what

About What

The Story

The What framework was born from a simple question: Why has web development become so complicated? We used to write HTML, add some server-side logic, and deploy. Now we have build tools, bundlers, hydration, and frameworks that require a PhD to configure.

Built with Rust for performance and reliability, What brings back the simplicity of server-rendered HTML while providing modern features like SPA-like navigation, component-based architecture, and built-in CRUD operations.

Philosophy

HTML First

Templates are just HTML with a simple variable syntax. No JSX, no template literals, no special file formats. If you know HTML, you know What.

Server Rendered

All rendering happens on the server. No hydration mismatches, no client-side state management complexity, no bundle size anxiety.

Zero Config

No webpack, no Vite, no PostCSS. Just your pages, components, and a single binary. Start building immediately.

Thin Client

The What framework ships almost no client-side JavaScript — no DOM library, no widget runtime. A small set of w-* attributes fetch server-rendered HTML and swap it into the page. The rest is the web platform.

Credits

The What framework is built by Tedigo with love for the web development community.