Show HN: µJS, a 5KB alternative to Htmx and Turbo with zero dependencies

2026-03-078:5916088mujs.org

Accelerate your website without a JS framework. Lightweight AJAX navigation library — 5KB gzipped, zero dependencies, drop-in compatible.

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Prefetch on hover, no full page reload, built-in progress bar. Navigations feel instant.

Single file, ~5 KB gzipped, zero dependencies. No build step required.

Works with any backend: PHP, Python, Ruby, Go, Node.js… No server changes needed.

Update multiple page fragments in a single request. Ideal for dashboards and complex layouts.

Any element, any event. Live search, polling, focus actions — with built-in debounce.

GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE on links, buttons, and forms.

Real-time updates via Server-Sent Events. Combine with patch mode for multi-fragment streaming.

View Transitions API, DOM morphing via idiomorph, built on the Fetch API.

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Comments

By recursivedoubts 2026-03-0716:032 reply

heya amaury, great library!

i have added it to the htmx alternatives page:

https://htmx.org/essays/alternatives/#ujs

By tagfowufe 2026-03-0716:521 reply

Sneaking in real quick to thank you for your contributions and positive attitude you bring to the space.

By fleahunter 2026-03-0718:22

[dead]

By amaury_bouchard 2026-03-0722:00

Wow thanks a lot! That's very kind, I really appreciate it :)

By gavmor 2026-03-080:543 reply

I really like these sorts of frameworks from an architectural perspective, but what's the use-case? Maybe I'm too SPA-pilled, because to me all the fun of Web development is in providing really fluid, skeuomorphic experiences like those enabled by, eg pragmatic-drag-and-drop[0] or yjs[1].

I just struggle to envision what application benefits from the efficiency that this or htmx offer, but from neither the ultra-interactive, nor the ultra-collaborative. Maybe updating stock ticker prices? Fast-service back-of-house ticketing displays?

I would love to feel called to reach for this library.

0. https://github.com/atlassian/pragmatic-drag-and-drop

1. https://github.com/yjs/yjs

By xhcuvuvyc 2026-03-086:37

Aside from being able to build fast websites: https://youtu.be/fWfIf7Vfjec

Relying on server side as the source of truth inverts complexity. Suddenly 90% of the modern webs problems evaporate. Turns out building everything on top of a shadow dom in the client creates a boatload of unforced errors.

By amaury_bouchard 2026-03-087:01

The sweet spot is everything between a static website and a full SPA, which is actually most of the web. Think e-commerce (filtering, cart updates, pagination), dashboards (refreshing metrics, notifications), admin interfaces (inline editing, form submissions), content-heavy sites (live search, comments, modals). Basically any app where the primary interaction is 'user does something, server responds with updated content'. For drag-and-drop kanban boards or collaborative editors, you're right, µJS is not the right tool. But those are a small fraction of what gets built every day. Most web apps are glorified CRUD interfaces, and for those, server-rendered HTML fragments are simpler, faster to develop, and easier to maintain than a full SPA.

By qingcharles 2026-03-083:23

I love that drag/drop, BTW. Really nice. Gonna see how I can use that.

By nattaylor 2026-03-0716:414 reply

Reminds me a little of htmz

htmz is a minimalist HTML microframework for creating interactive and modular web user interfaces with the familiar simplicity of plain HTML.

By amaury_bouchard 2026-03-080:14

Yes, htmz is a great project! The core idea is similar, but htmz is intentionally more minimal (it's literally 166 bytes). µJS covers more ground: patch mode, SSE, DOM morphing, View Transitions, prefetch, polling, full HTTP verb support.

By ok_dad 2026-03-0718:53

Yay someone already mentioned my favorite “framework”!

htmz is a masterclass in simplicity. It’s gotta be the all time code golf winner.

By oso2k 2026-03-0718:10

This looks interesting. Thanks for sharing.

By whiterock 2026-03-0723:561 reply

quite cool, but the browser history being messed up drives me bonkers. is that easy to fix?

By lastdong 2026-03-080:161 reply

You should be able to push to history using history.pushState(…) after loading a new page. There are probably more details needed around popState to handle back and forward navigation. I’m sure Claude will be able to assist here, but maybe too much complexity when other similar libraries may also manage history state.

By amaury_bouchard 2026-03-0913:41

Yes, µJS manages browser history out of the box.

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