Show HN: Dagger.js – A buildless, runtime-only JavaScript micro-framework
Why I built it Modern stacks are powerful but often heavy: bundlers, compile steps, framework DSLs, local CLIs. For internal tools, small apps, and edge/serverless deployments, I wanted something you can view-source, paste into a page, and ship.
What it is:
Runtime-only: no build or VDOM compile; hydrate behaviors directly on HTML. HTML directives: e.g. +click, lifecycle +load / +loaded / +unload / +unloaded. Zero APIs: dagger.js works in pure declarative mode, modules and directives provide everything you need to build your application. Web-Components-first: works alongside Custom Elements; keep concerns local. Distributed modules: load small, focused script modules via CDN. Progressive enhancement: the page renders without a build step.
Use cases:
Admin panels & dashboards that don’t warrant a full toolchain Embed widgets, docs-sites with interactive bits Edge/serverless apps where cold start and simplicity matter
Links
GitHub: https://github.com/dagger8224/dagger.js Docs/Guide: https://daggerjs.org Examples: https://codepen.io/dagger8224/pens
I’d love feedback on edge-cases, and where it breaks. Happy to answer tough questions here.
Link to the DI mentioned by the parent comment https://github.com/google/dagger (also Apache 2)
Some time ago while I was experimenting with writing Debian benchmarks[0], I found that by completely avoiding strings, using Uint8Arrays, and manually managing bounds/memory, I could squeeze out performance that almost made you forget you were writing JavaScript. I never ended up submitting a PR, but it was pretty eye-opening.
At one point I went into a rabbit hole and tried to build something similar on my own, but it got complicated very quickly given my limited compiler knowledge. That’s why I always thought Prepack[1] was such a cool idea.
[0] https://benchmarksgame-team.pages.debian.net/benchmarksgame/... [1] https://github.com/facebookarchive/prepack
Positioning: Think Alpine/Vue-like ergonomics but no build and WC-first.
Size & perf: Focus is on simplicity and startup latency over framework features. I’m not posting synthetic benchmarks; if you have a real page you want me to try, I’ll profile it and share results.
Interop: Works with native Custom Elements. I’m preparing examples with Shoelace/FAST.
Security: Directives are sandboxed; no eval. If you spot an injection risk, please open an issue and I’ll patch quickly.
Limitations: Complex state management, SSR/streaming, and huge SPA routing aren’t first goals.
License: MIT.
Contrib: Issues and small PRs welcome (docs, examples, tests especially).
I’ll stay in the thread to answer questions and incorporate feedback into the docs.
Thanks
https://www.whois.com/whois/3.33.130.190 and https://www.whois.com/whois/15.197.148.33 are AWS
https://www.whois.com/whois/185.199.109.153 and similar are GitHub and is almost certainly this repo https://github.com/dagger8224/dagger8224.github.io/blob/main...
Will check out the repo linked at the end of your message.
I've started to think something like petite-vue and twind would let you build small internal tools quickly, there are some major downsides to it which is why I haven't committed yet.
I started out developing UIs using petite-vue, unfortunately ended up rewriting it to use full Vue.js after running into too many of its limitations and issues, which given that it's abandon-ware wont ever be resolved. As such I'd strongly recommend against starting projects with PetiteVue and just use the ESM build of Vue.js which also doesn't require a build step, has the full feature-set, is actively used and maintained, etc.
Either way developing Web Apps (using Vue) without a build step using JS Modules is now my preference which I've written about in my Simple, Modern JavaScript post [1]
[1] https://servicestack.net/posts/javascript
Once this project is about a year old, if it still has any commits, then I'd consider it.