Console clearing on npm start is an annoying user experience

[Chris Towler]

After creating a definition for a contentful app, you have instructions for how to start developing, including a deep link to view your development app. You get the impression you'll be able to follow along with the instructions, so you think, "let me npm start and then open that url in my browser" but then you start and all that helpful information is gone.

I don't know what the solution is to this but this is not a fun experience. I don't know where that url was going to take me and I have no idea how to find it. Why do we have to clear the console on npm start, anyway?

[Andi Pätzold]

Hi @heyitstowler,

thanks for your feedback! I understand your issues about our instructions suddenly disappearing after running npm start.

Unfortunately, it is not easily possible to disable the console clearing to keep these instructions. Under the hood, Create Contentful App is using Create React App. Create React App clears the console on every start and there is no option to disable that functionality.

To avoid users of Contentful getting stuck after running npm start, there are instructions and links in the browser when clicking on the provided URL. This screen provides you with the same information that was previously cleared from the console:

[Andi Pätzold]

Closing due to inactivity