Alpine.js

Alpine.js adds reactive behavior directly in HTML markup using x- attributes. It's ideal for adding interactivity to server-rendered pages without a build step or SPA framework.

Installation

<!-- index.html — add Alpine via CDN -->
<script defer src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/alpinejs@3.x.x/dist/cdn.min.js"></script>
<!-- Or: npm install alpinejs -->

// main.js — npm module setup
import Alpine from 'alpinejs';
window.Alpine = Alpine;
Alpine.start();

Core Directives

<!-- templates/basics.html — fundamental Alpine directives -->
<div x-data="{ open: false, count: 0 }">
  <!-- Toggle visibility -->
  <button @click="open = !open">Toggle</button>
  <div x-show="open" x-transition>
    <p>This content can be toggled</p>
  </div>

  <!-- Reactive counter -->
  <p>Count: <span x-text="count"></span></p>
  <button @click="count++">Increment</button>

  <!-- Conditional rendering (removes from DOM) -->
  <template x-if="count > 5">
    <p>Count is greater than 5!</p>
  </template>
</div>

Data Binding

<!-- templates/binding.html — two-way binding and attribute binding -->
<div x-data="{ name: '', color: 'blue' }">
  <!-- Two-way binding -->
  <input x-model="name" placeholder="Your name" />
  <p>Hello, <span x-text="name || 'stranger'"></span>!</p>

  <!-- Attribute binding -->
  <div :class="{ 'text-red': color === 'red', 'text-blue': color === 'blue' }">
    Colored text
  </div>
  <select x-model="color">
    <option value="blue">Blue</option>
    <option value="red">Red</option>
  </select>

  <!-- Style binding -->
  <div :style="{ color: color, fontWeight: name ? 'bold' : 'normal' }">
    Dynamic styles
  </div>
</div>

Loops

<!-- templates/loops.html — iterating over data -->
<div x-data="{ items: ['Apples', 'Bananas', 'Cherries'], newItem: '' }">
  <ul>
    <template x-for="(item, index) in items" :key="index">
      <li>
        <span x-text="item"></span>
        <button @click="items.splice(index, 1)">×</button>
      </li>
    </template>
  </ul>

  <form @submit.prevent="items.push(newItem); newItem = ''">
    <input x-model="newItem" placeholder="Add item" />
    <button type="submit">Add</button>
  </form>
</div>

Event Handling

<!-- templates/events.html — event modifiers and custom events -->
<div x-data="{ count: 0 }">
  <!-- Modifiers -->
  <button @click.prevent="count++">Prevent default</button>
  <button @click.once="alert('Only once!')">Click once</button>
  <input @keydown.enter="submitForm()" @keydown.escape="cancel()" />

  <!-- Debounce -->
  <input @input.debounce.300ms="search($event.target.value)" placeholder="Search..." />

  <!-- Listen to events from window -->
  <div @custom-event.window="count++">
    Count: <span x-text="count"></span>
  </div>

  <!-- Dispatch custom event -->
  <button @click="$dispatch('custom-event')">Dispatch</button>
</div>

Component Patterns

<!-- templates/dropdown.html — dropdown component -->
<div x-data="{ open: false }" @click.outside="open = false">
  <button @click="open = !open">
    Menu
    <span :class="{ 'rotate-180': open }" x-text="open ? '▲' : '▼'"></span>
  </button>

  <div x-show="open" x-transition.origin.top.left
    @keydown.escape.window="open = false"
    class="dropdown-menu">
    <a href="/profile">Profile</a>
    <a href="/settings">Settings</a>
    <button @click="$dispatch('logout')">Logout</button>
  </div>
</div>

<!-- templates/tabs.html — tabs component -->
<div x-data="{ activeTab: 'general' }">
  <nav>
    <button @click="activeTab = 'general'" :class="{ active: activeTab === 'general' }">General</button>
    <button @click="activeTab = 'security'" :class="{ active: activeTab === 'security' }">Security</button>
  </nav>

  <div x-show="activeTab === 'general'">General settings...</div>
  <div x-show="activeTab === 'security'">Security settings...</div>
</div>

Reusable Data with Alpine.data

<!-- templates/reusable.html — extracting reusable components -->
<script>
  // Register reusable component
  document.addEventListener('alpine:init', () => {
    Alpine.data('todoList', () => ({
      items: [],
      newItem: '',
      add() {
        if (this.newItem.trim()) {
          this.items.push({ text: this.newItem, done: false });
          this.newItem = '';
        }
      },
      remove(index) {
        this.items.splice(index, 1);
      },
      get remaining() {
        return this.items.filter(i => !i.done).length;
      },
    }));
  });
</script>

<!-- Use anywhere -->
<div x-data="todoList">
  <form @submit.prevent="add">
    <input x-model="newItem" placeholder="New todo" />
    <button type="submit">Add</button>
  </form>
  <p x-text="`${remaining} remaining`"></p>
  <template x-for="(item, i) in items" :key="i">
    <div>
      <input type="checkbox" x-model="item.done" />
      <span x-text="item.text" :class="{ 'line-through': item.done }"></span>
      <button @click="remove(i)">×</button>
    </div>
  </template>
</div>

Working with htmx

<!-- templates/alpine-htmx.html — Alpine + htmx together -->
<div x-data="{ editing: false }" id="article-42">
  <div x-show="!editing">
    <h2>Article Title</h2>
    <button @click="editing = true">Edit</button>
    <button hx-delete="/articles/42" hx-target="#article-42" hx-swap="outerHTML">Delete</button>
  </div>
  <form x-show="editing" hx-put="/articles/42" hx-target="#article-42" hx-swap="outerHTML">
    <input name="title" value="Article Title" />
    <button type="submit">Save</button>
    <button type="button" @click="editing = false">Cancel</button>
  </form>
</div>

Stores (Global State)

<!-- templates/stores.html — Alpine stores for shared state -->
<script>
  document.addEventListener('alpine:init', () => {
    Alpine.store('notifications', {
      items: [],
      add(msg) { this.items.push({ text: msg, id: Date.now() }) },
      remove(id) { this.items = this.items.filter(n => n.id !== id) },
    });
  });
</script>

<div x-data @click="$store.notifications.add('Button clicked!')">Click me</div>

<div x-data>
  <template x-for="n in $store.notifications.items" :key="n.id">
    <div class="toast" x-text="n.text" @click="$store.notifications.remove(n.id)"></div>
  </template>
</div>

Magic Properties

<!-- templates/magic.html — Alpine magic properties -->
<div x-data="{ items: [] }">
  <!-- $refs — reference DOM elements -->
  <input x-ref="input" />
  <button @click="$refs.input.focus()">Focus input</button>

  <!-- $nextTick — run after DOM update -->
  <button @click="items.push('new'); $nextTick(() => $refs.list.scrollTo(0, 99999))">
    Add & scroll
  </button>
  <div x-ref="list" style="max-height:200px;overflow:auto">
    <template x-for="item in items"><p x-text="item"></p></template>
  </div>

  <!-- $watch — react to data changes -->
  <div x-init="$watch('items', (val) => console.log('items changed:', val))"></div>
</div>

Key Patterns

• Use x-data on a parent element to define reactive scope — everything inside shares that state
• Use x-show for toggling visibility (CSS), x-if for conditional DOM insertion
• Use x-model for two-way binding on inputs, selects, checkboxes
• Use event modifiers (.prevent, .stop, .debounce, .outside) to reduce boilerplate
• Use Alpine.data() to extract reusable components with methods and computed properties
• Use Alpine.store() for global state shared across components
• Pairs excellently with htmx: Alpine handles UI state, htmx handles server communication