feat(proxy): add --reload flag for uvicorn hot reload (dev only)

[ryan-crabbe-berri]

Summary

• Adds an opt-in --reload CLI flag to litellm proxy that enables uvicorn's file-watching hot reload for local development.
• Off by default. No env var, so it can't be set accidentally via Docker/k8s manifests in prod.
• Only affects the uvicorn run path. --run_gunicorn and --run_hypercorn paths are untouched. Production deployments that don't pass the flag are unaffected.

Implementation

Three changes in litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py (10 lines added, 0 removed):

1. @click.option("--reload", is_flag=True, default=False, ...) decorator on run_server.
2. reload: bool parameter in run_server signature.
3. if reload: uvicorn_args["reload"] = True before the uvicorn.run(...) call.

Test plan

• litellm --help shows the new --reload flag with help text.
• Started proxy with --reload: uvicorn logged Started reloader process [55701] using StatReload.
• Touched litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py: reloader logged StatReload detected changes ... Reloading..., old worker shut down, new worker came up with a different PID and reached Application startup complete.
• Default behavior (no flag) is unchanged — uvicorn_args only gets reload=True when the user explicitly opts in.
• CI passes.

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
litellm	Ready	Preview, Comment	Apr 16, 2026 8:54pm

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR adds an opt-in --reload CLI flag to the litellm proxy that enables uvicorn's built-in file-watching hot reload, intended for local development use only. The change is minimal (10 lines), correctly scoped to the uvicorn path only (behind the if run_gunicorn is False and run_hypercorn is False guard), and off by default.

Confidence Score: 5/5

Safe to merge — the change is off by default and correctly scoped to the uvicorn path only, with no risk to production deployments.

All remaining findings are P2 (the num_workers guard suggestion, already raised in a prior review). The core implementation is minimal, correct, and non-breaking.

No files require special attention.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py	Adds --reload click option and corresponding reload: bool parameter; conditionally sets uvicorn_args["reload"] = True within the uvicorn-only code path. Change is minimal and correctly scoped.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A["litellm --reload"] --> B{"run_gunicorn or run_hypercorn?"}
    B -- Yes --> C["gunicorn / hypercorn path — reload ignored"]
    B -- No --> D{"reload flag set?"}
    D -- Yes --> E["uvicorn_args reload = True"]
    D -- No --> F["uvicorn_args unchanged"]
    E --> G{"num_workers > 1?"}
    G -- Yes --> I["uvicorn raises ValueError"]
    G -- No --> J["StatReload watcher starts — hot reload active"]
    F --> H["uvicorn.run — normal startup"]

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_{Reviews (3): Last reviewed commit: "Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/lit..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 66.66667% with 1 line in your changes missing coverage. Please review.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py	66.66%	1 Missing ⚠️

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