diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts
index b8abda786fb941..541372996c2f4b 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts
@@ -609,7 +609,8 @@ export async function _createServer(
   middlewares.use('/__open-in-editor', launchEditorMiddleware())
 
   // ping request handler
-  middlewares.use((req, res, next) => {
+  // Keep the named function. The name is visible in debug logs via `DEBUG=connect:dispatcher ...`
+  middlewares.use(function viteHMRPingMiddleware(req, res, next) {
     if (req.headers['accept'] === 'text/x-vite-ping') {
       res.writeHead(204).end()
     } else {