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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.

Data Attributes

WildflowerJS uses standard HTML data-* attributes for all framework functionality. No custom syntax, no build step, no new language to learn. This page is a quick reference for every attribute the framework recognizes.

Prefix Support: Every attribute below also works with a data-wf-* prefix (e.g., data-wf-bind, data-wf-action). Use data-wf-* exclusively when you need to avoid conflicts with other libraries. See Configuration for details.

Core

Attribute Description Guide
data-component Define a component root element Components
data-action Bind events to component methods Event Handling
data-external Preserve element during parent HTML updates API Reference
data-cloak Hide element until framework initializes (pair with [data-cloak] { display: none; } in CSS) n/a
data-debug Enables debug logging for the component. Shows state changes, binding updates, and lifecycle events in the console. n/a

Data Binding

Attribute Description Guide
data-bind Text content binding Content Binding
data-bind-html Raw HTML binding Content Binding
data-bind-class Dynamic CSS class binding Style Binding
data-bind-style Dynamic inline style binding Style Binding
data-bind-attr Dynamic HTML attribute binding (object expression) Attribute Binding

Forms

Attribute Description Guide
data-model Two-way form input binding Form Handling
data-model-lazy Update on blur instead of input Form Handling
data-model-event Custom event for model sync (for web components) Form Handling
data-validate Form validation rules Form Handling
data-validate-message Custom error message for validation failure Form Handling
data-validate-on Specifies when validation runs on a form input (e.g., blur, change, input). Default is on submit. Form Handling
data-error-for Display element for a field's validation error (matches model path) Form Handling
data-model-trim Trim whitespace from bound value Form Handling
data-model-number Coerce bound value to a number Form Handling

Conditionals & Lists

Attribute Description Guide
data-show Conditional display (CSS display: none) Conditional Rendering
data-render Conditional render (DOM insertion/removal) Conditional Rendering
data-list List rendering from array state Lists & Iteration
data-key Unique key for efficient list reconciliation Lists & Iteration

Entity Pools

Attribute Description Guide
data-pool High-performance entity pool container (plain objects, rAF-batched updates) Entity Pools
data-pool-fps Throttle pool flush rate (value in target FPS, e.g. "30") Pool API
data-pool-cull Spatial culling with viewport padding in px (hides off-screen entities) Pool API
data-pool-sort Z-index depth sort by entity property (e.g. "y" or "depth:desc") Pool API
data-pool-cull-props Comma-separated list of entity properties used for culling bounds (e.g., x,y,w,h). Entities outside the cull bounds are hidden with display: none. Pool API
data-pool-static Boolean (no value): makes the entire pool static, skipping rAF flush; items render on add()/update() only. With value (e.g. "isLocked"): per-entity opt-out from flush based on entity property. Pool API
data-pool-action Event delegation for pool items. Supports multiple actions with CSS selectors (e.g. "click:.edit:onEdit; click:.delete:onDelete") Pool API

Components & Templates

Attribute Description Guide
data-props Component props (JSON format) Props
data-prop-* Individual component prop Props
data-slot Named slot content Slots
data-slot-container Mark a content area in component layout for slot injection Slots
data-item-template Define a named template for descendant components to use Configurable Templates
data-use-template Reference a named template from an ancestor Configurable Templates
data-with Bind a configurable template to a single state object Configurable Templates
data-template-fallback Fallback template when the named template is not found Configurable Templates
data-template-key Select template variant by data property Dynamic Templates
data-type Template variant type identifier (used with data-template-key) Dynamic Templates

Event Modifiers

These attributes modify the behavior of data-action handlers. See Event Handling for details.

Attribute Description
data-event-prevent Call preventDefault()
data-event-stop Call stopPropagation()
data-event-once Execute handler only once
data-event-self Only fire if event target is the element itself
data-event-outside Fire when clicking outside the element
data-event-capture Use capture phase
data-event-passive Mark as passive listener
data-event-debounce Debounce handler (value in ms, default 300)
data-event-throttle Throttle handler (value in ms, default 300)
data-event-delay Delay handler execution (value in ms)
data-event-if Only fire handler when a state expression is truthy
data-event-key-* Key modifiers (ctrl, alt, shift, meta, enter, etc.)

Advanced

Attribute Description Guide
data-portal Render content at a different DOM location Portals
data-transition CSS transition for show/render changes Transitions
data-error-fallback Fallback content for error boundaries Error Boundaries
data-ssr Mark component as server-side rendered SSR
data-ssr-state JSON script block containing server-rendered state for SSR hydration. Parsed during component initialization to restore server state. SSR
data-storage-key localStorage key for component state persistence State Management
data-auto-save Auto-save state to localStorage on every change State Management
data-no-router Skip router handling on a link (use native navigation) Route Management

For detailed per-attribute documentation with full examples, see the HTML Attributes API Reference.

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