diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1119253aa5..fa31b8850c 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     "test": "lerna run --scope '@scm-manager/ui-*' test",
     "e2e-tests": "lerna run --scope '@scm-manager/e2e-tests' ci",
     "typecheck": "lerna run --scope '@scm-manager/ui-*' typecheck",
-    "serve": "NODE_ENV=development webpack-dev-server --hot --mode=development --config=scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/webpack.config.js",
+    "serve": "NODE_ENV=development ui-scripts serve",
     "deploy": "ui-scripts publish",
     "set-version": "ui-scripts version"
   },
diff --git a/scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/commands/serve.js b/scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/commands/serve.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..467a05b77a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/commands/serve.js
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/*
+ * MIT License
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2020-present Cloudogu GmbH and Contributors
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+ * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+ * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+ * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+ * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+ * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+ * copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+ * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+ * SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
+const Webpack = require("webpack");
+const WebpackDevServer = require("webpack-dev-server");
+const webpackConfig = require("../webpack.config");
+
+module.exports = () => {
+  const compiler = Webpack(webpackConfig);
+  const devServerConfig = webpackConfig[0].devServer;
+  const server = new WebpackDevServer(compiler, devServerConfig);
+
+  server.listen(devServerConfig.port, "127.0.0.1", () => {
+    console.log(`Starting server on http://localhost:${devServerConfig.port}`);
+  });
+
+  // if we could access the parent id of our current process
+  // we start watching it, because a changing parent id means
+  // that the parent process has died.
+  // On linux our process does not receive any signal if our parent dies,
+  // e.g.: ctrl+c in gradle
+  if (process.ppid) {
+    const { ppid } = process;
+    setInterval(() => {
+      if (ppid !== process.ppid) {
+        server.close();
+        process.exit();
+      }
+    }, 500);
+  }
+};
diff --git a/scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/webpack.config.js b/scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/webpack.config.js
index 291ed87d07..3585ee2cf7 100644
--- a/scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/webpack.config.js
+++ b/scm-ui/ui-scripts/src/webpack.config.js
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ module.exports = [
       historyApiFallback: true,
       overlay: true,
       port: 3000,
+      hot: true,
       before: app => {
         app.use(createContextPathMiddleware("/scm"));
       },
@@ -160,6 +161,7 @@ module.exports = [
     plugins: webpackPlugins
   },
   {
+    mode,
     context: root,
     entry: "./ui-styles/src/scm.scss",
     module: {
@@ -195,6 +197,7 @@ module.exports = [
     }
   },
   {
+    mode,
     context: path.resolve(root),
     entry: {
       polyfills: "./ui-polyfill/src/index.js"