Ditching React for HTMX to Simplify Misago Forum Development

Removing React.js from the codebase and adapting Htmx for UI interactivity

I am removing React.js from the Misago codebase to solve issues like duplicated code, slow performance, and complex plugin development. Instead, I am adopting HTMX to handle UI interactivity directly through server-rendered HTML. This shift reduces JavaScript bundle sizes and simplifies the stack, allowing us to maintain a robust forum without the overhead of a full single-page application.

Internet forum software has plenty of interactivity, but this interactivity is isolated to specific places on the page, and all this stuff can be achieved without React.js.

More from this day

2026-07-27