Which JavaScript Projects Dominated 2017? A Deep Dive into the Top Stars

Just like in 2016, it is time to review the development and changes in the JavaScript field for 2017. By comparing the number of new stars each project received on GitHub in the past 12 months, we assess their popularity in 2017 and identify the rising star projects for 2018.

Most Popular Projects

The following list shows the overall most popular JavaScript projects of 2017, useful if you are short on time.

Vue.js Reigns Champion

Vue.js topped the annual ranking again, gaining more than 40 K new stars on GitHub this year, far ahead of the second‑place React.

What makes Vue.js stand out?

Gentle learning curve with a component syntax similar to React.

Rich ecosystem including the official router .vue and state‑management library Vuex.

Single‑file components ( .vue ) that combine template, logic, and style.

Adopted as the default view engine by the popular PHP framework Laravel.

Maintained by Evan You through community crowdfunding rather than a tech giant.

These factors have earned Vue.js a large following in China, with adoption by Alibaba, GitLab, Adobe and others.

React Holds the Runner‑Up Spot

React remained second, adding over 27 K new stars in 2017. Create React App, the third‑place project, has become the default way to start a React project, pushing many older boilerplates out of the spotlight.

Created by Dan Abramov (Redux author, Facebook), Create React App balances functionality and simplicity, avoiding bundled styling solutions and server‑side rendering while providing a smooth developer experience.

Axios

Axios is the most widely used HTTP client, usable both in the browser and in Node.js. Its popularity is partly tied to Vue.js tutorials that frequently use it for API requests.

Puppeteer

Puppeteer, a headless Chrome browser developed by the Chrome team, can be driven by code for automated UI testing, server‑side rendering via page snapshots, and PDF generation.

Frontend Frameworks

The three dominant UI frameworks are Vue.js, React, and Angular. While Vue.js and React are technically libraries, Angular is a full framework.

Vue.js’s success factors have been discussed above. React remains fragmented, requiring developers to make choices about routing, data fetching, form binding, and state management.

Angular’s ecosystem is more controlled and stable, guided by the “Angular Guidelines” best‑practice and bolstered by TypeScript, which attracts many backend developers.

Less Is More

Preact, a lightweight React alternative, offers the same API in only 3 KB.

Node.js Frameworks

JavaScript is increasingly used for backend development. While there is no single dominant Node.js framework, Express remains a foundational component for many frameworks and CMSs such as Feathers, Keystone, and Nest.

New entrants into the top‑10 Node.js framework list for 2017 are Fastify (inspired by Hapi), Server.js (focus on “out‑of‑the‑box” experience), and Nest (a TypeScript framework familiar to Angular users).

React Ecosystem

React focuses on the view layer, leaving room for a vibrant ecosystem. Create React App simplifies project setup, while tools like Ant Design, Ant Design Pro, and Material UI provide ready‑made component styling. Recompose showcases React’s functional programming strengths.

Vue.js Ecosystem

Guest author Evan You: “We love Vue.js, but we admit we are not very familiar with its ecosystem.”

Vue.js’s ecosystem grew rapidly in 2017. Popular UI component libraries include Element and iView for desktop, and Mint UI and vux for mobile. Vuetify offers a full‑featured Material Design solution for both desktop and mobile. Nuxt provides server‑side rendering and static site generation for Vue.js. Weex enables native rendering using Vue.js syntax.

Mobile Development

JavaScript can also be used to write mobile apps, allowing component reuse across web and native platforms. Solutions include React Native for React, Weex and Quasar for Vue, and Ionic and NativeScript for Angular.

Compilers

Compilers translate languages to standard JavaScript. Babel is popular for using the latest language features across browsers, while TypeScript and Flow add static typing.

Build Tools

Parcel surprised as the 2017 champion, offering zero‑configuration builds. Webpack remains the most popular tool, powering Create React App and Gatsby, while Rollup focuses on library bundling.

Testing Frameworks

Jest became the top testing framework, originally created by Facebook for React component testing but now supporting front‑ and back‑end code. Its highlights include zero‑config defaults, a powerful developer experience, Mocha‑like syntax, built‑in assertions, and snapshot testing. AVA, the 2016 runner‑up, emphasizes parallel speed and a lightweight design.

IDE and Editors

Web‑based open‑source editors are discussed. VS Code, led by Microsoft, has overtaken Atom with frequent releases and built‑in features such as Git integration, JavaScript auto‑completion, and React syntax support. Prettier plugins can auto‑format code on save.

CSS in JavaScript

There is no consensus on managing component styles in React. Styled Components, the category champion, uses template strings to write standard CSS inside components. CSS Modules, the runner‑up, allows developers to import CSS, SASS, or Less files into components.

Static Site Generators

Static site generators (SSG) produce HTML, CSS, and JS files for fast, stable deployments. Gatsby claimed the top spot in 2017, adding features like rapid browsing, pre‑loading, and intelligent code splitting. React Static offers a lightweight Gatsby alternative, and Next.js can also be used as an SSG.

GraphQL

2017 may be a turning point for GraphQL, with major companies like The New York Times adopting it and client libraries Relay and Apollo releasing significant updates. GraphQL is increasingly used in static site generators like Gatsby and is poised to replace REST.

Conclusion

We hope this 2017 JavaScript recap inspires you. Vue.js has held the champion spot for two years, React’s ecosystem continues to thrive, and Prettier stands out as the 2017 tool that eliminates formatting worries. The State of JavaScript 2017 survey, with 23 000 developer responses, offers another perspective on community evolution. Who will be the 2018 JavaScript star projects?