CoffeeScript
Shares rank 110 of 163 programming languages by recommenders
Recommended for its Python-like indentation syntax and elegant features. Critics note it is almost equivalent to JavaScript and that typos can still produce valid programs.
Recommended for its Python-like indentation syntax and elegant features. Critics note it is almost equivalent to JavaScript and that typos can still produce valid programs.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 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
Python-like indentation syntax
“CoffeeScript on purpose — it reads like Python but without Python's security surface”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “I carried my stories From Python to Node and found Apple's hidden city of Metal” “I like CS for its syntax which is indentation-based similar to Python”
Comment from 10 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: Do you use an old or 'unfashionable' programming language?” Helped JavaScript evolve
“Coffeescript was great though, because at the time Javascript was growing fast but the language was developing slowly or not at all.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Dead Framework Theory” “Coffeescript helped Javascript to evolve the right way”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Dead Framework Theory” Well liked overall
“Coffeescript was great though, because at the time Javascript was growing fast but the language was developing slowly or not at all.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Dead Framework Theory” “I really liked Coffeescript”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “30 years of <br> tags”
Other programming languages people recommend
The four most recommended other programming languages, 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.
See all 163 programming languages, rankedWhat people said
12 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“one of the most elegant features of CoffeeScript”
“TypeScript was also objectively better than CoffeeScript.”
“So many subtle event-bubbling bugs caused by that.”
“CoffeeScript on purpose — it reads like Python but without Python's security surface”
“I'm guessing you avoided the CoffeeScript era of Rails, which is a good thing.”
“I really liked Coffeescript”
“CoffeeScript isn't too bad though, but it's almost equivalent to JS”
“I like CS for its syntax which is indentation-based similar to Python”
“nearly any typo can result in another syntactically correct program”
“This was not the case for coffeescript”
“Coffeescript helped Javascript to evolve the right way”
“Coffeescript was great though, because at the time Javascript was growing fast but the language was developing slowly or not at all.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.