Show HN: Dagger.js – A buildless, runtime-only JavaScript micro-framework

20 comments

·September 15, 2025

TL;DR: dagger.js is a buildless, runtime-only micro-framework that plays nicely with native Web Components. It uses HTML-first directives (e.g. +click, +load) so you can ship a page by dropping a single <script> from a CDN—no bundlers, no compile step.

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.

Visit

malfist

Dagger is also a compile time java dependency injection framework

mdaniel

And a very cool CI toolkit https://github.com/dagger/dagger (Apache 2)

Link to the DI mentioned by the parent comment https://github.com/google/dagger (also Apache 2)

taosx

I’d actually love to see something that goes in the opposite direction, highly optimized and compiled, where the result is as small, fast, and efficient as possible. I get that a lot of people dislike compilation, but once I have the CI set upI never found build steps to be a problem for me.

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

Scaevolus

Isn't that what Svelte was aiming to do? It's moved on a ways since then, but you can still see the fundamentals in its demos: https://svelte.dev/playground/hello-world

harrygeez

I’m in a similar boat like you. I would love for a React-like library that compiles down to direct JavaScript DOM transforms. Of course Svelte exists but I don’t want to mark what is reactive or not and I can’t go back to html templates after using typed JSX. Also I don’t really like the “island” like template syntax of Vue, Svelte, etc

nivethan

Is this aimed at being in the same role as petite-vue and alpinejs? They also don't have a build step.

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.

mythz

Using the full vue.js doesn't have a build step either.

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

mkoryak

Seems neat. I wouldn't use it for personal stuff because I'd be afraid of getting locked into a framework that might not exist next year.

Once this project is about a year old, if it still has any commits, then I'd consider it.

mdaniel

What are the criteria for $ interpolation? Is it everywhere?

  <div class="text">
        ${ winner ? 'Wins' : 'Draw' }!
  </div>

wffurr

Seems like it’s been a while since a new JS framework landed on the front page.

ivape

The last decade gave us enough JavaScript for a lifetime.

TonyPeakman

thanks for taking a look!

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.

xupybd

Website looks dead. I get Godaddy domain parking.

TonyPeakman

Hey xupybd,thanks for reporting the issue,you may refer to the alternative site: https://000712133.deployed.codepen.website/#overview/introdu...

Thanks

xupybd

Hi Tony, Looks like it's up and running now. Propagation delay probably got me in New Zealand. Cool project BTW.

pylotlight

worked for me. See also: https://github.com/dagger8224/dagger.js

mdaniel

I'd guess people are getting different results because of the varying A records https://dns.google/query?name=daggerjs.org

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...

jodacola

FYI: daggerjs.org is resolving to a GoDaddy domain parked page right now.

Will check out the repo linked at the end of your message.

TonyPeakman

Thanks for reporting this, jodacola, it seems there is domain parsing issue sometimes, you may refer to the alternative site: https://000712133.deployed.codepen.website/#overview/introdu...