Compiling CSS With Vite and Lightning CSS

Staying current with CSS advancements often means grappling with browser compatibility issues. Even with widespread feature releases, user browser versions may lag. We address this through feature detection (@supports), progressive enhancement, and polyfills. Build tools offer additional assistance.

While many CSS developers utilize pre-processors (Sass, Less), their necessity has diminished with the evolution of native CSS features like nesting and custom properties. Pre-processors primarily offered organizational benefits and extended CSS functionality. Post-processing tools, like PostCSS, handle tasks such as auto-prefixing and minification.

Typical build pipelines often involve:

1. Static asset generation
2. Application file building
3. Bundling for deployment

CSS processing usually falls under the first step, encompassing pre- and post-processing. Modern CSS reduces the reliance on pre-processors, potentially streamlining the process.

Vite: A Speedy CSS Compiler

Vite, a highly popular build tool, excels at building JavaScript front-end frameworks (Angular, React, Svelte, Vue). Its speed and adaptability make it a valuable asset. While primarily known for JavaScript, Vite seamlessly handles CSS without requiring JavaScript code. It supports Sass (requiring separate installation) and natively compiles CSS with minimal configuration.

This tutorial uses Node and npm. Ensure you have them installed. Create a new project:

npm create vite@latest

Select "Vanilla" and "JavaScript" for a basic template. Open the project in your IDE. For this demonstration, delete assets/, public/, src/, and .gitignore. Only index.html and package.json should remain. Replace index.html's content with:

  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS Only Vite Project</title>

Install Vite's dependencies:

npm install

This creates node_modules/ and package-lock.json. Create a styles/ folder and main.css inside it. Add a <link> tag to index.html:

  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS Only Vite Project</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles/main.css">

Add some CSS to main.css:

body {
  background: green;
}

Run the Vite build command:

npm run build

The dist/ folder contains the built files. assets/index.css (with a unique hash) shows the minified CSS.

For faster iteration, use Vite's development server:

npm run dev

This starts the server on port 5173. Changes in HTML or CSS are reflected instantly. Use <kbd>CTRL</kbd> <kbd>C</kbd> to stop the server.

Organizing with Cascade Layers

While applying cascade layers directly to <link> tags isn't currently possible, Vite allows us to simulate this for organizational purposes. In main.css, define layers:

npm create vite@latest

Create reset.css and import a CSS reset (e.g., Mayank's):

  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS Only Vite Project</title>

Create layouts.css with a layouts layer:

npm install

Add links to reset.css and layouts.css in index.html, maintaining the desired order. This approach helps manage CSS precedence and grouping.

Post-processing with LightningCSS

LightningCSS enhances cross-browser compatibility. Install it:

  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS Only Vite Project</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles/main.css">

Create vite.config.mjs:

body {
  background: green;
}

Test with an oklch color in main.css:

npm run build

LightningCSS provides fallbacks. For targeted browser support, install browserslist:

npm run dev

Configure vite.config.mjs:

/* styles/main.css */
@layer reset, layouts;

This allows for fine-grained control over LightningCSS features.

Necessity?

While not essential for all projects, these techniques—especially for larger projects or design systems—offer significant advantages in organization, cross-browser compatibility, and CSS optimization.

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