Creating a Modern Web Application with Bun, Astro, TypeScript, and HTMX (BATH Stack Quickstart)

Developing a modern web application involves a blend of the latest tools and frameworks to ensure efficiency, performance, and ease of development. This tutorial guides you through setting up a project using Bun, Astro, and HTMX, powerful tools that enhance the development experience. Let's dive into the steps to create a dynamic, TypeScript-enabled web application with great DX and performance characteristics.

Why this stack

Bun gives us a lightning fast JS/TS runtime
Astro gives us a mature and powerful web framework
TypeScript gives us increased type safety during development
HTMX allows us to seamlessly integrate AJAX, CSS Transitions, WebSockets, and Server Sent Events into our markup by using specialized attributes

If we wanted to be cute, we'd call this the BATH stack 🛀

Step 1: Install the Latest Version of Bun

Bun is a fast all-in-one JavaScript runtime. To ensure you're using the latest version, run the following command in your terminal:

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

Step 2: Initialize Your Project with Astro

Astro is a modern frontend framework that lets you build faster websites with less client-side JavaScript. To create a new project using the latest version of Astro, run:

bunx create-astro@latest my-app

Step 3: Get the Latest HTMX Version

HTMX allows you to access AJAX, CSS Transitions, WebSockets, and Server Sent Events directly in HTML, making your web pages more interactive. Check the latest htmx version to ensure you are using the most recent release.

Step 4: Add HTMX to Your Project

Integrate HTMX into your project by including it in the <head> section of index.astro:

<head>
  <!-- ... -->
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/htmx.org@1.9.9" integrity="sha384-QFjmbokDn2DjBjq+fM+8LUIVrAgqcNW2s0PjAxHETgRn9l4fvX31ZxDxvwQnyMOX" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
</head>

Step 5: Add Basic HTMX Functionality

Populate a dynamic list of products using HTMX by modifying the index.astro file:

<!-- src/pages/index.astro -->

<body>
  <h1>Some Products</h1>
  <ul hx-get="/partials/products/list" hx-trigger="load"></ul>
</body>

This code fetches and displays a list of products when the page loads.

Step 6: Add a Partial for Product Listing

To handle the product list, create a page partial (a chunk of HTML without any leading content such as the DOCTYPE preamble):

mkdir -p src/pages/partials/products
touch src/pages/partials/products/list.astro

Add the following content to the list.astro file:

<!-- src/pages/partials/products/list.astro -->

---
export const partial = true;
---

<li>product 1</li>
<li>product 2</li>
<li>product 3</li>
<li>product 4</li>

This partial represents a simple list of products.

Step 7: Run Your Application

Finally, start your application with Bun:

bun dev

This command will launch a development server, allowing you to view and interact with your application in a web browser.

Conclusion

You have now successfully set up a modern web application using Bun for the runtime environment, Astro as the frontend framework, and HTMX for enhanced interactivity. This combination provides a robust foundation for building efficient, modern web applications. Happy coding!

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