You Might Not Need jQuery

A site of side-by-side examples showing how to do common jQuery tasks with plain JavaScript.

Stars: 14.1k
Forks: 520
Licence: MIT
Language: Astro
Last update: 2.3 years ago
Type: Learning resource

No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.

What it is

This is a reference website that shows common jQuery tasks, such as selecting elements or making requests, alongside plain JavaScript alternatives. The README describes it as a resource for doing things 'au naturel,' meaning without jQuery. It is useful for developers deciding whether they still need the library in a given project.

Look up the plain JavaScript equivalent of a jQuery method you are reading in an old codebase
Check which snippet to use for a given browser range, such as IE9 or modern browsers
Contribute a new section with jquery.js and ie-version or modern.js examples
Run the site locally with npm to browse or modify the examples

Great for

Front-end developers maintaining older sites that still use jQuery
Developers learning standard browser JavaScript APIs
Teams deciding whether a jQuery dependency is worth keeping
Developers who need to support older Internet Explorer versions and want the matching snippet

Not ideal for

People who want a ready-to-install library or framework; this repo is a reference site, not a package
Beginners with no JavaScript background, since the examples assume some familiarity with the DOM
Anyone looking for guidance on modern frameworks beyond the plain JavaScript examples shown in the README

Step-by-step guide: how to use You Might Not Need jQueryInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

You-Dont-Need-jQuery vs You Might Not Need jQuery

How to get it

1
Clone and build from source
You'll need: Node.js
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/HubSpot/youmightnotneedjquery.git
Install dependencies
npm install
Build and watch for changes
npm run dev
Build without watching
npm run build
2
Run it
- Clone the repository and open the project directory
- Run npm install
- Run npm run build to produce the site, or npm run dev to watch for changes
- Open the built site or visit https://youmightnotneedjquery.com to browse the examples
3
Get the most out of it
- Use the browser-version folders to pick the snippet that matches your target browser range
- Add your own section by creating a folder with jquery.js and the relevant ie or modern.js files, as described in Contributing
- Use npm run dev while editing so changes rebuild automatically

Downloads

Source code (.zip)dev branch · straight from GitHub Official website & docsYouMightNotNeedjQuery.com

Strengths

Gives concrete side-by-side examples rather than abstract advice
Organizes snippets by browser support level, which helps with legacy code
Open source under the MIT license with a clear contribution pattern

Trade-offs

The README is short and does not describe the full list of covered topics, so coverage is hard to judge from the text alone
Last push in the metadata is July 2024, so currency of examples is not confirmed
Some snippets target old browsers that many projects no longer need to support

How it compares

Project	Stars	Type	Level	Updated	Best for
youmightnotneedjquery (this)	14.1k	Learning resource	beginner	2.3 years ago	Front-end developers maintaining older sites that still use jQuery
You-Dont-Need-jQuery	20.1k	Learning resource	beginner	8 days ago	Front-end developers who already know jQuery and want to see native replacements

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.