A static-site metaframework, Rocket addresses the need for modern, HTML-first websites and documentation, particularly for Web Components. It targets developers seeking an AI-friendly, easily inspectable, and deployable solution for content-centric sites, offering a zero-JavaScript-by-default approach that allows opting into JS only where beneficial.

How It Works

Rocket employs an HTML-first philosophy, prioritizing durable content written in Markdown, with JavaScript integrated only when necessary. It features explicit routing where each page defines its public URL independently of its file location. Component loading strategies (server, client, or hydrate) can be chosen per registered component. Built on Lit, Vite, and Modern Web tooling, Rocket aims for static HTML output, making source code easily inspectable by humans and AI coding agents, distinguishing itself from SPA frameworks.

Quick Start & Requirements

Installation is done via npm: npm install @rocket/js. Projects can be initiated using the "Start with AI" feature by pasting a starter prompt into coding agents like Claude or Cursor, or manually via npx rocket init. The primary commands are npm start for development and npm run build to generate static output to the dist/ directory. Requires Node.js 22 or newer. Links to the website, AI starter, Discord community, and documentation are available.

Highlighted Details

• "Start with AI" integration for rapid project scaffolding with coding agents.
• Content-first approach with Markdown as the primary writing format.
• Explicit route configuration independent of file structure.
• Flexible component loading strategies (server, client, hydrate).
• Built on the Modern Web stack (Lit, Vite).

Maintenance & Community

Rocket is currently in public alpha (0.1.x), with APIs and documentation expected to evolve before version 1.0. Breaking changes are tracked via changesets and release notes. A Discord community is available for engagement. Contributing guides and "good first issues" are provided for new contributors.

Licensing & Compatibility

The project is released under the MIT License, which is permissive for commercial use and integration into closed-source projects.

Limitations & Caveats

As a public alpha, the project's APIs and documentation are subject to change. Rocket is not intended as a replacement for SPA frameworks like React or Astro, nor as a backend application framework, and does not currently offer a large plugin ecosystem.