The compiler (optional)

Continuum works without any build plugin: JSX goes through the standard esbuild transform and the runtime factory builds the DOM. That stays the default — any vite/esbuild setup, zero configuration.

@continuum-js/vite-plugin is an optional accelerator for create-heavy screens (long lists, big tables). It compiles the exact same JSX you already write into cloned templates: all static markup is glued into one HTML string parsed once per call site, so creating a subtree becomes a single cloneNode(true) plus bindings for the dynamic holes — the technique behind Solid's numbers.

"Optional" means removable, not rarely used

The plugin is on by default: npm create continuum-js puts it in your vite.config.ts, so every new project ships with it. "Optional" is about correctness, not adoption — delete the plugin line and the same code runs unchanged through the runtime factory; you only give up some create-time speed on heavy screens. It's a default-on accelerator, not a dependency you have to manage.

Projects scaffolded with npm create continuum-js@latest get the plugin out of the box — nothing to do. To add it to an existing app:

npm i -D @continuum-js/vite-plugin

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import continuum from "@continuum-js/vite-plugin";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [continuum()],
});

That's the whole migration: no code changes. Semantics are identical — the compiled output binds states, events and children through the very same internals as the runtime factory (our CI runs the full dom test suite both ways). Whatever the compiler is not statically sure about — spreads on elements, dynamic tag names, SVG — is simply left to the runtime factory, so correctness never depends on the compiler being smart.

See it compile

Edit the component below, then open the Compiled tab — that panel runs the real plugin transform. Notice how the static markup collapses into one template cloned per instance, with only {likes} left as a dynamic hole:

What it buys (js-framework-benchmark table, script time, same machine): creating 1k rows ~1.5× faster, appending 1k ~1.6× faster, creating 10k ~1.5× faster; update operations were already fine without it.

When to remove it: never required — deleting the plugin line keeps the exact same app running through the runtime factory (useful for esbuild-only setups or when debugging generated output).

---

Unfamiliar term? Every piece of jargon in these docs is explained in the glossary.