📚 StoneJS Developer Guide
Complete reference for building modern web applications with the StoneJS Framework
🎯 Overview
StoneJS is a modern, component-based web framework for Node.js that combines the simplicity of traditional server-side rendering with the power of modern JavaScript.
What Makes StoneJS Different?
📄 Component-Based
Build reusable components with hierarchical layouts using autohandlers and includes
🚀 Zero Build Step
No webpack, no bundlers. Just write code and see it run instantly
🔄 Auto-Reload
Changes are reflected immediately in development mode
🗄️ Database Ready
Built-in PostgreSQL/MySQL support with connection pooling and RLS
⚡ Built-in Caching
Simple, powerful caching with remember pattern
🔐 Session Management
In-memory or database-backed sessions out of the box
Core Concepts
- Pages: HTML files in
pages/directory become routes automatically - Autohandlers: Wrap pages with layouts and shared HTML (like master pages)
- Dhandlers: Dynamic route handlers for REST APIs and custom routing
- Components: Reusable template fragments included with
<%- await include() %> - Global Context: Access request, session, database, cache via
$context - Section Tags: Special tags for initialization, cleanup, and documentation
When to Use StoneJS?
✅ Great For:
- Server-side rendered web applications
- REST APIs and microservices
- Admin panels and dashboards
- Content management systems
- Multi-tenant SaaS applications (with RLS)
- Rapid prototyping and MVPs
⚠️ Consider Alternatives If:
- You need a single-page application (SPA) framework
- You require heavy client-side interactivity (use Next.js, Nuxt, etc.)
- You're building a static site (use Astro, Gatsby, etc.)
Quick Links
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