Bootstrap
A free front-end toolkit of ready-made CSS and JavaScript for building responsive websites.
- Stars
- 175k
- Forks
- 78.5k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- MDX
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- Library
What it is
Bootstrap is a collection of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code that gives web pages a consistent look and layout that adapts to different screen sizes. It is used by web developers who want to build interfaces faster instead of writing styles and interactive components from scratch. The README describes it as a front-end framework and points to a documentation site for details.
- Add a responsive navigation bar and grid layout to a static website
- Use the included grid, reboot, and utility CSS files in an existing project
- Include the bundled JavaScript for components such as dropdowns and modals, as the bundle includes Floating UI for positioning
- Build an interface that switches to right-to-left layout by setting dir="rtl" on the HTML element
Great for
- Developers building responsive websites or web app interfaces quickly
- Teams that want a common design system with ready-made components
- Developers who prefer installing via npm, yarn, Bun, or a direct download
- Projects that need both LTR and RTL layouts, since the README says CSS supports both
Not ideal for
- Projects that want a highly custom visual identity without a default look, since the framework provides a recognizable base style
- Developers who need the latest stable release today, since the default branch is for Bootstrap 6 alpha development and the README directs Bootstrap 5 users to the v5-dev branch
- Non-developers looking for a no-code website builder, since it requires editing HTML and CSS
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
Install with npm (pre-release version shown in README)
npm install bootstrap@6.0.0-alpha.1Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap.git - 2
Run it
- Install the package with npm, yarn, Bun, Composer, NuGet, or download the release zip
- Link the bootstrap.min.css file in the head of your HTML page
- Optionally add bootstrap.bundle.min.js before the closing body tag for interactive components
- Open the page in a browser to see the styles applied
- Read the Getting started page on getbootstrap.com for template examples
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the bundled JS version if you need components that depend on Floating UI positioning
- Refer to the source maps included with the distribution when debugging CSS in browser dev tools
- Set dir="rtl" on the HTML element to enable right-to-left layouts, since CSS uses logical properties
- Check the docs at getbootstrap.com/docs/6.0/ and previous versions page for version-specific guidance
Downloads
Strengths
- Widely used, with the README reporting about 175,000 stars on GitHub
- Provides both compiled and minified CSS and JS files plus source maps for debugging
- Released under the MIT license, which permits commercial use
Trade-offs
- The default branch is currently a Bootstrap 6 alpha, so the README's quick start pins a pre-release version (6.0.0-alpha.1)
- The README does not describe component details in depth; it points to external documentation for that
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bootstrap (this) | 175k | Library | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers building responsive websites or web app interfaces quickly |
| tailwindcss | 98.3k | Library | intermediate | 4 days ago | Web developers who build their own interfaces and want to avoid writing large custom stylesheets |
| bulma | 50k | Library | beginner | 2 months ago | Developers who want a quick, consistent styling baseline for a web page |
| materialize | 38.8k | Library | beginner | 3 months ago | Developers building a web page or app who want a Material Design look quickly |
| tabler | 42k | Library | beginner | 7 days ago | Developers building internal admin panels or dashboards quickly |
| NES.css | 21.9k | Library | beginner | 2.8 years ago | Developers building a retro or game-themed web page or demo |
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.