diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c61d1e0..d51c703 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -22,10 +22,8 @@ $(OUT_DIR)/index.stamp: $(PAGES) $(TEMPLATES) $(ASSETS_FILES) cmd/build/main.go
 	@if [ -d $(ASSETS_DIR) ]; then rm -rf $(OUT_DIR)/$(ASSETS_DIR); cp -r $(ASSETS_DIR) $(OUT_DIR)/; fi
 	@date +%s > $(OUT_DIR)/index.stamp
 
-serve: build
-	@echo "Serving $(OUT_DIR) as document root..."
-	@xdg-open "http://localhost:8000/index.html" || true
-	@cd $(OUT_DIR) && python -m http.server
+serve: deps
+	@$(GO) run ./cmd/serve --port 8000 $(PWD)
 
 PDF := $(OUT_DIR)/output.pdf
 PDF_2UP := $(OUT_DIR)/output-2up.pdf
diff --git a/cmd/serve/main.go b/cmd/serve/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff0d9d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/serve/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"os/signal"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify"
+)
+
+// serveDist starts an HTTP file server rooted at distPath on the given address.
+func serveDist(ctx context.Context, distPath, addr string, wg *sync.WaitGroup) *http.Server {
+	fs := http.FileServer(http.Dir(distPath))
+	srv := &http.Server{Addr: addr, Handler: fs}
+
+	wg.Add(1)
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		if err := srv.ListenAndServe(); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, http.ErrServerClosed) {
+			log.Printf("http server error: %v", err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	go func() {
+		<-ctx.Done()
+		shutdownCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 3*time.Second)
+		defer cancel()
+		_ = srv.Shutdown(shutdownCtx)
+	}()
+
+	return srv
+}
+
+// runMake executes `make` in the provided project directory.
+func runMake(projectDir string) error {
+	cmd := exec.Command("make")
+	cmd.Dir = projectDir
+	cmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
+	log.Printf("running make in %s", projectDir)
+	return cmd.Run()
+}
+
+func shouldSkipPath(projectDir, path string) bool {
+	rel, err := filepath.Rel(projectDir, path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if rel == "." {
+		return false
+	}
+	// Normalize to forward slashes for simple contains checks.
+	rel = filepath.ToSlash(rel)
+	// Skip changes inside these directories to avoid rebuild loops and noise.
+	skipPrefixes := []string{
+		"_dist/",
+		".git/",
+	}
+	for _, p := range skipPrefixes {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(rel, p) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// addWatchersRecursively walks projectDir and adds fsnotify watchers to all directories except skipped ones.
+func addWatchersRecursively(w *fsnotify.Watcher, projectDir string) error {
+	return filepath.WalkDir(projectDir, func(path string, d os.DirEntry, err error) error {
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if !d.IsDir() {
+			return nil
+		}
+		if shouldSkipPath(projectDir, path) {
+			return filepath.SkipDir
+		}
+		if err := w.Add(path); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("add watcher for %s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+		return nil
+	})
+}
+
+func main() {
+	log.SetFlags(log.LstdFlags | log.Lmicroseconds)
+
+	// Support optional --port flag while keeping the requested positional path arg.
+	port := flag.Int("port", 8000, "port to serve _dist on")
+	flag.Parse()
+
+	if flag.NArg() < 1 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "usage: %s [--port PORT] <project-path-with-Makefile>\n", filepath.Base(os.Args[0]))
+		os.Exit(2)
+	}
+	projectDir := flag.Arg(0)
+	absProjectDir, err := filepath.Abs(projectDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("resolve project path: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Validate Makefile presence.
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(absProjectDir, "Makefile")); err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Makefile not found in %s: %v", absProjectDir, err)
+	}
+
+	distDir := filepath.Join(absProjectDir, "_dist")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(distDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("ensure _dist exists: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Initial build.
+	if err := runMake(absProjectDir); err != nil {
+		log.Printf("initial make failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Context and signal handling.
+	ctx, cancel := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	// Start HTTP server.
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	addr := fmt.Sprintf(":%d", *port)
+	_ = serveDist(ctx, distDir, addr, &wg)
+	log.Printf("serving %s at http://localhost%s/", distDir, addr)
+
+	// Set up the file watcher with debounced rebuilds.
+	watcher, err := fsnotify.NewWatcher()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("create watcher: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer watcher.Close()
+
+	if err := addWatchersRecursively(watcher, absProjectDir); err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("add watchers: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	rebuildRequests := make(chan struct{}, 1)
+
+	// Watch events and coalesce rebuild requests.
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return
+			case ev, ok := <-watcher.Events:
+				if !ok {
+					return
+				}
+				// Track newly created directories to watch them.
+				if (ev.Op & fsnotify.Create) == fsnotify.Create {
+					info, err := os.Stat(ev.Name)
+					if err == nil && info.IsDir() && !shouldSkipPath(absProjectDir, ev.Name) {
+						_ = watcher.Add(ev.Name)
+					}
+				}
+
+				if shouldSkipPath(absProjectDir, ev.Name) {
+					continue
+				}
+				// Signal a rebuild (non-blocking).
+				select {
+				case rebuildRequests <- struct{}{}:
+				default:
+				}
+
+			case err, ok := <-watcher.Errors:
+				if !ok {
+					return
+				}
+				log.Printf("watcher error: %v", err)
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// Debounce and run make.
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return
+			case <-rebuildRequests:
+				// Debounce window.
+				time.Sleep(200 * time.Millisecond)
+				// Drain any queued requests.
+				for {
+					select {
+					case <-rebuildRequests:
+					default:
+						goto START_BUILD
+					}
+				}
+			START_BUILD:
+				if err := runMake(absProjectDir); err != nil {
+					log.Printf("make failed: %v", err)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// Block until signal then wait for server shutdown.
+	<-ctx.Done()
+	cancel()
+	wg.Wait()
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index e1d0840..e09a4aa 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ go 1.21
 require (
 	github.com/chromedp/cdproto v0.0.0-20240202021202-6d0b6a386732
 	github.com/chromedp/chromedp v0.9.5
+	github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.9.0
 )
 
 require (
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 0744849..6d11f84 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ github.com/chromedp/chromedp v0.9.5 h1:viASzruPJOiThk7c5bueOUY91jGLJVximoEMGoH93
 github.com/chromedp/chromedp v0.9.5/go.mod h1:D4I2qONslauw/C7INoCir1BJkSwBYMyZgx8X276z3+Y=
 github.com/chromedp/sysutil v1.0.0 h1:+ZxhTpfpZlmchB58ih/LBHX52ky7w2VhQVKQMucy3Ic=
 github.com/chromedp/sysutil v1.0.0/go.mod h1:kgWmDdq8fTzXYcKIBqIYvRRTnYb9aNS9moAV0xufSww=
+github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.9.0 h1:2Ml+OJNzbYCTzsxtv8vKSFD9PbJjmhYF14k/jKC7S9k=
+github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.9.0/go.mod h1:8jBTzvmWwFyi3Pb8djgCCO5IBqzKJ/Jwo8TRcHyHii0=
 github.com/gobwas/httphead v0.1.0 h1:exrUm0f4YX0L7EBwZHuCF4GDp8aJfVeBrlLQrs6NqWU=
 github.com/gobwas/httphead v0.1.0/go.mod h1:O/RXo79gxV8G+RqlR/otEwx4Q36zl9rqC5u12GKvMCM=
 github.com/gobwas/pool v0.2.1 h1:xfeeEhW7pwmX8nuLVlqbzVc7udMDrwetjEv+TZIz1og=