Halfmoon: A Bootstrap Alternative with Dark Mode Built In

I recently released Halfmoon, a front-end framework I've been developing. This post introduces the framework and explains its creation.

Halfmoon: A Quick Overview

Halfmoon offers several key features:

• Built-in Dark Mode: Effortlessly create dark mode versions of your websites.
• Modular Components: Highly modular components (forms, navbars, sidebars, etc.) simplify complex layout creation, ideal for dashboards.
• Optional JavaScript: Many components function without JavaScript, while a powerful, dependency-free JavaScript library is included.
• Familiar Class Names: Class names are inspired by Bootstrap for ease of use.
• Broad Browser Support: Compatible with nearly all browsers, including older versions like Internet Explorer 11.
• Easy Customization: Custom CSS properties allow for simple customization without CSS preprocessors.

Essentially, Halfmoon can be viewed as Bootstrap enhanced with integrated dark mode support, leveraging many of Bootstrap's components with slightly modified markup.

Why Create Another Framework?

The common question arises: Why build another framework? My passion for dark modes and themes is the driving force. I prefer tools with light and dark modes and a toggle switch; the flexibility prevents visual fatigue during extended use. Dark mode is especially beneficial for me when working in low-light conditions.

Several months ago, I needed a simple tool to easily implement dark mode in a dashboard project. After researching, my options were limited: a JavaScript component library (like Vuetify) or a paid Bootstrap dark theme (free options weren't appealing). Preferring simple, server-rendered websites using Django, I built my own solution: a free, aesthetically pleasing framework similar to Bootstrap, but with built-in light and dark themes.

Future Development

Halfmoon is open-source and freely available. Future plans include:

• Expanding the component library.
• Enhanced customization options (using CSS variables).
• More examples and templates.
• Improved tooling and documentation.
• Increased accessibility considerations.
• Vanilla JavaScript implementations of components like custom multi-select, data tables, and form validators.

The goal is to create a framework suitable for complex dashboards and general website development. Documentation is available on the project website, and the code is MIT-licensed on GitHub. Your feedback, contributions, and issue reports are welcome.

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