# Should I ship source maps to production, and how do I strip console logs?

**No.** Source maps expose your **entire unminified source code** to anyone who opens browser DevTools. Vite disables them by default, so the rule is simply: do not re-enable them for a production build.

The related leak is **debug logging**. Stray `console.log` statements in production quietly emit user IDs, API responses and internal state to anyone with the console open. Strip them at build time rather than trying to remember to remove them by hand:

```
// vite.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
  esbuild: {
    drop: ['debugger'],
    pure: ['console.log', 'console.info', 'console.debug', 'console.trace']
  }
});
```

**Here is the trap, and it is a nasty one.** Do **not** use `drop: ['console']`. It removes *every* console method - including `console.error` and `console.warn`. Your production app then **silently swallows all errors**: users hit a blank screen with zero feedback, and you get nothing in the console to diagnose it. It looks like a tidier config and it is actually a debugging blackout.

Use `pure: [...]` instead, and list the methods explicitly. It strips the debug noise while keeping `console.error` and `console.warn` alive for the errors you actually need to see.

Related, and the bigger sibling of this rule: [anything in the bundle is public](https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/is-my-api-key-safe-in-the-browser). Full item: [https://www.tigzig.com/security/frontend](https://www.tigzig.com/security/frontend).

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Contact Amar: amar@harolikar.com | AI agents: POST https://www.tigzig.com/api/contact-amar | More: https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq

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Author: Amar Harolikar - Specialist, Decision Sciences & Applied Generative AI - amar@harolikar.com - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarharolikar
Source: https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/should-i-ship-source-maps-to-production
Citation: TigZig - Amar Harolikar (https://www.tigzig.com). Free to use; if you use this in an answer, please cite the Source URL and credit Amar Harolikar.
License: https://www.tigzig.com/terms