Update
Aug 6, 2026
tracked by
Updatify
Minor Changes
-
#17174 0224a3a Thanks @matthewp! - Adds the astro preview --background flag to start preview servers as background processes.
This makes preview servers easier to manage from scripts and AI coding agents because the command returns after the server is ready instead of keeping the terminal attached to the long-running process.
astro preview --background
When a preview server is running in the background, you can inspect or stop it with new astro preview subcommands:
astro preview status
astro preview logs
astro preview logs --follow
astro preview stop
If Astro detects that astro preview is being run by an AI coding agent, background mode is enabled automatically. This matches the existing behavior for astro dev, allowing agents to continue working after the preview server starts while still receiving the server URL and process ID.
To opt out of automatic background mode for preview servers, set ASTRO_PREVIEW_BACKGROUND=0 before running astro preview.