For me the problem was in .html file missing the

<head><meta charset="UTF-8"></head>

Adding it resolved the issue.

Answer from Jamato on Stack Overflow
🌐
GitHub
github.com › ritwickdey › vscode-live-server › issues › 452
live server not reloading automatically · Issue #452 · ritwickdey/vscode-live-server
April 26, 2019 - [x] Regression (a behavior that used to work and stopped working in a new release) [x] Bug report <!-- Please search GitHub for a similar issue or PR before submitting --> [ ] Feature request [x] Documentation issue or request ## Current behavior live server not reloading automatically ## Expected behavior it reload without manually reloading the browser ## Environment ```html Browser: - [x] Chrome (desktop) version - [x] Firefox version For Tooling issues: - Live Server: 5.6.1 - Platform: Windows - Visual Studio Code: 1.33.1 ·
Author   hillar10n
Discussions

node.js - npm live-server not auto-reloading - Stack Overflow
I have tried to work on the live server, installed a node package called live-server by using this command: npm install -g live-server It worked fine, installed successfully and run live-server by... More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
html - Live Server extension is not auto-reloading with WSL2 - Stack Overflow
https://github.com/ritwickdey/vscode-live-server/issues/452 · I am running Mullvad VPN and also tried turning it off and the issue persisted. My system information is below: ... It seems WSL doesn't support live reload if the file is in another OS. Please refer the GitHub issue. More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
Auto reload no longer working
Problem: Live Server isn't auto-reloading anymore Expected Result: Saving any file in an open folder with Live Server running will refresh the browser Steps taken to remedy: Reinstall firefox R... More on github.com
🌐 github.com
4
July 5, 2018
live server not reloading automatically
I'm submitting a... [x] Regression (a behavior that used to work and stopped working in a new release) [x] Bug report More on github-com.translate.goog
🌐 github-com.translate.goog
198
January 16, 2019
🌐
GitHub
github.com › ritwickdey › vscode-live-server › issues › 236
Live Server not reloading to display new changes · Issue #236 · ritwickdey/vscode-live-server
November 21, 2018 - Live Server does not reload changes anymore, It only reloads and still show previous view, I would have to reload manually to get my new changes showing. Once I return to the browser, server ought to reload and show new changes ·
Author   BolajiAyodeji
🌐
Lightrun
lightrun.com › home › live server not reloading automatically in ritwickdey vs code live server
live server not reloading automatically in ritwickdey VS Code Live Server - Lightrun
February 1, 2023 - Open the settings, search for ‘autosave’ and set it to ‘afterDelay’, set the AutoSaveDelay to a low value such as 5, search for ‘Wait’ in the settings, and set the value of LiveServer > Settings:Wait to a low value such as 3. These steps should help resolve the issue of the live server not reloading automatically.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/webdev › vs code live server not auto-refreshing newly created files
r/webdev on Reddit: VS Code Live Server Not Auto-Refreshing Newly Created Files
March 10, 2025 - 'm facing an issue with VS Code's Live Server extension. It works perfectly with existing files, and even if I duplicate an old file, it auto-refreshes on save. But when I create a new file, it doesn't refresh automatically, and I have to manually reload the browser.
Find elsewhere
🌐
freeCodeCamp
freecodecamp.org › news › visual-studio-code-live-server-not-working
Visual Studio Code Live Server Not Working
August 14, 2020 - If this is happening to you, here are a few things you can try. Sometimes the best you can do is start VSCode from scratch. First, save all of your work. Then close VSCode, which will also stop all of the extensions you've installed.
🌐
Ritwick Dey
ritwickdey.github.io › vscode-live-server › docs › settings.html
Settings | Live Server | VSCode Extension
liveServer.settings.useWebExt: : If it is true, Live Reload will be fully controled by the Live Server Web Extension. And also, it does not matter if your HTML have <body> tag or not, Live Reload will work for every file. :smile: Default is false · liveServer.settings.fullReload: : By Default Live Server inject CSS changes without full reloading of browser.
🌐
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
live server not updating automatically | 100% fix | Auto refresh without Ctrl + S - YouTube
Having trouble live server not updating automatically is #Live #Server in #VSCode not working? Watch this video for a 100% fix to enable auto refresh without...
Published   April 13, 2024
🌐
GitHub
github.com › ritwickdey › vscode-live-server › issues › 171
Auto reload no longer working · Issue #171 · ritwickdey/vscode-live-server
July 5, 2018 - Problem: Live Server isn't auto-reloading anymore Expected Result: Saving any file in an open folder with Live Server running will refresh the browser Steps taken to remedy: Reinstall firefox Reinstall extension Reinstall VS Code Ensured...
Author   Velkas
🌐
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 78079695 › vs-code-live-server-not-refreshing-automatically
html - VS Code Live Server Not Refreshing automatically - Stack Overflow
A common reason for the Live Server extension to stop working is if your file path contains some non-ASCII chars. In my experience, this can cause issues on Mac at least. So if you've had it working before, check if your current project directory ...
🌐
GitHub
github.com › ritwickdey › vscode-live-server › issues › 82
Autoload feature not working · Issue #82 · ritwickdey/vscode-live-server
February 19, 2018 - Hi, I just installed live-server version v.3.2.1 but the autoload feature is not working. I have to refresh the page manually to see the changes. FYI I didn't change any of the default settings
Author   gabygandrade
🌐
GitHub
github.com › ritwickdey › vscode-live-server › issues › 287
live server stopped auto reloading after update to 5.5.0 · Issue #287 · ritwickdey/vscode-live-server
February 12, 2019 - live server not reloading the browser on its own. now i have to manually reload the page. vscode is on autosave. i want the chrome live server to reload . Version: 1.31.0 (user setup) Date: 2019-02-05 Electron: 3.1.2 Chrome: 66.0.3359.181 Node.js: 10.2.0 V8: 6.6.346.32 OS: Windows_NT x64 6.1.7601 ·
Author   dashingvampire
🌐
GitHub
github.com › ritwickdey › vscode-live-server › issues › 1812
Live server auto reloading problem · Issue #1812 · ritwickdey/vscode-live-server
You signed in with another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session. You signed out in another tab or window.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/vscode › vs code live server doesn't load/always refreshing.
r/vscode on Reddit: VS Code Live Server Doesn't Load/Always Refreshing.
January 23, 2025 -

Hello, The Visual Studio Code Live Server extension doesn't work properly for me anymore. When I open a live server on any project, the project opens a tab with the live server port (http://127.0.0.1:5500/) as intended however any project I open will make the tab always stuck on refreshing. This causes many issues such as images/assets not loading all the time, Javascript/typescript not working and also Any changes after I press save on a project won't automatally update to the live server. I attached a video of the problem.

A little more info: The extension used to work for me ~4 months ago and I hadn't used VS code since then as I was working on a different project that didn't need me to use VS Code. The problem still happens no matter what is loaded, the word "Hello" could be the only thing in the body of the html and it would still have the issue. (Also yes I use <meta charset = “UTF-8”>, I saw someone mention it in another thread)

What I've tried:
Reinstalling VS Code and extensions (Same problem)
Trying the Insider Version (Same Problem)
I changed Autosave to AutoDelay
DIsabling every extension except live server and disabling every chrome extension.

Also any other extension similar to Live Server doesnt work such as Five Server, Live Preview etc

If anyone has had this problem, or can help with the issue, or has any question let me know! Thanks!

🌐
freeCodeCamp
freecodecamp.org › news › vscode-live-server-auto-refresh-browser
VS Code Live Server – How to Auto-Refresh Your Browser with this Simple Extension
October 14, 2020 - I'm a frontend web developer and I use VS Code while I work and on my YouTube channel. I've had many people ask me how the browser gets refreshed automatically while I'm coding, without clicking the reload button. Well, this is possible if you configure a useful extension in VS Code called live-server.