# Unpoly

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Unpoly and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for progressive enhancement and easy modal overlays with little JavaScript, though some find it a bit too complex.

## Why people recommend it

- Praised as excellent, practical library (4 comments): "I love it, it's excellent. Just like Django (or rails), it's a practical tool refined after actual needs and experience" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46324305)) "another excellent hypermedia oriented library" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46313750)) "unpoly is an excellent library" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46315465))
- Strong progressive enhancement support (3 comments): "It's pretty simple and has some great functionality, especially if you are shooting for progressive enhancement." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46314907)) "I love the idea of a progressive framework and am willing to work around a few things to get it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46316794)) "best in class progressive enhancement" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46314030))
- Clear, helpful documentation (2 comments): "the Unpoly docs, correctly and clearly, point out that 'shatter' exists for just that purpose" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46315107)) "I love Unploy, the documentation as well, but I find it a bit too complex" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46319245))

## What people warn about

- Seen as too complex (2 comments): "I love Unploy, the documentation as well, but I find it a bit too complex" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46319245)) "I found it bit too complex just as you said." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46320047))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [jQuery](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jquery.md): 111 recommend
- [Picknplace.js](https://hackerapproved.com/p/picknplace-js.md): 58 recommend
- [Alpine.js](https://hackerapproved.com/p/alpine-js.md): 50 recommend
- [Effect (TypeScript library)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/effect.md): 38 recommend
- [Video.js](https://hackerapproved.com/p/video-js.md): 24 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Unpoly", https://hackerapproved.com/p/unpoly/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).