Inferno

Inferno is an insanely fast, React-like JavaScript library for building high-performance user interfaces on both the client and server, now at version 9.0.11. The library was created by Dominic Gannaway and is designed as a lightweight alternative to React that delivers significantly better rendering performance, making consistent 60 frames per second animations achievable even on mobile devices. Benchmarks published on the official website demonstrate superior throughput compared to React, Preact, and other virtual DOM libraries across insertion, replacement, and removal operations. Unlike React, Inferno uses a partially synthetic event system that only delegates specific events such as onClick rather than maintaining a fully synthetic event layer, reducing overhead and improving dispatch speed. The library supports isomorphic rendering with server-side rendering and fast booting from server-rendered output. Native animation support was introduced in version 8.0 with built-in transition utilities. Inferno provides lifecycle events on functional components, a feature absent from React at the time of its introduction, making it attractive for developers who prefer lightweight function components over ES2015 class components. CSS styles are set using standard CSS property names with dashes such as background-color rather than camelCase equivalents, aligning with native browser conventions. The inferno-compat package enables easy migration from React projects with minimal code changes, while createRef and callback ref APIs replace deprecated string refs. The project does not support React Native, focusing exclusively on browser and DOM environments. Inferno is open source under the MIT license, maintained on GitHub with an active Discord community and backed by Sauce Labs and AutoExplore sponsors.