CDN is Amazing - but NPM is confusing.

[Jason-Black]

Hello — I’m a Jr. Dev who’s still learning and can only really vibe code at a more MCP level, so please keep that in mind.

I wanted to bring up a couple of points or questions. I do understand that most people use the CDN (and 3k isn’t a huge load), but if I’m understanding this correctly, a developer who wants to cut down their bundle size can install with NPM and then include only the components they need.

1. The current documentation is a little confusing — to add just a button with shadcn, I think the preferred way is to use CLI and just install what you want. Is there a way we could enable a similar experience with Basecoat without requiring Nunjucks? Just like shadcn — that's honestly a big part of its appeal — could we create a script or a tool to let users install only the components they want, and then have it automatically bring in the related JavaScript when needed?

2. Astro — I think your project is a perfect match for Astro, especially with its SEO and SSR capabilities. Could we add a flawless, step-by-step tutorial or a blog post to guide people through using Basecoat with Astro?

(P.S. I’m the person from Reddit who said I was working on a very similar project — you’re already much further along!)
-J

[hunvreus]

The current documentation is a little confusing — to add just a button with shadcn, I think the preferred way is to use CLI and just install what you want. Is there a way we could enable a similar experience with Basecoat without requiring Nunjucks? Just like shadcn — that's honestly a big part of its appeal — could we create a script or a tool to let users install only the components they want, and then have it automatically bring in the related JavaScript when needed?

The way you do that is by installing the CSS (either CDN or Tailwind) and then just the HTML that is given to you on the button component page:

<button class="btn">Button</button>

There is no component per se to install (like with shadcn/ui), you just use the native <button> element.

The Nunjucks and Jinja macros are just there as a convenience, and only for more complex component (Dialog, Dropdown Menu, Select/Combobox, Sidebar, Toast).

Astro — I think your project is a perfect match for Astro, especially with its SEO and SSR capabilities. Could we add a flawless, step-by-step tutorial or a blog post to guide people through using Basecoat with Astro?

I plan on adding installation guides for the main frameworks (e.g. Next.js, Astro, etc).

[Jason-Black]

Copy that - When you do create the astro integration (and Im here to help, especially with testing!)

• create step by step instructions -
• AND/OR create a github repo that users could easily install with
  npm create astro@latest -- --template [GITHUB_USER]/[REPO_NAME]/path/to/example