Mordern Vanilla Web Fontend development using javascript libraries (instead of using frameworks like React, Angular, etc): Discussions with chatGpt

Query:

import { useState } from 'react'; Equv js library for above

Good catch 👍

That line:


import { useState } from 'react';

means:

You’re importing the useState hook from the React library.
It’s not a JavaScript built-in. It exists only in React.

🔹 Equivalent in plain JavaScript

There’s no direct equivalent, because vanilla JS does not have the concept of hooks (functions that preserve state across re-renders).

In vanilla JS, if you wanted to track state (like a counter), you’d just use a variable and update the DOM manually:


<div id="counter">0</div>
<button id="btn">Increment</button>

<script>
  let count = 0;

  document.getElementById("btn").addEventListener("click", () => {
    count++;
    document.getElementById("counter").textContent = count;
  });
</script>

Here, count is your state, and you’re updating DOM manually.

🔹 Why `useState` exists

React manages DOM automatically, so you don’t do document.querySelector.
Instead, useState tells React:

"Remember this variable across renders."
"Whenever it changes, re-render the component."

✅ So to answer your question:

In React → useState comes from react package.
In vanilla JS → there is no built-in equivalent; you just use normal variables or closures.

Do you want me to show you a side-by-side comparison: "Counter with useState in React" vs "Counter with vanilla JS (manual state)"?

I mean to say import { useState } from 'react'; I use in react for 1 way statement mngt. Means its like some kind of build in lib in react to manage state. Some similar js library to manage state also exists in vanilla font end. Provide me list of those libraries. Eg I will inplude them in my vanilla fontend for statemngt easily

Got it 👍 — you’re asking: "If useState is React’s built-in state manager, what are the equivalent state management libraries I can plug into a vanilla JS frontend?"

Yes ✅ — there are several lightweight JavaScript libraries for state management you can use outside React/Angular/Vue.

🔹 Popular State Management Libraries for Vanilla JS

1. Redux

🔗 https://redux.js.org/
The most famous state management library.
Can be used with vanilla JS, not just React.
Provides a central store + reducers for predictable state updates.

2. MobX

🔗 https://mobx.js.org/
Reactive state management (observables).
Simpler and less verbose than Redux.
Can be used in plain JS or any framework.

3. Valtio

🔗 https://valtio.pmnd.rs/
Proxy-based state management (modern, very lightweight).
Works in plain JS — mutate state directly, UI auto-updates (if bound).

4. Zustand

🔗 https://zustand-demo.pmnd.rs/
Popular in React ecosystem but also usable in vanilla JS.
Minimal boilerplate, store-based pattern.

5. Nano Stores

🔗 https://github.com/nanostores/nanostores
Tiny (≈1 KB) state manager.
Designed for vanilla JS, React, Vue, Svelte, etc.
Great for small apps.

6. RxJS

🔗 https://rxjs.dev/
Reactive programming with observables.
Powerful for complex async state (streams, events).
Used internally by Angular.

7. Hookstate

🔗 https://hookstate.js.org/
Originally React-focused, but can be used standalone.
Reactive, immutable state management.

🔹 Very Minimal Vanilla Options

If you don’t want a full library:

Use EventEmitter pattern (pub-sub).
Use Proxy or Object.defineProperty to track changes.

Example:


function createStore(initial) {
  let state = initial;
  let listeners = [];

  return {
    getState: () => state,
    setState: (newState) => {
      state = { ...state, ...newState };
      listeners.forEach(l => l(state));
    },
    subscribe: (listener) => {
      listeners.push(listener);
    }
  };
}

// usage
const store = createStore({ count: 0 });
store.subscribe(state => console.log("State changed:", state));
store.setState({ count: store.getState().count + 1 });

✅ So, if you want closest to React’s useState simplicity in vanilla:

Nano Stores (tiny, modern)
Valtio (proxy-based, very natural)

If you want more structured, battle-tested:

Redux or MobX

Do you want me to show you a minimal working demo of "React useState counter" vs "Nano Stores counter in vanilla JS"?

Wht I am looking for is to use good pre existing js libraries for creating web component, statemngt, route, ui component etc & fully develop my fontend in vanilla instead of react. Thus I don't need to write vervous codes in my js & also I get full features in pure vanilla

Ahh 👍 now I understand — you don’t want to reinvent the wheel with raw DOM APIs, but also don’t want to lock yourself into React/Angular/Vue.

That’s a solid approach: build in vanilla JS, but lean on lightweight libraries for specific needs (state, routing, UI, web components).

Here’s a curated stack you can use 👇

🔹 1. Web Components (Angular-like components in vanilla)

Lit → modern, small library for building Web Components (Google-backed).
Stencil → compiles to standard Web Components, framework-agnostic.
Vanilla Web Components → use <template>, customElements.define, Shadow DOM (no library needed, just verbose).

👉 Lit is the most popular choice if you want Angular-style template.html + css + component.js.

🔹 2. State Management

Nano Stores → tiny, framework-independent state manager.
Valtio → proxy-based, very natural, mutate state directly.
MobX → observable-based, works outside React too.
RxJS → powerful for async streams (Angular uses it internally).

👉 If you want React useState-like simplicity → Nano Stores.
👉 If you want Angular-like reactivity → RxJS.

🔹 3. Routing

Navigo → simple vanilla JS router.
Universal Router → lightweight, flexible.
Page.js → minimal client-side routing.

👉 Navigo is the most common vanilla SPA router.

🔹 4. UI Components / Styling

Shoelace → framework-agnostic UI components (built as Web Components).
Material Web Components → Google’s Material Design in Web Components.
Bootstrap → still works with vanilla, good for grid + forms.
Tailwind CSS → utility-first CSS, works anywhere.

👉 Shoelace is modern and pairs well with vanilla + web components.

🔹 5. Forms & Validation

Validator.js → popular validation lib.
JustValidate → nice form validation for vanilla JS.

🔹 6. Build / Tooling (optional)

Vite → super-fast bundler (works with vanilla TS, SCSS, etc).
Parcel → zero-config bundler.
Or just plain <script type="module"> if you want zero tooling.

✅ Example: “Vanilla Fullstack” Setup

Lit → components
Nano Stores → state management
Navigo → routing
Shoelace + Tailwind → UI
JustValidate → form validation

This gives you React/Angular-level features, but with vanilla + small libs.

👉 So, you’d basically be building a custom lightweight framework using standard web tech + modular libraries.

Would you like me to sketch a minimal boilerplate project (folder structure + sample code) that uses Lit + Nano Stores + Navigo so you see how it all fits together?

I will use build tool, js libraries, sass, webcomponent, stateMngt, SPA etc everything that is possible to make my vanilla fontend latest, full featured. But without any famework

🔥 Perfect strategy! What you’re describing is basically “Modern Vanilla Frontend” — using web standards (Web Components, ES Modules, CSS Custom Properties, Shadow DOM) + specialized JS libraries (routing, state, UI) instead of heavy frameworks.

That way, you get:

✅ Full control, no framework lock-in.
✅ Smaller bundle sizes (use only what you need).
✅ Standard browser features (long-term stability).
✅ Framework-like power (routing, state, SPA, components).

🚀 Your “Vanilla but Full Featured” Tech Stack

1. Build Tools

Vite → Fast, modern, supports TS, SCSS, JSX (if you need).
Parcel → Zero config, works great for small/medium projects.
Rollup or esbuild → Minimal if you want just bundling.

👉 I recommend Vite, since it’s the most developer-friendly.

2. Web Components

Lit → Small, expressive, Google-backed (best balance).
Stencil → Compiler that generates web components (more advanced).
Native Web Components → <template>, customElements.define, Shadow DOM (but verbose).

👉 Use Lit unless you want bare metal.

3. State Management

Nano Stores → Tiny, React-like simplicity.
Valtio → Proxy-based, very natural API.
MobX → Observables, reactivity.
RxJS → Streams + async reactivity (Angular’s backbone).

👉 Pick Nano Stores for simple apps, RxJS if you need real-time data/streams.

4. Routing

Navigo → Best vanilla SPA router.
Page.js → Minimal alternative.
Universal Router → More flexible.

👉 Use Navigo.

5. UI Components & Styling

Shoelace → Framework-agnostic, full UI library (buttons, modals, forms, etc).
Material Web Components → Google’s Material Design as Web Components.
TailwindCSS → Utility-first styling.
SCSS/SASS → For structured styles.

👉 Combine Shoelace + SCSS/Tailwind for maximum power.

6. Forms & Validation

Validator.js → Popular, stable.
JustValidate → Modern form validation, vanilla-friendly.

7. Other Utilities

Axios or Fetch → API calls.
Day.js / Luxon → Date/time handling.
Chart.js or ApexCharts → Data visualization.

🏗 Example “Vanilla Fullstack” Frontend Setup


/src
  /components
    Header.js      // Web Component (Lit)
    ProductCard.js
  /state
    cartStore.js   // Nano Stores
  /pages
    HomePage.js
    CartPage.js
  /router
    index.js       // Navigo routing
  /styles
    main.scss
  index.html
  main.js          // App entrypoint

✅ Example Flow

Web Components (Lit) → build <product-card>, <cart-widget> etc.
Nano Stores → global cart state (cart.add(item) updates everywhere).
Navigo → handle /, /cart, /checkout routes.
Shoelace → prebuilt components like <sl-button>, <sl-dialog>.
SCSS + Tailwind → powerful, maintainable styling.
Vite → bundles everything, compiles TS/SCSS.

⚡ This gives you all the power of React/Angular/Vue, but in vanilla + libraries.

👉 Do you want me to draft a minimal boilerplate code example (e.g., Home + Cart page, Lit components, Nano Stores state, Navigo router) so you can see how it looks in practice?

================

Query:

So in my vanilla I cn start with lit or stencil or both. For UI, I cn choose tailwing, material-web or shoelase or anything or combination. Also for stateMngt I can choose any lib like rxjs, et or their combination. For formValidation, etc I cn choose any libs or their comination Similarly for routing, spa I cn choose any lib (but not use combination for compatibility issue) And for build tool (like maven, gradle, ant in java) I can choose any one

✅ Absolutely correct — you’ve got the architecture mindset nailed.
When you’re building a vanilla-first frontend stack, you’re basically assembling your own “framework” from modular libraries.

Let’s break it down:

🔹 1. Component Layer

Lit → lightweight, developer-friendly for custom Web Components.
Stencil → compiler-based, built-in optimizations, TS-first.
You can use either or even mix, but in practice most projects pick one to stay consistent.

🔹 2. UI Layer

Shoelace → prebuilt modern Web Components (buttons, modals, tabs).
Material Web → Google’s Material Design Web Components.
Tailwind CSS → utility-first CSS framework (works with anything).
✅ You can freely mix (e.g., Tailwind + Shoelace, or Tailwind + Material Web).

🔹 3. State Management

RxJS → very powerful, streams + reactive programming.
Other libs:
- nanostores, valtio, zustand (lighter alternatives).
✅ You can combine for different contexts (e.g., RxJS for data streams, a simpler store lib for local UI state).

🔹 4. Forms & Validation

Popular vanilla-friendly libs:
- Validator.js (simple string validators).
- Vest (form validation framework, JS-first).
- Yup (schema-based validation, often used with forms).
✅ You can pick multiple if they complement each other (e.g., Yup for schema + Validator.js for quick checks).

🔹 5. Routing / SPA Navigation

Routing is trickier — don’t mix here. Pick one:
- Navigo (lightweight, hash/history API routing).
- Universal Router (flexible, declarative).
- Vaadin Router (used in some Web Component ecosystems).
✅ Stick with a single routing lib for SPA consistency.

🔹 6. Build Tools

Like Java’s Maven/Gradle/Ant analogy, pick one modern JS build tool:

Vite → fast, ESM-first, great for dev.
Rollup → great for libraries, tree-shaking.
Webpack → older, but still widely used for big apps.
✅ Usually Vite is best starting point in 2025.

🔹 Your Architecture in Vanilla

So your vanilla frontend stack could look like:

Component creation → Lit
UI components → Shoelace + Tailwind
State management → RxJS
Form validation → Yup
Routing → Navigo
Build tool → Vite

That setup would give you 95% of what Angular/React offer, but modular, vanilla-first, and future-proof.

⚡ The only tradeoff: You’re the “framework author” here → you decide how pieces connect. That gives flexibility, but also responsibility for consistency.

👉 Do you want me to sketch a visual architecture diagram of how these layers (Lit/Shoelace, RxJS, Routing, Vite, etc.) fit together, like a “vanilla framework stack”?

what is other 5% if I don't need any such thing like server side programing as I will use rest api only to fetch data from server.

Good question 👍 You’re already covering almost everything for a modern frontend with your vanilla stack.
If you don’t plan to do server-side rendering (SSR) or full-stack Node.js, then yes, you’re covering ~95%.

The remaining 5% gap is mostly around things that React/Angular ecosystems provide out-of-the-box but you’d need to set up (or ignore if you don’t need them):

🔹 The “missing 5%” vs Angular/React

SSR (Server-Side Rendering) / Hydration
- Angular Universal / Next.js (React) can pre-render HTML on the server → SEO + faster first paint.
- In vanilla + REST-only, you don’t care → you’ll deliver a static HTML + JS app.
Integrated Testing Tools
- Angular CLI and React Testing Library give batteries-included unit/e2e testing setup.
- In vanilla, you’d pick your own: Jest, Vitest, Playwright, etc.
Large-scale Project Conventions
- Angular enforces strict file structures, coding patterns, dependency injection.
- React encourages patterns via community (Redux, hooks, context).
- In vanilla, you’ll invent/choose your own project structure.
- ⚡ This is a plus if you like freedom, but could be a minus for teams.
Community Ecosystem
- React has 1000s of ready-to-use components (charts, grids, editors).
- Angular has enterprise plugins (forms, charts, admin templates).
- In vanilla, you’ll rely on smaller JS libs or write custom.
Opinionated Tooling / DX
- Framework CLIs do code scaffolding (ng generate component, npx create-react-app).
- In vanilla, you start from a minimal boilerplate (Vite + chosen libs).

🔹 Do you really need the missing 5%?

If you’re building dashboards, SPAs, CRUD apps that fetch from REST APIs → you don’t need SSR, DI, or CLI generators.
If you’re a solo developer or small team → vanilla stack is even better (less bloat, more control).
If you want to publish reusable UI libraries → vanilla Web Components (Lit/Stencil) are actually superior (work in Angular, React, Vue).

So in your case → that 5% is optional extras, not blockers.

⚡ My verdict:
For your use case (frontend-only + REST API backend), your vanilla + Lit + Shoelace/Tailwind + RxJS + routing + Vite stack gives you 100% of what you need.
The “5% gap” is only relevant if you want SEO SSR or enterprise-style opinionated structures.

👉 Do you want me to prepare a comparison table: Vanilla stack vs Angular vs React → showing what’s included and what you need to add manually? That way you’ll see exactly where that 5% lives.

Blog - Mohit Kumar Gupta

Making vanilla web-fontend (project with lit, web component) secured (discussions with chatGpt)