diff --git a/.changeset/bright-buckets-laugh.md b/.changeset/bright-buckets-laugh.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1e610b72a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/bright-buckets-laugh.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/cli': patch
+---
+
+Fix dev server reloads of plugin discovery for new frontend system.
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/bundler/config.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/bundler/config.ts
index 0202cca04c..4e9f67c4fa 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/bundler/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/bundler/config.ts
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ export async function createConfig(
     ...(isDev
       ? {
           watchOptions: {
-            ignored: /node_modules/,
+            ignored: /node_modules\/(?!__backstage-autodetected-plugins__)/,
           },
         }
       : {}),