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answerdotai/fasthtml

6,932Jupyter NotebookAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TLDR

A Python library for building interactive web pages without writing HTML or JavaScript, you write Python functions that generate web pages, and HTMX handles live updates without full reloads.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((fasthtml))
    What it does
      Python to HTML
      Single file apps
      No templates needed
    Tech Stack
      Python
      HTMX
      pip
    Use Cases
      Web apps in Python
      Interactive updates
      AI assistant helper
    Learning
      Quickstart video
      Component gallery
      Community Discord
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Code map

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filefunction / class

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Build a fully interactive web app in a single Python file without learning HTML templates or JavaScript

USE CASE 2

Add server-side page updates to a Python app so only the changed part of the page reloads when a user clicks something

USE CASE 3

Point an AI coding assistant at the FastHTML context file to get accurate framework-specific help

Tech stack

PythonHTMXpip

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Install with a single pip command, a minimal app is a handful of lines with no external services required.

In plain English

FastHTML is a Python library for building web applications. The core idea is that your entire app, including the HTML it produces and the server-side logic, lives in a single Python file. You do not write HTML templates separately or learn a special templating language. Instead, you call Python functions that map directly to HTML elements, and the library turns them into a real webpage. Interactivity works through HTMX, a library that lets the server send back small snippets of HTML in response to user actions. In the FastHTML approach, when a user clicks a button, the server returns just the piece of the page that needs to change, and HTMX swaps it in without a full page reload. The README includes a short example showing how a two-route Python file can produce a clickable page that updates its own text. Installation is a single pip command. A minimal app is a handful of lines: import FastHTML, define routes using Python decorators, return HTML-producing function calls from each route, and run the built-in server. The README walks through this step by step and links to a one-hour introductory video. Because FastHTML is newer than most AI coding assistants were trained on, the project provides a plain-text file at fastht.ml/docs/llms-ctx.txt that teaches tools like Cursor or Claude how to use the framework. You can point your AI assistant at that file and it will give more accurate answers about FastHTML than it would otherwise. Beyond the basics, the project links to a gallery of components (chat bubbles, infinite scroll, click-to-edit patterns), community tutorials, and a Discord server. The documentation notes that not all features are documented yet and that you may need to read source notebooks to understand more advanced usage. The README also lists similar projects in Go, Clojure, Haskell, and other languages for developers curious about the same HTML-over-the-wire approach in different ecosystems.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I installed FastHTML with pip. Show me how to create a two-route Python app where clicking a button updates just part of the page without a full reload, using HTMX.
Prompt 2
I want to build a simple todo list in FastHTML with add and delete buttons. Walk me through defining the routes and returning HTML-generating function calls.
Prompt 3
How do I add a login form and handle POST requests in FastHTML? Show me how to read form data and manage session state.
Prompt 4
I want to use FastHTML components like chat bubbles and infinite scroll from the component gallery. How do I import and use them in my app?
Prompt 5
I am using Cursor to code a FastHTML app but it keeps giving wrong suggestions. How do I point it at the fastht.ml/docs/llms-ctx.txt context file?
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