A quick breakdown of my experience with Lynx.js, a new framework getting some buzz for its Rust-powered dev server, cross-platform ambition, and React-like developer experience.
I recently spent some time exploring Lynx.js, a new framework getting some buzz for its Rust-powered dev server, cross-platform ambition, and React-like developer experience. I wanted to share a quick breakdown of my experience, especially coming at it from a front-end developer’s perspective.
Fast Setup & Startup
After getting Xcode set up, cloning the repo and spinning up a sample app took under 5 minutes. Super smooth.
Speedy Dev Server
Built in Rust, the dev server + HMR was snappy and felt modern.
Debugger Tooling
Debugging is handled via a Chromium-based Electron app. Not bad at all.
Styling Options
You can use native CSS or Tailwind — love the flexibility.
Framework-Agnostic with JSX-like Syntax
If you’re coming from React, the markup and structure will feel familiar.
Debugging Sync Issues
Occasionally the debugger would get out of sync, which is frustrating and can lead to chasing phantom bugs.
Manual Simulator Setup
Every time I restarted, I had to copy/paste URLs to relaunch the simulator — a small thing, but adds up fast.
Documentation Quality
Some commands in the docs were either outdated or incorrect. It slowed me down more than once.
One thing I’m still exploring is how viable Lynx is as a web-first framework. So far, it feels very mobile-centric. There is a @lynx-js/web-webpack-plugin package, which suggests web bundling support is possible, but the documentation is sparse and I haven’t found a clear guide to build for the web confidently.
If you’ve found success building a true web-first experience with Lynx, I’d love to hear how you did it.
Lynx.js is fun to play with and definitely has potential. The DX is smooth, and the framework clearly takes some modern cues from both React and Rust. But right now, it still feels like a beta. If you’re looking for a polished cross-platform experience today, you might want to wait a bit longer.
That said — I’ll be keeping my eye on it. The foundations are promising.
