98.css
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 11 CSS frameworks by recommenders
A free CSS library that recreates the Windows 98 look closely, loved for nostalgia and easy use; some tabs and control spacing are off.
A free CSS library that recreates the Windows 98 look closely, loved for nostalgia and easy use; some tabs and control spacing are off.
46 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 42
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 42 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 11 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Nostalgic, brings back old memories
“This was my burnout recovery project and holds a place near and dear to my heart.”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “You have brought back so many memories of mine through this one website.”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “Hits just the right mix of usability and nostalgia”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” - Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css”
- Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css”
Authentic, pixel-accurate Windows 98 look
“pixel-perfect (and functional) recreation of the windows 98 desktop environment in under a MB”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “looks really identical to the widgets and stuff of Win98”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “a throwback lib that seems to be mostly pixel-accurate”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” - Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css”
Small, MIT-licensed, easy to extend
“pixel-perfect (and functional) recreation of the windows 98 desktop environment in under a MB”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “Feel free to lift any CSS you need from https://jdan.github.io/98.css/ , it's MIT licensed.”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “A browser-native classic Visual Basic VB6 IDE” “It was very easy to modify and extend, thanks!”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” Beveled borders and gradients done well
“The border and box-shadow tricks to recreate the beveled Win98 look are really well done!”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “The blue gradients on the titlebars are actually very pleasing.”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Tabs don't switch in some examples
“I tried clicking on the tabs in the tab component, and nothing happened.”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “tabs in the multirow tabs example do not change position randomly as they should when clicked”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” Small font and cursor inaccuracies
“it would be more historically accurate to omit pointer cursors on expandable treeview items”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “Looks terrible on my machine. Something wrong with the font.”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css” “the ever-so-slightly-incorrect version of MS Sans Serif”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “98.css”
Other CSS frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other CSS frameworks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tailwind CSS | 387 | 234 | 62% | 12 | 5 yrs6 owners | — |
| Bootstrap | 73 | 40 | 65% | 11 | — | — |
| 98.cssThis page | 42 | 4 | 91% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Oat HTML UI component library | 29 | 11 | 73% | 2 | — | — |
| DaisyUI | 22 | 6 | 79% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
36 of the 47 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I think it's pretty great, and a really refreshing return to some older paradigms.”
“Feel free to lift any CSS you need from https://jdan.github.io/98.css/ , it's MIT licensed.”
“98 UI and art will never tire me.”
“The 98 style is still my favorite.”
“I tried clicking on the tabs in the tab component, and nothing happened.”
“Better interface than the current Windows UI.”
“Looks terrible on my machine. Something wrong with the font.”
“This is neat for all Windows fans”
“the ever-so-slightly-incorrect version of MS Sans Serif”
“I love this UI, so here is my attempt to re-create this using ImGUI”
“My only contribution to the project is monitoring the repo for high-quality pull requests.”
“it has one common flaw that other implementations have: lots of empty space between controls”
“so much clearer than modern UIs”
“You have brought back so many memories of mine through this one website.”
“pixel-perfect (and functional) recreation of the windows 98 desktop environment in under a MB”
“XP felt like such a huge upgrade”
“it would be more historically accurate to omit pointer cursors on expandable treeview items”
“the way it works on the web feels more correct to me”
“a throwback lib that seems to be mostly pixel-accurate”
“Thank you so much for your project!”
“the css library paired with your story gave me a modern day Norman Rockwell dopamine hit”
“IMHO things like this were the whole point of CSS”
“It was very easy to modify and extend, thanks!”
“Hits just the right mix of usability and nostalgia”
“This is even more impressive knowing that its artisanal code”
“I wrapped many projects in 98.css. And some in Aero and even XP. Thank you!”
“Great project. Thanks for making it!”
“Very authentic almost down to the pixel.”
“This was my burnout recovery project and holds a place near and dear to my heart.”
“The blue gradients on the titlebars are actually very pleasing.”
“tabs in the multirow tabs example do not change position randomly as they should when clicked”
“The border and box-shadow tricks to recreate the beveled Win98 look are really well done!”
“Seeing this makes me unreasonably happy.”
“looks really identical to the widgets and stuff of Win98”
“Thank you for the library.”
“I also like your 98.css style”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.