March 7, 2026
Tiny script, big feelings
Show HN: µJS, a 5KB alternative to Htmx and Turbo with zero dependencies
Tiny 5KB web magic promises instant clicks — commenters ignite turf wars and feature fights
TLDR: A 5KB tool called µJS promises instant-feeling page navigation by swapping only changed content, no heavy framework needed. Comments oscillate between excitement, demands for comparisons, a call for automatic JSON support, and a surprise “quit GitHub” drop—highlighting a familiar split between simple HTML wins and real-world API needs.
A creator just dropped µJS, a teeny 5KB “make-it-feel-like-an-app” script that intercepts clicks and swaps only the changed part of a page, so your site feels instant — no big framework, no build step, just add a tag and call mu.init(). Cue the crowd roaring: one camp is cheering the simplicity, another wants receipts. OhghiZai asks for a head-to-head with Datastar, while recursivedoubts flexes the official stamp by adding it to the htmx alternatives page. Then nattaylor drops a callback to “htmz,” the minimalist cousin, and suddenly we’re in acronym alley, folks.
The spiciest skirmish? A practical gripe: ranger_danger wants the library to handle JSON (data sent by APIs) automatically — which htmx fans often resist — sparking a familiar “HTML vs data” showdown. Meanwhile, majorchord barges in with a link to Give Up GitHub, detonating a platform-politics bomb mid-thread like a reality TV wine toss.
Fans love the hover prefetch, no full reloads, and shiny progress bar; power users are eyeing “patch mode” for multi-section updates and SSE (live server pushes) for real-time dashboards. But the vibe is classic internet: applause, nitpicks, and a side quest about where open source should live. It’s tiny code, big drama — and everyone’s invited.
Key Points
- •µJS is a ~5 KB gzipped, zero-dependency AJAX navigation library that makes multipage sites feel like SPAs by intercepting internal links and forms.
- •Setup requires only adding a script tag and calling mu.init(), with no framework, build step, or server-side changes.
- •It works with any backend (e.g., PHP, Python, Ruby, Go, Node.js) and prefetches on hover with a built-in progress bar.
- •Advanced features include patch mode for multi-fragment updates, flexible triggers with debounce, support for HTTP verbs, and Server-Sent Events.
- •Built on modern web APIs (Fetch API, View Transitions API) with DOM morphing via idiomorph; open source MIT, created by Amaury Bouchard as part of Digicreon.