🍭 LollipopCSS
Current version: 0.2.0
Write less CSS. Stay lazy.
LollipopCSS is a tiny CSS preprocessor for defining your own reusable values, shortcuts, and style snippets.
🍭 Live Demo
Try LollipopCSS →
SCSS can already do all of this. That's not the problem.
The problem is that when I'm maintaining a large project, I'm too lazy to keep writing @mixin and @include over and over again.
So I made LollipopCSS.
Yes, I'm lazy. Very lazy. 🍭
I have better things to do — like eating McFlurries and lollipops. 🍦🍭
Why LollipopCSS?
CSS and SCSS already have variables.
CSS
Native CSS variables work perfectly fine:
:root {
--normal-red: #FF0000;
--normal-size: 10px;
}
.button {
color: var(--normal-red);
font-size: var(--normal-size);
padding-left: var(--normal-size);
}
.card {
color: var(--normal-red);
font-size: var(--normal-size);
padding-left: var(--normal-size);
}
Nothing wrong with that.
It's just more typing than I want to do.
SCSS
SCSS makes variables shorter:
$normalRed: #FF0000;
$normalSize: 10px;
.button {
color: $normalRed;
font-size: $normalSize;
padding-left: $normalSize;
}
.card {
color: $normalRed;
font-size: $normalSize;
padding-left: $normalSize;
}
And of course, SCSS can go further with mixins:
$normalRed: #FF0000;
$normalSize: 10px;
@mixin normalStyle {
color: $normalRed;
font-size: $normalSize;
padding-left: $normalSize;
}
.button {
@include normalStyle;
}
.card {
@include normalStyle;
}
SCSS can already do all of this.
That's not the problem.
The problem is that I'm lazy.
I don't want to keep typing:
@include normalStyle;
when this would do:
...normalStyle
And sometimes I don't even want to type:
color: var(--normal-red);
when this would do:
colorRed
That's where LollipopCSS comes in.
LollipopCSS 🍭
Define your values and shortcuts once:
@lollipop {
normalRed #FF0000
normalSize 10px
colorRed color normalRed
fontSizeMd font-size normalSize
paddingLNormal padding-left normalSize
padding padding normalSize
}
Then use them anywhere:
.button {
colorRed
fontSizeMd
paddingLNormal
}
.card {
colorRed
fontSizeMd
padding
}
LollipopCSS compiles it to normal CSS:
.button {
color: #FF0000;
font-size: 10px;
padding-left: 10px;
}
.card {
color: #FF0000;
font-size: 10px;
padding: 10px;
}
Define once. Type less everywhere else.
Features
- 🍭 Define reusable values
- 🍭 Create your own CSS shortcuts
- 🍭 Reuse entire style blocks with snippets
- 🍭 Mix LollipopCSS with normal CSS
- 🍭 Unknown CSS is left untouched
- 🍭 Handles nested braces
- 🍭 Handles strings and comments while parsing
- 🍭 Browser runtime support
- 🍭 External
.lcss stylesheets
- 🍭 Inline LollipopCSS
- 🍭 No dependencies
Values
A value is the simplest LollipopCSS definition.
@lollipop {
normalRed #FF0000
normalSize 10px
largeSize 24px
}
Syntax:
<name> <value>
For example:
normalRed #FF0000
Values can then be referenced by shortcuts.
Shortcuts
A shortcut maps your own command to a CSS property and value.
Syntax:
<name> <css-property> <value>
For example:
@lollipop {
normalRed #FF0000
normalSize 10px
colorRed color normalRed
fontSizeMd font-size normalSize
padding padding normalSize
}
Now instead of:
.button {
color: #FF0000;
font-size: 10px;
padding: 10px;
}
you can write:
.button {
colorRed
fontSizeMd
padding
}
The names are completely up to you.
Want shorter names?
@lollipop {
red #FF0000
md 10px
cr color red
fs font-size md
p padding md
}
.button {
cr
fs
p
}
Go for it.
LollipopCSS doesn't care what you call them.
Your shortcuts. Your rules.
Snippets
Sometimes even shortcuts are too much typing.
Define an entire reusable CSS block:
@lollipop {
normalStyle {
color: #FF0000;
font-size: 10px;
padding-left: 10px;
}
}
Then use it with ...:
.button {
...normalStyle
}
.card {
...normalStyle
}
.dialog {
...normalStyle
}
Compiled CSS:
.button {
color: #FF0000;
font-size: 10px;
padding-left: 10px;
}
.card {
color: #FF0000;
font-size: 10px;
padding-left: 10px;
}
.dialog {
color: #FF0000;
font-size: 10px;
padding-left: 10px;
}
No @mixin.
No @include.
Just:
...normalStyle
Because I'm lazy.
Mix Everything Together
Values, shortcuts, snippets, and normal CSS can all live together:
@lollipop {
primaryColor #FF0000
normalSize 10px
cardRadius 8px
textPrimary color primaryColor
fontNormal font-size normalSize
flexCenter {
display: flex;
justify-content: center;
align-items: center;
}
}
.button {
...flexCenter
textPrimary
fontNormal
width: 200px;
height: 50px;
border-radius: 8px;
}
.card {
...flexCenter
background: white;
border-radius: 8px;
}
LollipopCSS only expands the things it recognizes.
Everything else stays normal CSS.
Normal CSS Is Still CSS
LollipopCSS isn't trying to replace CSS.
You don't have to create a shortcut for everything.
This is perfectly valid:
.container {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
gap: 20px;
textPrimary
fontNormal
}
Use shortcuts where they save you time.
Use normal CSS everywhere else.
Browser Usage
LollipopCSS can compile styles directly in the browser.
External .lcss File
Create a LollipopCSS stylesheet:
style.lcss
Then load it with:
<script src="lollipop-css.js"></script>
<link
rel="lollipop-stylesheet"
href="style.lcss"
>
LollipopCSS will fetch the file, compile it, and inject the resulting CSS into the document.
Inline LollipopCSS
You can also write LollipopCSS directly inside HTML:
<script src="lollipop-css.js"></script>
<style type="text/lollipop">
@lollipop {
red #FF0000
normalSize 10px
colorRed color red
fontNormal font-size normalSize
}
.title {
colorRed
fontNormal
}
</style>
LollipopCSS automatically compiles it when the document is ready.
JavaScript Usage
You can compile LollipopCSS manually:
const compiler = new LollipopCSS();
const source = `
@lollipop {
red #FF0000
colorRed color red
}
.title {
colorRed
}
`;
const css = compiler.compile(source);
console.log(css);
Output:
.title {
color: #FF0000;
}
Apply Compiled CSS
Compiled CSS can be injected into the document:
const compiler = new LollipopCSS();
const css = compiler.compile(source);
LollipopCSS.apply(css);
Load an .lcss File
You can also load a stylesheet manually:
LollipopCSS.load("./style.lcss");
Or get the compiled CSS as text:
const css = await LollipopCSS.load("./style.lcss", {
output: "text"
});
Download Compiled CSS
LollipopCSS can generate a normal .css file in the browser:
const compiler = new LollipopCSS();
const css = compiler.compile(source);
LollipopCSS.download(css, {
filename: "style.css"
});
CSS vs SCSS vs LollipopCSS
They aren't competitors trying to solve exactly the same problem.
CSS
color: var(--normal-red);
Powerful, native, and standard.
SCSS
color: $normalRed;
More concise and much more powerful as a preprocessor.
LollipopCSS
colorRed
Less typing.
For reusable blocks:
SCSS
@include normalStyle;
LollipopCSS
...normalStyle
That's basically the philosophy.
LollipopCSS isn't trying to beat SCSS on features.
It is trying to beat me at being lazy.
Philosophy
LollipopCSS isn't trying to replace CSS.
It isn't trying to replace SCSS.
SCSS is mature, powerful, and can already accomplish the same kinds of things.
LollipopCSS has a much smaller goal:
If you're tired of typing something, make it shorter.
Define your own vocabulary.
colorRed
fontSizeMd
padding
...flexCenter
LollipopCSS turns it back into boring, normal CSS.
Your shortcuts.
Your naming.
Your CSS.
Why "Lollipop"?
Because it's syntax sugar. 🍭
That's pretty much it.
Also, I needed an excuse to put a lollipop in the logo.
Live Demo
Want to see it in action?
Project Status
🚧 Experimental — v0.2.0
LollipopCSS is currently under development.
🚧 Experimental
LollipopCSS is currently under development.
The syntax and API may change before the first stable release.
If something breaks, congratulations — you may have found a bug.
🍭 VS Code IntelliSense
LollipopCSS has an optional VS Code extension that makes working with .lcss files easier.
Features
- Syntax highlighting for LollipopCSS
- Autocomplete for your custom shortcuts
- Hover information for definitions
- Find usages before changing a shared definition
👉 Install LollipopCSS IntelliSense from the VS Code Marketplace
This is especially useful when your LollipopCSS definitions grow larger and are reused across many selectors.
Contributing
Issues, ideas, bug reports, and pull requests are welcome.
Especially ideas that require me to type less.
License
MIT License
🍭 LollipopCSS
Write less CSS. Stay lazy.
I have better things to do — like eating McFlurries and lollipops. 🍦🍭
LollipopCSS — крошечный CSS-препроцессор, который позволяет задавать свои переиспользуемые значения, шорткаты и сниппеты стилей, а затем компилирует их обратно в обычный CSS.