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WildflowerJS Reactive JS, No BS*

A no-build reactive JavaScript framework, rooted in the web platform.
No build step. No dependencies. No lock-in.

<script src="wildflower.min.js"></script> ...and start building.

Back to Basics

The code you write is 100% web standard code. HTML stays HTML. JavaScript stays JavaScript. CSS stays CSS. No JSX, no templating language, no custom syntax to learn. If you know the web platform, you already know how to use this.

WildflowerJS extends the web platform. It doesn't replace it.

Your Development Simplified

Because you develop with 100% web standards, every tool in your existing chain already understands the code: IDE, browser DevTools, linter, formatter, screen reader, SEO crawler. Nothing to install, no custom file types, no sourcemaps. Save the file, refresh, and your change is live.

Just be a web developer.

Batteries Included: One Mental Model

Router, SSR, stores, computed properties, two-way binding, event modifiers, data pools, and TypeScript types, all built in, all speaking the same language. Learn data-bind once and you know binding everywhere: lists, pools, stores, forms. There's no five-library stack to keep in sync.

One script tag. Everything you need.

<div data-component="counter">
  <span data-bind="count"></span>
  <button data-action="increment">
    +1
  </button>
</div>

<script>
wildflower.component('counter', {
  state: { count: 0 },
  increment() { this.count++ }
})
</script>

How It Works

data-bind connects state to the DOM.

data-action connects events to methods.

this.count++ triggers a precise DOM update.

Mutate state. The DOM updates.

Two Reactivity Modes

data-list for automatic reactivity: mutate state, DOM updates. data-pool for explicit control: plain objects, zero proxy overhead, you say what changed.

Same template syntax. Different performance profile. From interactive forms to per-frame particle systems. You choose the right tradeoff for the job.

Try it. Right-click, inspect this demo. Every dot is a real DOM element.

See full demo →

Get Started View Demos
* Build Step

Zero Toolchain

Modern frameworks ask you to install a compiler, a bundler, a package manager, hundreds of fragile transitive dependencies, and a framework-specific file format, before you write a single line of your application.

WildflowerJS was built starting from a single principle: no build step, no tooling. Ever.

WildflowerJS asks you to add a script tag.

There's no CLI scaffolding step, no config files, no .vue/.jsx/.svelte source format. You don't debug through sourcemaps or wait on a build pipeline. Your project has zero dependencies.

Performance isn't a tradeoff. Build steps optimize bundle delivery, not the runtime work that follows it. WildflowerJS writes directly to the DOM, with no virtual DOM or reconciliation pass between state change and update, so it doesn't need a build step to be fast.

The framework is full-featured without the toolchain: router, SSR, stores, computed properties, transitions, pools. You don't need a toolchain to use any of it.

my-app/
  index.html
  app.js
  style.css
  wildflower.min.js

That's the entire project. No package.json.
No node_modules. No config files. Ship it.

Zero Install. Zero Attack Surface.

Every dependency you install is trust extended to a maintainer you've never met, running scripts on your dev machine and in your CI. A typical React + Vite + UI‑lib setup pulls in 300+ transitive packages before you write a feature.

Each one is a potential intrusion vector. NPM worms, OAuth chains compromising deploy platforms, postinstall hijacking: the supply chain is now where production code gets compromised, not the deploy. And signing isn't a backstop: Mini Shai‑Hulud (May 2026) compromised 170+ packages whose malicious versions carried valid SLSA Build Level 3 provenance, because the attestation came from build infrastructure the worm had already taken over.

WildflowerJS users don't have this attack surface, by construction. There is no npm install, no postinstall script, no transitive package graph. The framework is one file you copy or pin by hash.

As of v1.1, the same holds for building the framework itself. WildflowerJS bundles with a vendored rollup and terser pipeline pulled as three SHA‑512‑pinned tarballs: no npm install, no transitive packages, no postinstall scripts in the build path. The entire toolchain is three files you verify by hash.

Zero dependencies is the absence of a problem the rest of the industry has not properly addressed.

A typical React/Vue project:

  npm install
  ├── hundreds of packages
  ├── from hundreds of maintainers
  ├── postinstall scripts run on install
  └── tens to hundreds of MB of transitive code

WildflowerJS:

  <script src="wildflower.min.js"></script>
  └── 1 file.
      No transitive dependencies.

Zero Lock-in

WildflowerJS works with the DOM, not instead of it. There's no virtual DOM intercepting your code and no compiler rewriting your markup. The render cycle is yours.

That means Leaflet, DataTables, Chart.js, D3, Three.js, any library that touches the DOM, just works. No wrapper packages or framework-specific escape hatches required. Drop in a script tag and use it.

Because your code is standard HTML and JavaScript, you're never locked in. Your skills transfer and your code is more portable. If you outgrow the framework, your knowledge doesn't expire.

This also means your "ecosystem" is all of the world of vanilla JS. Without compromises or hacks.

<!-- Use any library directly -->
<div data-component="map-view">
  <div id="map" style="height: 400px"></div>
</div>
wildflower.component('map-view', {
  state: { lat: 51.505, lng: -0.09 },
  init() {
    // Leaflet works as-is. No wrappers.
    this._map = L.map('map')
      .setView([this.lat, this.lng], 13);
    L.tileLayer('https://{s}.tile.osm.org'
      + '/{z}/{x}/{y}.png').addTo(this._map);
  }
})

Precise Reactivity

When you write this.count++, WildflowerJS updates the single DOM node bound to count. Nothing else is touched. There's no tree diffing or reconciliation pass to figure that out.

This isn't a tradeoff. You get fine-grained updates and a simple mental model. Change a property, the bound element updates. That's the entire reactivity model.

Other frameworks ask you to learn signals, accessors, memos, effects, and subscription lifecycles to achieve what WildflowerJS does with a property assignment.

wildflower.component('dashboard', {
  state: {
    users: 1420,
    status: 'healthy'
  },
  computed: {
    summary() {
      return this.users + ' users, ' + this.status;
    }
  },
  refresh() {
    this.users = 1421;
    // Only the elements bound to 'users'
    // and 'summary' update. Everything
    // else on the page is untouched.
  }
})

One Reactivity Model. Everywhere.

Components, Stores, and Plugins all share the same reactive foundation. State, computed properties, and methods work identically no matter where they live. Learn it once, it works the same way in a UI component, a global store, or a framework plugin.

Other frameworks make you learn a different system for each layer. React components use hooks, but stores need Redux or Zustand, which are completely different APIs. Vue components use reactive data, but Pinia stores have their own patterns. Every layer is a new mental model.

In WildflowerJS, there's one model. A store is a component without a template. A plugin is an entity that extends the framework itself, adding directives, lifecycle hooks, and services. The same this.count++ triggers the same reactivity everywhere.

This unlocks patterns other frameworks can't express. A store can run headless physics simulations with tick(), feeding data into a component that renders it through a pool, all using the same reactive primitives, no glue code required.

// Component: reactive UI
wildflower.component('cart', {
  state: { items: [] },
  computed: {
    total() { return this.items.length; }
  }
})

// Store: global shared state
wildflower.store('user', {
  state: { name: '', role: 'guest' },
  computed: {
    isAdmin() { return this.role === 'admin'; }
  }
})

// Plugin: extends the framework
wildflower.plugin({
  name: 'notifications',
  state: { items: [], unreadCount: 0 },
  computed: {
    hasUnread() { return this.unreadCount > 0; }
  },
  add(msg) { this.items.push(msg); this.unreadCount++; }
})
// Access globally: wildflower.$notifications.add(...)

// Same state. Same computed. Same methods.

Data Pools

Every framework wraps collection items in reactive proxies, whether the item needs it or not. WildflowerJS gives you a choice: data-list for push reactivity (automatic), data-pool for pull reactivity (explicit control, zero proxy overhead).

Pools render plain objects with the same template syntax as lists. Mutate the object, call markDirty(), and only that item updates. Full CRUD, selection, bulk operations, all faster than the push-reactive path.

And because pools use pull-based rendering, they scale to simulations, games, particle systems, and data visualizations at native frame rate. Use cases that would choke a virtual DOM. No other framework has anything like this.

<div data-component="user-table">
  <tbody data-pool="users" data-key="id">
    <template>
      <tr>
        <td data-bind="name"></td>
        <td data-bind="status"
            data-bind-class="status === 'active'
              ? 'badge success'
              : 'badge inactive'"></td>
      </tr>
    </template>
  </tbody>
</div>
wildflower.component('user-table', {
  pools: { users: {} },

  init() {
    // Populate: plain objects, no proxies
    data.forEach(u => this.pools.users.add(u));
  },

  // Optional: add tick() and the same pool
  // renders every frame. Same template, same
  // data, different rendering frequency.
  // That's the only difference between a
  // display table and a particle system.
})

Built for AI-Assisted Development

Because WildflowerJS is standard HTML and JavaScript, AI code assistants already know how to write it. There's no custom syntax to hallucinate or compiler quirks to work around. The code an AI generates runs exactly as written, with no build step between generation and execution.

We go further. WildflowerJS ships an AI-optimized reference page with patterns, anti-patterns, and examples designed for code generation context windows. Our llms.txt file follows the llms.txt convention for machine-readable documentation.

And for structured app generation, our Universal App Manifest lets you describe an entire application as a JSON schema (components, state, computed properties, methods, templates) and have an AI generate the working code from the manifest, mediated through framework-specific idiom files.

You: "Build me a todo app with
WildflowerJS"

AI reads llms.txt or ai-assistant.html
     ↓
Generates standard HTML + JS
     ↓
<div data-component="todo-app">
  <input data-model="newItem">
  <button data-action="addItem">
    Add
  </button>
  <ul data-list="items">
    <template>
      <li data-bind="text"></li>
    </template>
  </ul>
</div>
     ↓
Open in your browser. It works, and you can read and understand the code.

Dynamic Templates All

Render different HTML templates based on a data property. Ideal for heterogeneous lists and multi-view components. Compare to Vue's <component :is>.

Data-Driven Template Selection: With data-template-key, you define multiple <template data-type="X"> variants inline, and a state or item property selects which one renders. Unlike Configurable Templates (which resolve templates by name from the component hierarchy), dynamic templates select from inline siblings based on data values.

How It Works

  1. Add data-template-key="propertyName" to a component element or data-list element
  2. Define <template data-type="value"> children for each variant
  3. Optionally include an untyped <template> as the default fallback
  4. The framework reads the named property (state or computed) and renders the matching template

Lists: Heterogeneous Items

The most common use case: a single list where each item has a type property that determines its template.

<div data-component="feed">
    <div data-list="notifications" data-key="id" data-template-key="type">

        <template data-type="info">
            <div class="alert alert-info">
                <strong>ℹ️</strong> <span data-bind="message"></span>
            </div>
        </template>

        <template data-type="warning">
            <div class="alert alert-warning">
                <strong>⚠️</strong> <span data-bind="message"></span>
            </div>
        </template>

        <template data-type="error">
            <div class="alert alert-danger">
                <strong>❌</strong> <span data-bind="message"></span>
                <button class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-danger ms-2"
                        data-action="retry">Retry</button>
            </div>
        </template>

    </div>
</div>
wildflower.component('feed', {
    state: {
        notifications: [
            { id: 1, type: 'info',    message: 'Deploy succeeded' },
            { id: 2, type: 'warning', message: 'Disk at 85%' },
            { id: 3, type: 'error',   message: 'Build failed' }
        ]
    },
    retry(event, element, details) {
        alert('Retrying: ' + details.item.message)
    }
})
Live Preview

Each item's type property (named by data-template-key) selects which <template data-type="..."> to clone. All standard bindings (data-bind, data-action, data-model, data-show, data-bind-class, etc.) work independently in each variant.

Default Fallback Template

An untyped <template> (no data-type) serves as the fallback when no type matches:

<div data-list="items" data-key="id" data-template-key="kind">
    <template data-type="special">
        <div class="special"><span data-bind="label"></span> ⭐</div>
    </template>

    <!-- Fallback for any unrecognized kind -->
    <template>
        <div class="default"><span data-bind="label"></span></div>
    </template>
</div>

If no template matches and no default exists, a dev-mode warning is logged and nothing renders for that item.

Standalone Components: View Switching

For standalone components, data-template-key goes on the component element itself. When the named property changes (state or computed), the template swaps automatically:

<div data-component="profile-view"
     data-template-key="viewType">

    <!-- These buttons are OUTSIDE templates: they persist across swaps -->
    <div class="d-flex gap-2 mb-3">
        <button data-action="switchToCard"
                class="btn btn-sm btn-primary">Card</button>
        <button data-action="switchToTable"
                class="btn btn-sm btn-secondary">Table</button>
    </div>

    <template data-type="card">
        <div class="card p-3">
            <h4 data-bind="name"></h4>
            <p data-bind="role"></p>
        </div>
    </template>

    <template data-type="table">
        <div>
            <table class="table table-sm">
                <tr><td>Name</td><td data-bind="name"></td></tr>
                <tr><td>Role</td><td data-bind="role"></td></tr>
            </table>
        </div>
    </template>

</div>
wildflower.component('profile-view', {
    state: {
        viewType: 'card',
        name: 'Jane Cooper',
        role: 'Product Manager'
    },
    switchToTable() {
        this.viewType = 'table'
    },
    switchToCard() {
        this.viewType = 'card'
    }
})
Live Preview
Tip: data-template-key must be on the component element itself (the element with data-component). Non-template children (elements placed before or after the <template> tags) are preserved automatically when templates swap, with no need to duplicate persistent UI in every variant.

Persistent Content

When a standalone component swaps templates, only the template-generated content is replaced. Any elements that are not inside a <template> survive the swap:

  • Non-template children before and after templates persist across swaps
  • data-bind and other bindings on persistent content remain reactive
  • Nested components outside templates keep their state and lifecycle intact
  • Template content renders at the original template position in the DOM
<div data-component="dashboard" data-template-key="viewType">

    <!-- Persistent header: survives all template swaps -->
    <h2 data-bind="title"></h2>

    <template data-type="overview">
        <div class="overview-panel">...</div>
    </template>

    <template data-type="detail">
        <div class="detail-panel">...</div>
    </template>

    <!-- Persistent nav: survives all template swaps -->
    <nav>
        <button data-action="showOverview">Overview</button>
        <button data-action="showDetail">Detail</button>
    </nav>

</div>

Standalone: Nested Components

Templates can contain nested data-component elements. When swapping templates:

  • Nested components in the old template are automatically destroyed (their destroy() hooks fire)
  • Nested components in the new template are automatically initialized (their init() hooks fire)
<div data-component="dashboard" data-template-key="mode">
    <template data-type="analytics">
        <div data-component="chart-widget">
            <h3 data-bind="title"></h3>
            <div class="chart-container"></div>
        </div>
    </template>

    <template data-type="settings">
        <div data-component="settings-form">
            <input data-model="email" type="email" placeholder="Email">
        </div>
    </template>
</div>

Combined with Keyed Lists

data-template-key works alongside data-key for efficient keyed reordering of heterogeneous lists:

<div data-list="blocks" data-key="id" data-template-key="blockType">
    <template data-type="text">
        <div class="block-text"><p data-bind="content"></p></div>
    </template>
    <template data-type="image">
        <div class="block-image"><img data-bind-attr="{ src: url, alt: caption }"></div>
    </template>
    <template data-type="code">
        <div class="block-code"><pre><code data-bind="source"></code></pre></div>
    </template>
</div>
wildflower.component('editor', {
    state: {
        blocks: [
            { id: 1, blockType: 'text',  content: 'Hello world' },
            { id: 2, blockType: 'code',  source: 'console.log("hi")' },
            { id: 3, blockType: 'image', url: '/photo.jpg', caption: 'A photo' }
        ]
    }
})

Bindings Inside Variants

Each template variant has fully independent binding resolution. All binding types are supported:

BindingWorks in Variants?Notes
data-bindYesResolves from item (list) or component state (standalone)
data-actionYesList actions receive details.item with correct item context
data-modelYesTwo-way binding per variant
data-show / data-renderYesConditional display per variant
data-bind-classYesDynamic classes per variant
data-bind-styleYesDynamic styles per variant
data-bind-attrYesDynamic attributes per variant
data-listYesNested lists inside a variant
data-componentYesNested components inside a variant

Edge Cases

Missing Type Value

If the template key property is null, undefined, or an empty string, the framework falls back to the default template. If no default exists, nothing renders and a dev-mode warning is logged.

All Items Same Type

A degenerate case: if every item has the same type, only one template variant is used. This works correctly but offers no advantage over a standard single-template list.

State Preservation (Standalone)

When a standalone component swaps templates, the component's state and computed properties are preserved. Only the DOM changes; the component instance stays alive.

Dynamic vs. Configurable Templates

Dynamic TemplatesConfigurable Templates
Attribute data-template-key data-use-template
Selection by Data value (item property or state) Template name (from component hierarchy)
Templates defined Inline as siblings In parent/ancestor component
Best for Heterogeneous lists, multi-view components Reusable components, parent-controlled rendering
Analogy Vue <component :is> Vue Scoped Slots / React Render Props

Prefix Support

Prefix support: All attributes also support the data-wf- prefix: 
<div data-wf-template-key="viewType">
    <template data-wf-type="card">...</template>
    <template data-wf-type="table">...</template>
</div>

Quick Reference

AttributePlaced OnPurpose
data-template-key="prop" data-component or data-list element Names the property used to select a template
data-type="value" <template> children Matches when the property equals this value
(no data-type) <template> child Default fallback when no type matches
Previous Adv. Configurable Templates
Next Data Attributes