Ripple.js with Dominic Gannaway

Oct 23, 2025

Dominic Gannaway, the author and maintainer of Ripple.js, shares insights into this innovative TypeScript-first UI framework designed for clarity and reactivity. He discusses Ripple's unique templating language, how it avoids global state, and the benefits of fine-grained updates through a track and block system. Dominic also highlights the developer experience, including tooling like Prettier, and reveals how AI has influenced Ripple's development. With exciting plans for server-side rendering and community contributions, Ripple aims to reshape how frameworks are built.

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INSIGHT

TypeScript-First Framework With New Templating

Ripple is a TypeScript-first UI framework with its own templating language and file extension.
Dominic designed it to combine familiar UI ideas into a clearer, more expressive developer experience.

ANECDOTE

Rapid Prototype Then Full Tooling Build

Dominic built an initial prototype quickly and open sourced Ripple about a month before the interview.
The project required building tooling like a language server, syntax highlighting, and a Prettier plugin from scratch.

ADVICE

Stabilize Rendering Before Meta Features

Consider evolving Ripple into a meta-framework later but start by stabilizing the view layer and SSR/hydration first.
Incrementally add features like routing and AI dev-server integration once core rendering is solid.

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Dominic Gannaway joins us to talk about Ripple.js, a new TypeScript-first UI framework built with its own templating language and a focus on clarity and reactivity. We explore how Ripple.js handles fine-grained updates through its track and block system, why it avoids global state, and how context plays a key role. Dominic also walks us through the developer experience, from the language server and VS Code integration to syntax highlighting and the Prettier plugin, plus how the framework handles error boundaries, server-side rendering, future plans, and more.

Links

Twitter: https://x.com/trueadm
Github: https://github.com/trueadm
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-gannaway-414b7750

Resources

RippleJS GitHub: https://ripplejs.github.io
RippleJS website: https://www.ripplejs.com/

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Chapters

00:00 – Intro & What is RippleJS
01:00 – The Origins and Naming of Ripple
02:00 – A New UI Framework Built on TypeScript
03:30 – Creating a Custom Language and Templating System
05:00 – Building Ripple’s Tooling and Language Server
06:00 – The Team, Open Source Growth, and Early Feedback
07:00 – From UI Framework to Meta Framework
09:00 – Integrating AI into the Dev Server
10:30 – Handling Controversy and Changing the Status Quo
11:30 – How Ripple Was Built in a Week
13:00 – Redesigning the Reactivity System
16:00 – Why Ripple Doesn’t Use Global State
19:00 – Lessons Learned from Other Frameworks
21:00 – Naming Conventions and API Design Decisions
22:30 – Error Boundaries and Async Patterns in Ripple
24:00 – Accessibility and ByteDance Native App Integration
25:00 – The Team’s Workflow and Contributor Culture
27:00 – Building TypeScript-First from Scratch
29:00 – Language Server, Source Maps, and VS Code Integration
31:00 – Building in Public and Open Source Collaboration
32:30 – The Future of Frontend Frameworks
34:00 – How Ripple’s Ideas Might Influence Others
35:00 – AI, Security, and the Road Ahead
36:00 – Closing Thoughts & How to Get Involved