Reef
A lightweight library for creating reactive, state-based UI.
Reef is a simpler alternative to React, Vue, and other large UI libraries.
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Features
- Weighs just 3kb minified and gzipped, with zero dependencies.
- Simple templating with JavaScript strings or template literals.
- Load it with a
<script>element or ES module import—no command line or transpiling required (though you can if you want). - Uses DOM diffing to update only the things that have changed.
- Has Redux/Vuex-like data stores, with setters baked right in.
- Automatically sanitizes HTML before rendering to help protect you from cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
- Work with native JavaScript methods and browser APIs instead of custom methods and pseudo-languages.
- Compatible with all modern browsers.
Ditch that bloated framework, and make web development fun and simple again!
Why use Reef?
Reef is an anti-framework.
It does a lot less than the big guys like React and Vue. It doesn’t have a Virtual DOM. It doesn’t require you to learn a custom templating syntax. It doesn’t provide a bunch of custom methods.
Reef does just one thing: render UI.
Couldn’t you just use some template strings and innerHTML? Sure. But Reef only updates things that have changed instead of clobbering the DOM and removing focus from your form fields. It also automatically renders a new UI when your data updates, and helps protect you from XSS attacks.
If you’re craving a simpler, back-to-basics web development experience, Reef is for you.
(And if not, that’s cool too! Carry on.)
Hi, I'm Chris Ferdinandi. 👋
I help people learn vanilla JavaScript, and I believe there’s a simpler, more resilient way to make things for the web.
I create courses and ebooks, run online workshops, and host the Vanilla JS Podcast. My developer tips newsletter is read by over 13k developers each weekday.
Have a question? Get in touch.
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