Vidact – a compiler that turns React into direct DOM operations

2026-09-02 | original

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Why This Matters

Vidact is a build-time compiler that converts React function components into direct DOM operations, running component bodies only once at mount and updating just the text nodes and attributes tied to changed state. That approach sidesteps the virtual DOM and re-render model React developers are used to, potentially offering better runtime performance while keeping familiar React syntax. It reflects a broader industry shift toward compiler-driven frameworks over runtime reconciliation.

Key Takeaways

Vidact compiles React components into vanilla JS DOM code at build time instead of re-rendering at runtime.
State updates target only the specific text nodes and attributes that read that state.
It's in beta and supports only a documented subset of React 19, rejecting unsupported code at build time.

React, compiled to VanillaJS

Vidact reads your function components at build time and writes the DOM code for them. The component body runs once, at mount. A setState call after that reaches only the text nodes and attributes that read that state.

Get started npx vidact my-app

Beta. Vidact compiles a documented subset of React 19 and refuses the rest at build time.

Explore topics: vidact react dom vanillajs setstate