July 22, 2026
Browser? I hardly know her
Hologram works. Elixir runs in the browser
Elixir just escaped the server, and the crowd is already begging for the offline glow-up
TLDR: Hologram says Elixir apps can now run in the browser, with offline-friendly features possibly coming next if funding holds. The community reaction is a mix of real excitement, future-hype, and one gloriously unserious complaint that the docs need more pictures.
A niche coding world just got its latest main character moment: Hologram says it can now run Elixir apps right inside your browser, with four major updates this year, near-full built-in tools support on the client side, real-time features, JavaScript compatibility, and even early production apps already out in the wild. But the real soap opera is in the reactions: developers are treating this less like a routine update and more like a "wait, this could actually change things" moment.
The loudest cheers came from people already using Phoenix, a popular Elixir web toolkit, who said Hologram's promise of apps that keep working offline and sync later could solve one of the internet's most annoying problems. One fan called it a "very promising" experience with a clear plan, while another bluntly declared, "Bart is cooking," which is internet for: let this person work. There was also some future-casting drama, with one commenter wondering if this could help revive another struggling project, LiveView Native.
And because no internet thread is complete without a tiny, delightfully petty aside, one of the funniest reactions wasn't about the code at all — it was about the presentation. One commenter sniffed that the project might be better promoted with more images in the docs, which feels like the most relatable complaint on earth. So yes, big engineering milestone, possible funding cliff, and a community split between "this is huge" and "please add pictures." Classic internet.
Key Points
- •Hologram reported that Elixir now runs in the browser, with four feature releases this year and first production applications already running.
- •Funding from Curiosum, the Erlang Ecosystem Foundation, and GitHub sponsors supported releases v0.7 through v0.10, with v0.11 shipping now.
- •A community effort ported 150 Erlang functions by 49 contributors, bringing client-side coverage from a small fraction of Elixir’s standard library to nearly all of it.
- •The framework added JavaScript interop, a VS Code extension, a full realtime layer, expanded event and middleware systems, and browser-side error handling.
- •The next major target described in the article is built-in local-first support with offline operation and automatic synchronization, while current milestone-based Foundation funding is nearing completion and a second round is under discussion.