February 15, 2026
Hold the bloat, pass the Oat
Oat – Ultra-lightweight, semantic, zero-dependency HTML UI component library
Teeny-tiny web toolkit has devs yelling “finally no bloat”
TLDR: A new 8KB, no‑dependency UI library called Oat styles built‑in HTML for simple, accessible sites. Comments cheer its tiny size and “no bloat” ethos, compare it favorably to ultra‑minimal tools, and celebrate that it works even on obscure mobile browsers—proof that simple can still be practical.
Meet Oat, the 8KB “no drama” web kit that swears off baggage: no big frameworks, no build tools, and almost no JavaScript. It styles real, built‑in HTML pieces like buttons and forms, leans on accessibility roles, and even flips to dark mode with one setting. The creator’s spicy manifesto? A full break‑up with the “dependency‑hell” world of JavaScript packages—think tech detox retreat, but for your website.
The crowd response is a chorus of relief and memes. One early tester flexed, “Clicked tru my obscure mobile firefox and all worked well!” and the thread erupted with “finally, something simple” vibes. Another commenter admitted they started building their own out of sheer frustration, and now want to try Oat—classic “I’ll bring snacks to the no‑bloat support group” energy. There’s even a mini‑feud brewing with minimalism itself: PicoCSS gets side‑eyed for being “too minimalist,” while Oat gets praised as the sweet spot—“Minimalism at its best” without making you wear a hair shirt.
Hot take bingo: people cheered the classless markup (“less mess, more yes”), praised keyboard‑friendly components, and joked that Oat is the “class reunion where classes aren’t invited.” The big mood? A giddy jailbreak from the Node package prison, with devs rallying behind tiny, semantic, and drama‑free tools.
Key Points
- •Oat is a zero-dependency HTML + CSS UI component library focused on semantic, minimal design.
- •The library totals ~8KB (6KB CSS, 2.2KB JS, minified and gzipped) and requires no frameworks or build steps.
- •It styles native HTML elements and ARIA roles contextually without classes, enforcing best practices.
- •Dynamic components use WebComponents with minimal JavaScript, and all components support proper keyboard navigation.
- •Themes are customizable via CSS variables, with a built-in dark theme enabled by data-theme="dark" on the body.