What is Astro?

Astro is a modern static site generator that takes a unique approach to building websites. Unlike traditional frameworks that ship tons of JavaScript to the browser, Astro ships zero JavaScript by default. This makes it incredibly fast and perfect for content-focused sites.

Key Features

Islands Architecture

Astro introduces the concept of “islands” - isolated components of interactivity in a sea of static HTML. This means you only load JavaScript where you absolutely need it.

---
// This code runs at build time
const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
---

<div class="static-content">
  <h1>This is static HTML</h1>
  <!-- Only this component is interactive -->
  <InteractiveWidget client:load />
</div>

Component-Based Development

Astro uses a component-based architecture similar to React or Vue, but with better performance:

---
interface Props {
  title: string;
  description: string;
}

const { title, description } = Astro.props;
---

<article>
  <h2>{title}</h2>
  <p>{description}</p>
</article>

Bring Your Own Framework

You can use React, Vue, Svelte, or any other framework within Astro. Mix and match as needed:

---
import ReactComponent from './ReactComponent.jsx';
import VueComponent from './VueComponent.vue';
---

<div>
  <ReactComponent client:idle />
  <VueComponent client:visible />
</div>

Getting Started

Installation

Create a new Astro project with:

npm create astro@latest

Project Structure

A typical Astro project looks like this:

/
├── public/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── layouts/
│   └── pages/
├── astro.config.mjs
└── package.json

Building Your First Page

Pages go in the src/pages/ directory:

---
import Layout from '../layouts/Layout.astro';
---

<Layout title="My First Page">
  <h1>Hello, Astro!</h1>
  <p>This is my first Astro page.</p>
</Layout>

Why Choose Astro?

  1. Performance: Zero JavaScript by default means blazing-fast load times
  2. Flexibility: Use any UI framework or none at all
  3. Developer Experience: Great tooling, hot module replacement, and TypeScript support
  4. SEO-Friendly: Static HTML is perfect for search engines
  5. Modern: Built-in support for modern web standards

Conclusion

Astro is perfect for blogs, marketing sites, documentation, and any content-focused website. Its unique approach to JavaScript delivery makes it one of the fastest frameworks available today.

Ready to build something amazing? Check out the official Astro documentation to learn more!