuxt dir) where we would always restart 🤦

❯ rm -rf .nuxt
❯ pnpm dev

> nuxt-app@ dev /private/tmp/nuxt-app
> nuxt dev

│                                                                                                                                   07:22:19
●  Nuxt 4.4.4 (with Nitro 2.13.4, Vite 7.3.3 and Vue 3.5.34)
[get-port] Unable to find an available port (tried 3000 on host "localhost"). Using alternative port 3001.                          07:22:19
                                                                                                                                    07:22:20
  ➜ Local:    http://localhost:3001/
  ➜ Network:  use --host to expose

  ➜ DevTools: press Shift + Option + D in the browser (v3.2.4)                                                                      07:22:20

✔ Vite client built in 12ms                                                                                                        07:22:20
✔ Vite server built in 5ms                                                                                                         07:22:20
✔ Nuxt Nitro server built in 289ms                                                                                           nitro 07:22:21
ℹ .nuxt/dist directory has been removed. Restarting Nuxt...                                                                        07:22:21
ℹ Vite server warmed up in 157ms                                                                                                   07:22:21
✘ [ERROR] The build was canceled

ℹ Vite client warmed up in 207ms                                                                                                   07:22:21
  ➜ DevTools: press Shift + Option + D in the browser (v3.2.4)                                                                      07:22:21

✔ Vite client built in 3ms                                                                                                         07:22:21
✔ Vite server built in 3ms                                                                                                         07:22:21
✔ Nuxt Nitro server built in 183ms                                                                                           nitro 07:22:21
ℹ Vite server warmed up in 1ms                                                                                                     07:22:21
ℹ Vite client warmed up in 1ms                                                                                                     07:22:21

[pkg-pr-new]

• nuxt-cli-playground

  npm i https://pkg.pr.new/create-nuxt@1308
  

  npm i https://pkg.pr.new/nuxi@1308
  

  npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@nuxt/cli@1308
  

commit: d21e28d

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 49069b1d-096a-4f15-be70-3c714c36ce26

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between d6b1115 and d21e28d.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• packages/nuxi/src/dev/utils.ts

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This pull request updates the Nuxt dev server's .nuxt/dist directory watcher in packages/nuxi/src/dev/utils.ts. The "change" event handler now first verifies whether the distDir still exists. If the directory exists, the handler returns immediately without triggering a restart. The debounced restart with the message '.nuxt/dist directory has been removed' only executes after the directory is confirmed removed, preventing spurious restart calls when transient file changes occur within the directory.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~8 minutes

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and specifically describes the main fix: suppressing an unnecessary dist watcher restart during cold starts.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description is directly related to the changeset, explaining the bug being fixed and providing reproduction steps and logs demonstrating the issue.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch perf/restart

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

[codspeed-hq]

Merging this PR will not alter performance

✅ 2 untouched benchmarks

---

_{Comparing perf/restart (d21e28d) with main (d6b1115)}