Lit

Lit is a web development tool offered by Google LLC that aims to simplify the creation of fast and lightweight web components. According to the vendor, Lit enhances productivity and reduces boilerplate code for web developers, front-end developers, UI/UX designers, software engineers, and technology companies of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

Key Features

Simplicity: According to the vendor, Lit provides a minimalistic and intuitive approach to building web components. It aims to reduce boilerplate code and eliminate the need for complex setup and configuration, making it easier for developers to get started and be productive.

Performance: Lit has a small footprint, weighing in at around 5 KB (minified and compressed), according to the vendor. This helps keep bundle sizes small and loading times short. The vendor claims that Lit's rendering process is optimized to only update the dynamic parts of the UI, resulting in fast and responsive user experiences.

Web Components: Lit is built on top of the Web Components standards, making it interoperable and future-ready, according to the vendor. Every Lit component is a native web component, which means it works anywhere HTML is used, with any framework or without any framework at all. The vendor states that Lit enables the creation of shareable components, design systems, and maintainable sites and apps that can be easily updated or migrated.

Custom Elements: Lit components are standard custom elements that are treated by the browser like built-in elements, according to the vendor. They can be used in hand-written HTML, framework code, output from CMS or static site builders, and can be created and manipulated in JavaScript. The vendor claims that Lit components offer the flexibility to seamlessly integrate into existing projects and workflows.

Scoped Styles: According to the vendor, Lit scopes styles by default using Shadow DOM, ensuring that component styles don't affect or get affected by other styles on the page. This approach aims to keep CSS selectors simple and encapsulate component styles, promoting modularity and maintainability.

Reactive Properties: According to the vendor, Lit allows developers to declare reactive properties that model a component's API and internal state. When a reactive property (or corresponding HTML attribute) changes, Lit efficiently re-renders the component, ensuring that the UI stays in sync with the data.

Declarative Templates: Lit templates are based on tagged template literals, providing a simple and expressive way to define component templates, according to the vendor. Templates feature HTML markup with native JavaScript expressions inline, eliminating the need for custom syntax or compilation. The vendor claims that Lit templates are designed to be fast and efficient, enabling developers to build complex UIs with ease.