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 →

* 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.

Testing

Test WildflowerJS components with confidence using our official test utilities package.

Testing Philosophy: WildflowerJS components are standard JavaScript objects with DOM bindings. Our test utilities handle the reactive timing quirks so you can focus on testing behavior.

@wildflowerjs/test-utils

The official testing utilities package provides everything you need to test WildflowerJS applications:

  • Framework loading - Load source or distribution builds
  • State isolation - Clean slate between tests
  • Timing utilities - Wait for reactive updates correctly
  • Vitest integration - Automatic setup with hooks
  • TypeScript support - Full type definitions included

Installation

npm install @wildflowerjs/test-utils --save-dev

Quick Start

The Easy Way: setupWildflowerTests()

For most tests, use the automatic setup helper:

import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest'
import { setupWildflowerTests, waitForUpdate } from '@wildflowerjs/test-utils/vitest'

describe('Counter Component', () => {
    const { getContainer, getWildflower } = setupWildflowerTests()

    it('should increment count when button clicked', async () => {
        const wildflower = getWildflower()
        const container = getContainer()

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

        // Set up DOM
        container.innerHTML = `
            <div data-component="counter">
                <span id="count-display" data-bind="count"></span>
                <button data-action="increment">+</button>
            </div>
        `

        // Initialize
        wildflower.scan()
        await waitForUpdate()

        // Assert initial state (use id, not [data-bind]: attributes are stripped after binding)
        expect(container.querySelector('#count-display').textContent).toBe('0')

        // Trigger action
        container.querySelector('button').click()
        await waitForUpdate()

        // Assert updated state
        expect(container.querySelector('#count-display').textContent).toBe('1')
    })
})

setupWildflowerTests() automatically handles:

  • Loading the framework (beforeAll)
  • Resetting state between tests (beforeEach)
  • Creating and cleaning up test containers
  • Reinitializing the context system

Manual Setup

For more control, set up the test environment manually:

import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest'
import {
    loadFramework,
    resetFramework,
    waitForUpdate,
    waitForCompleteRender,
    createTestContainer,
    initContextSystem
} from '@wildflowerjs/test-utils'

describe('My Component', () => {
    let container, cleanup

    beforeAll(async () => {
        await loadFramework()
    })

    beforeEach(() => {
        resetFramework()
        initContextSystem()
        const result = createTestContainer()
        container = result.container
        cleanup = result.cleanup
    })

    afterEach(() => {
        cleanup()
    })

    it('should work', async () => {
        // Your test here
    })
})
Important: Always call resetFramework() AND initContextSystem() in beforeEach. Missing either will cause test pollution or binding failures.

Mounting Components

mountComponent()

Quick way to mount a component for testing:

import { mountComponent } from '@wildflowerjs/test-utils/vitest'

it('should display user name', async () => {
    const { instance, element, cleanup } = await mountComponent(
        'user-card',
        {
            state: { name: 'Alice', role: 'Admin' }
        },
        `<div data-component="user-card">
            <h2 data-bind="name"></h2>
            <span data-bind="role"></span>
        </div>`
    )

    expect(element.querySelector('h2').textContent).toBe('Alice')
    expect(element.querySelector('span').textContent).toBe('Admin')

    cleanup()
})

createTestHarness()

Fluent API for building test components:

import { createTestHarness } from '@wildflowerjs/test-utils/vitest'

it('should calculate total', async () => {
    const { instance, element } = await createTestHarness('calculator')
        .withState({ price: 100, quantity: 2 })
        .withComputed({
            total() {
                return this.price * this.quantity
            }
        })
        .withTemplate(`
            <div data-component="calculator">
                <span data-bind="total"></span>
            </div>
        `)
        .mount()

    expect(element.querySelector('span').textContent).toBe('200')
})

Timing Utilities

WildflowerJS uses reactive updates that happen asynchronously. Always wait after state changes:

Utility When to Use
waitForUpdate() After state changes, clicks, input events
waitForCompleteRender() After scan(), initial render
waitForState(instance, 'path', value) Waiting for async operations to complete
import { waitForUpdate, waitForCompleteRender, waitForState } from '@wildflowerjs/test-utils'

// After state change
instance.count++
await waitForUpdate()

// After scanning for components
wildflower.scan()
await waitForCompleteRender()

// Waiting for async operation
instance.fetchData()  // Sets loading = true, then false
await waitForState(instance, 'loading', false, 2000)

Testing Patterns

Testing State Changes

it('should update display when state changes', async () => {
    const { getContainer, getWildflower } = setupWildflowerTests()
    const wildflower = getWildflower()
    const container = getContainer()

    wildflower.component('greeting', {
        state: { message: 'Hello' }
    })

    container.innerHTML = `
        <div data-component="greeting">
            <span data-bind="message"></span>
        </div>
    `

    wildflower.scan()
    await waitForCompleteRender()

    // Get instance
    const element = container.querySelector('[data-component="greeting"]')
    const instance = wildflower.componentInstances.get(element.dataset.componentId)

    // Verify initial state
    expect(container.querySelector('span').textContent).toBe('Hello')

    // Change state
    instance.message = 'Goodbye'
    await waitForUpdate()

    // Verify DOM updated
    expect(container.querySelector('span').textContent).toBe('Goodbye')
})

Testing Lists

it('should render and update list items', async () => {
    const { instance, element } = await mountComponent(
        'todo-list',
        {
            state: {
                items: [
                    { text: 'First' },
                    { text: 'Second' }
                ]
            },
            addItem(text) {
                this.items.push({ text })
            }
        },
        `<div data-component="todo-list">
            <ul data-list="items">
                <template>
                    <li data-bind="text"></li>
                </template>
            </ul>
        </div>`
    )

    // Initial render
    expect(element.querySelectorAll('li').length).toBe(2)

    // Add item
    instance.addItem('Third')
    await waitForUpdate()

    expect(element.querySelectorAll('li').length).toBe(3)
    expect(element.querySelectorAll('li')[2].textContent).toBe('Third')
})

Testing Conditionals

it('should toggle visibility with data-show', async () => {
    const { instance, element } = await mountComponent(
        'toggle',
        { state: { isVisible: false } },
        `<div data-component="toggle">
            <div data-show="isVisible" class="content">Content</div>
        </div>`
    )

    const content = element.querySelector('.content')

    // Initially hidden
    expect(content.style.display).toBe('none')

    // Show it
    instance.isVisible = true
    await waitForUpdate()

    expect(content.style.display).not.toBe('none')
})

Testing Form Inputs

it('should two-way bind with data-model', async () => {
    const { instance, element } = await mountComponent(
        'form-test',
        { state: { username: '' } },
        `<div data-component="form-test">
            <input type="text" data-model="username">
            <span data-bind="username"></span>
        </div>`
    )

    const input = element.querySelector('input')
    const display = element.querySelector('span')

    // Simulate user typing
    input.value = 'john_doe'
    input.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }))
    await waitForUpdate()

    // State and display should update
    expect(instance.username).toBe('john_doe')
    expect(display.textContent).toBe('john_doe')
})

Testing Stores

it('should share state via stores', async () => {
    const wildflower = getWildflower()

    // Create store
    wildflower.store('userStore', {
        state: { name: 'Guest' },
        setName(name) {
            this.name = name
        }
    })

    // Component using store
    const { element } = await mountComponent(
        'user-display',
        {
            state: {},
            external() {
                return { user: 'store:userStore' }
            }
        },
        `<div data-component="user-display">
            <span data-bind="external:user.name"></span>
        </div>`
    )

    expect(element.querySelector('span').textContent).toBe('Guest')

    // Update store
    const store = wildflower.storeManager.getStore('userStore')
    store.setName('Alice')
    await waitForUpdate()

    expect(element.querySelector('span').textContent).toBe('Alice')
})

Testing Different Builds

Test your code against different framework builds:

# Test against minified core build
WILDFLOWER_DIST=core npx vitest run

# Test against lite build (fewer features)
WILDFLOWER_DIST=lite npx vitest run

# Test against full build with SSR
WILDFLOWER_DIST=full npx vitest run

Use feature detection to skip tests that require unavailable features:

import { hasFeature, skipIfNoFeature } from '@wildflowerjs/test-utils'

it('should use portals', skipIfNoFeature('portals', async () => {
    // Only runs if portals are available (not in lite build)
}))

// Or check manually
if (hasFeature('ssr')) {
    // Test SSR functionality
}
Build Mode Features
source All features (default)
core Basic reactivity only
lite No portals, transitions, modals
spa Core + Router
full All features including SSR

Common Pitfalls

Forgetting to Wait
// WRONG - No wait after state change
instance.count++
expect(element.textContent).toBe('1')  // Fails!

// CORRECT
instance.count++
await waitForUpdate()
expect(element.textContent).toBe('1')
Missing initContextSystem()
// WRONG - Bindings won't work
beforeEach(() => {
    resetFramework()
    // Missing initContextSystem()!
})

// CORRECT
beforeEach(() => {
    resetFramework()
    initContextSystem()
})
Wrong Wait After Component Scan
// WRONG - May not be enough time
wildflower.scan()
await waitForUpdate()

// CORRECT
wildflower.scan()
await waitForCompleteRender()

AI Testing Guide

The test-utils package includes a comprehensive AI Testing Guide (AI_TESTING_GUIDE.md) designed to help AI assistants generate high-quality tests. It includes:

  • Standard test file templates
  • 15+ "How to Test X" recipes
  • Timing utilities cheat sheet
  • Common pitfalls with solutions
  • Assertion best practices
  • Quick reference card

When asking an AI assistant to write tests for your WildflowerJS components, reference this guide for idiomatic, working tests.

API Reference

Core Utilities

Function Description
loadFramework(options?) Load the framework (source or dist build)
resetFramework() Clear all component definitions and instances
initContextSystem() Reinitialize the context system after reset
waitForUpdate(ms?) Wait for reactive updates (default 50ms)
waitForCompleteRender() Wait for full render cycle including microtasks
createTestContainer(options?) Create isolated test container element
getComponent(target) Get component instance by name or element
triggerAction(element, eventType?) Trigger action on element (default: click)
waitForState(instance, path, expected, timeout?) Wait for specific state value

Vitest Integration

Function Description
setupWildflowerTests(options?) Auto-setup with beforeAll/beforeEach/afterEach hooks
mountComponent(name, definition, template) Quick component mounting for tests
createTestHarness(name) Fluent API for building test components

Build Detection

Function Description
getDistMode() Get current distribution mode
hasFeature(feature) Check if feature is available in current build
isMinifiedBuild() Check if testing minified build
skipIfNoFeature(feature, testFn) Skip test if feature unavailable

Vitest Configuration

Browser Mode (Recommended)

For accurate DOM behavior, use Vitest's browser mode:

// vitest.browser.config.js
import { defineConfig } from 'vitest/config'

export default defineConfig({
    test: {
        browser: {
            enabled: true,
            provider: 'playwright',
            name: 'chromium',
            headless: true
        },
        include: ['test/**/*.test.js']
    }
})

jsdom (Faster, Less Accurate)

For faster tests that don't need full browser APIs:

// vitest.config.js
import { defineConfig } from 'vitest/config'

export default defineConfig({
    test: {
        environment: 'jsdom',
        include: ['test/**/*.test.js']
    }
})

Running Tests

# Run all tests
npx vitest run

# Watch mode
npx vitest

# Specific file
npx vitest run test/counter.test.js

# Pattern matching
npx vitest run -t "should increment"

# With coverage
npx vitest run --coverage

# Verbose output
npx vitest run --reporter=verbose