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preactjs/preact

⚛️ Fast 3kB React alternative with the same modern API. Components & Virtual DOM.

JavaScript ◇ components MIT
★38.9KSTARS
⑂3.1KFORKS
!45ISSUES
🏆#273GLOBAL RANK
🔥3DAYS TRENDING
🚀
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Star History

Continuous Observations
Interactive star growth chart for preactjs/preact
CSV

Momentum

+972

STARS · LAST 30 DAYS

32

PER DAY

#20

MOST-STARRED JavaScript

Window7 days30 days90 days
Stars gained+224+972+2.9K
Per day323232
Forks gained+15+62+154

preact gained 972 stars in the last 30 days, about 32 a day, and now has 38.9K. It is about 11 years old and has averaged roughly 3.5K stars a year. It ranks #20 among JavaScript repositories and #273 across all languages on GitHubRepo.

Trending Record

preact has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #906. Below is the 30-day activity profile:

💡 Overview

preact is an open-source project written in JavaScript: ⚛️ Fast 3kB React alternative with the same modern API. Components & Virtual DOM.

Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in components, dom, jsx. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.

⚡ Key Features

1

Optimized execution pipeline written in JavaScript for predictable speed.

2

Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.

3

Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.

4

Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.

5

Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.

6

Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.

📥 Installation

terminal
$ npm install preact

⚙ System Requirements

Platforms

  • • macOS
  • • Linux
  • • Windows

Runtime & Dependencies

Node.js >= 18 or modern Evergreen browser

Architecture

x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)

🧠 How It Works

preact coordinates its core functionality through a modular JavaScript pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.

🎯 Production Use Cases

Modern Web Interfaces

Build dynamic, responsive user experiences with component-driven architecture.

Enterprise Design Systems

Standardize design tokens, accessible widgets, and themes across engineering teams.

Interactive Data Dashboards

Render real-time telemetry, user feeds, and analytics with sub-millisecond updates.

Cross-Platform Web Apps

Deploy performant single-page applications optimized for both mobile and desktop browsers.

🚀 Getting Started

1

Install preact using your package manager: `npm install preact`

2

Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for preact.

3

Import preact into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.

4

Execute your test suite or run `preact --help` to verify successful setup.

👍 Strengths

Active community backing with 38,889 GitHub stars and verified adoption.
Permissive open-source distribution under the MIT license.
Built in JavaScript for high execution speed and developer familiarity.
Cross-platform compatibility across modern Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Clean modular design allowing flexible configuration and pipeline integration.

⚠️ Considerations

Requires familiarity with JavaScript and modern CLI workflows.
Ecosystem extensions may require manual configuration depending on environment constraints.
Active development roadmap means breaking API changes may occur across major versions.

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👥 Who Should Use This

Developers and engineering teams building with JavaScript, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.

🏆 Nearby in the Rankings

preactjs/preact is currently ranked #273 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:

RankRepositoryLanguageStarsAction
#268 ajeetdsouza/zoxide Rust ★ 39.7K Compare ↗
#269 drawdb-io/drawdb JavaScript ★ 39.7K Compare ↗
#270 freeCodeCamp/devdocs Ruby ★ 39.5K Compare ↗
#271 DioxusLabs/dioxus Rust ★ 39.3K Compare ↗
#272 volcengine/OpenViking Python ★ 38.9K Compare ↗
#273 preactjs/preact This Project JavaScript ★ 38.9K
#274 lapce/lapce Rust ★ 38.9K Compare ↗
#275 xyflow/xyflow TypeScript ★ 38.5K Compare ↗
#276 dotnet/aspnetcore C# ★ 38.5K Compare ↗
#277 stanfordnlp/dspy Python ★ 38.4K Compare ↗
#278 PhilJay/MPAndroidChart Kotlin ★ 38.2K Compare ↗

Frequently Asked Questions

What does preact do? +

⚛️ Fast 3kB React alternative with the same modern API. Components & Virtual DOM.

What language is preact written in? +

The primary language is JavaScript. Topics include: components, dom, jsx, preact, react.

Is preact actively maintained? +

Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 27, 2026 with 45 open issues being tracked.

How many stars does preact have? +

preact has 38,889 stars and 3,089 forks on GitHub.

How does preact rank among GitHub repositories? +

With 38,889 stars, preactjs/preact is ranked #273 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #20 among JavaScript projects.

What license is preact distributed under? +

The repository reports a MIT license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.

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