name: deno-frontend
description: Use when building web UIs with Fresh 2.x framework, using Preact components, or adding Tailwind CSS styling in Deno. Covers Fresh handlers, routes, createDefine, PageProps, context patterns, islands, and TypeScript types. Essential for Fresh 2.x vs 1.x differences.
license: MIT
metadata:
author: denoland
version: "2.1"

Deno Frontend Development

Overview

This skill covers frontend development in Deno using Fresh 2.x (Deno's web framework), Preact (a lightweight React alternative), and Tailwind CSS. Fresh uses "island architecture" where pages render on the server and only interactive parts ship JavaScript to the browser.

When to Use This Skill

• Creating a new Fresh web application
• Building interactive UI components (islands)
• Adding server-rendered pages and routes
• Integrating Tailwind CSS for styling
• Choosing between islands (client-side) vs components (server-only)
• Working with Preact hooks and signals

Apply these practices when building web applications in Deno.

CRITICAL: Fresh 2.x vs 1.x

Always use Fresh 2.x patterns. Fresh 1.x is deprecated. Key differences:

NEVER use these outdated imports:

// ❌ WRONG - Fresh 1.x patterns
import { Handlers, PageProps } from "$fresh/server.ts";
import { Head } from "$fresh/runtime.ts";
import manifest from "./fresh.gen.ts";

// ❌ WRONG - Alpha versions (outdated)
import { App } from "jsr:@fresh/[email protected]";

// ✅ CORRECT - Fresh 2.x stable
import { App, staticFiles } from "fresh";
import { define } from "./utils/state.ts"; // Project-local define helpers

Fresh Framework

Reference: https://fresh.deno.dev/docs

Fresh is Deno's web framework. It uses island architecture - pages are rendered on the server, and only interactive parts ("islands") get JavaScript on the client.

Creating a Fresh Project

deno run -Ar jsr:@fresh/init
cd my-project
deno task dev    # Runs at http://127.0.0.1:5173/

Project Structure (Fresh 2.x)

my-project/
├── deno.json           # Config, dependencies, and tasks
├── main.ts             # Server entry point
├── client.ts           # Client entry point (CSS imports)
├── vite.config.ts      # Vite configuration
├── routes/             # Pages and API routes
│   ├── _app.tsx        # App layout wrapper (outer HTML)
│   ├── _layout.tsx     # Layout component (optional)
│   ├── _error.tsx      # Unified error page (404/500)
│   ├── index.tsx       # Home page (/)
│   └── api/            # API routes
├── islands/            # Interactive components (hydrated on client)
│   └── Counter.tsx
├── components/         # Server-only components (no JS shipped)
│   └── Button.tsx
├── static/             # Static assets
└── utils/
    └── state.ts        # Define helpers for type safety

Note: Fresh 2.x does NOT have fresh.gen.ts, dev.ts, or fresh.config.ts.

main.ts (Fresh 2.x Entry Point)

import { App, fsRoutes, staticFiles, trailingSlashes } from "fresh";

const app = new App()
  .use(staticFiles())
  .use(trailingSlashes("never"));

await fsRoutes(app, {
  dir: "./",
  loadIsland: (path) => import(`./islands/${path}`),
  loadRoute: (path) => import(`./routes/${path}`),
});

if (import.meta.main) {
  await app.listen();
}

vite.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import { fresh } from "@fresh/plugin-vite";
import tailwindcss from "@tailwindcss/vite";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    fresh(),
    tailwindcss(),
  ],
});

deno.json Configuration

A Fresh 2.x project's deno.json looks like this (created by jsr:@fresh/init):

{
  "tasks": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "build": "vite build",
    "preview": "deno serve -A _fresh/server.js"
  },
  "imports": {
    "fresh": "jsr:@fresh/core@^2",
    "fresh/runtime": "jsr:@fresh/core@^2/runtime",
    "@fresh/plugin-vite": "jsr:@fresh/plugin-vite@^1",
    "@preact/signals": "npm:@preact/signals@^2",
    "preact": "npm:preact@^10",
    "preact/hooks": "npm:preact@^10/hooks",
    "@/": "./"
  }
}

Adding dependencies: Use deno add to add new packages:

deno add jsr:@std/http          # JSR packages
deno add npm:@tailwindcss/vite  # npm packages

Import Reference (Fresh 2.x)

// Core Fresh imports
import { App, staticFiles, fsRoutes } from "fresh";
import { trailingSlashes, cors, csp } from "fresh";
import { createDefine, HttpError } from "fresh";
import type { PageProps, Middleware, RouteConfig } from "fresh";

// Runtime imports (for client-side checks)
import { IS_BROWSER } from "fresh/runtime";

// Preact
import { useSignal, signal, computed } from "@preact/signals";
import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from "preact/hooks";

Key Concepts

Routes (routes/ folder)
- File-based routing: routes/about.tsx → /about
- Dynamic routes: routes/blog/[slug].tsx → /blog/my-post
- Optional segments: routes/docs/[[version]].tsx → /docs or /docs/v2
- Catch-all routes: routes/old/[...path].tsx → /old/foo/bar
- Route groups: routes/(marketing)/ for shared layouts without URL path changes

Layouts (_app.tsx)

import type { PageProps } from "fresh";

export default function App({ Component }: PageProps) {
  return (
    <html>
      <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8" />
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
        <title>My App</title>
      </head>
      <body>
        <Component />
      </body>
    </html>
  );
}

Async Server Components

export default async function Page() {
  const data = await fetchData(); // Runs on server only
  return <div>{data.title}</div>;
}

Handlers and Define Helpers (Fresh 2.x)

Fresh 2.x uses a single context parameter pattern for handlers, unlike 1.x which used (req, ctx).

Route Handlers

// routes/api/users.ts
import type { Handlers } from "fresh";

// Single function handles all methods
export const handler = (ctx) => {
  return new Response(`Hello from ${ctx.req.method}`);
};

// Or method-specific handlers
export const handler = {
  GET(ctx) {
    return new Response("GET request");
  },
  POST(ctx) {
    return new Response("POST request");
  },
};

The Context Object

The ctx parameter provides everything you need:

export const handler = (ctx) => {
  ctx.req          // The Request object
  ctx.url          // URL instance with pathname, searchParams
  ctx.params       // Route parameters { slug: "my-post" }
  ctx.state        // Request-scoped data for middlewares
  ctx.config       // Fresh configuration
  ctx.route        // Matched route pattern
  ctx.error        // Caught error (on error pages)

  // Methods
  ctx.render(<JSX />)           // Render JSX to Response
  ctx.render(<JSX />, { status: 201, headers: {...} })
  ctx.redirect("/other")        // Redirect (302 default)
  ctx.redirect("/other", 301)   // Permanent redirect
  ctx.next()                    // Call next middleware
};

Define Helpers (Type Safety)

Create a utils/state.ts file for type-safe handlers:

// utils/state.ts
import { createDefine } from "fresh";

// Define your app's state type
export interface State {
  user?: { id: string; name: string };
}

// Export typed define helpers
export const define = createDefine<State>();

Use in routes:

// routes/profile.tsx
import { define } from "@/utils/state.ts";
import type { PageProps } from "fresh";

// Typed handler with data
export const handler = define.handlers((ctx) => {
  if (!ctx.state.user) {
    return ctx.redirect("/login");
  }
  return { data: { user: ctx.state.user } };
});

// Page receives typed data
export default define.page<typeof handler>(({ data }) => {
  return <h1>Welcome, {data.user.name}!</h1>;
});

Middleware (Fresh 2.x)

// routes/_middleware.ts
import { define } from "@/utils/state.ts";

export const handler = define.middleware(async (ctx) => {
  // Before route handler
  console.log(`${ctx.req.method} ${ctx.url.pathname}`);

  // Call next middleware/route
  const response = await ctx.next();

  // After route handler
  return response;
});

API Routes

// routes/api/posts/[id].ts
import { define } from "@/utils/state.ts";
import { HttpError } from "fresh";

export const handler = define.handlers({
  async GET(ctx) {
    const post = await getPost(ctx.params.id);
    if (!post) {
      throw new HttpError(404); // Uses _error.tsx
    }
    return Response.json(post);
  },

  async DELETE(ctx) {
    if (!ctx.state.user) {
      throw new HttpError(401);
    }
    await deletePost(ctx.params.id);
    return new Response(null, { status: 204 });
  },
});

Islands (Interactive Components)

Islands are components that get hydrated (made interactive) on the client. Place them in the islands/ folder or (_islands) folder within routes.

When to Use Islands

• User interactions (clicks, form inputs)
• Client-side state (counters, toggles)
• Browser APIs (localStorage, geolocation)

Island Example

// islands/Counter.tsx
import { useSignal } from "@preact/signals";

export default function Counter() {
  const count = useSignal(0);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count.value}</p>
      <button onClick={() => count.value++}>
        Increment
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}

Client-Only Code with IS_BROWSER

// islands/LocalStorageCounter.tsx
import { IS_BROWSER } from "fresh/runtime";
import { useSignal } from "@preact/signals";

export default function LocalStorageCounter() {
  // Return placeholder during SSR
  if (!IS_BROWSER) {
    return <div>Loading...</div>;
  }

  // Client-only code
  const stored = localStorage.getItem("count");
  const count = useSignal(stored ? parseInt(stored) : 0);

  return (
    <button onClick={() => {
      count.value++;
      localStorage.setItem("count", String(count.value));
    }}>
      Count: {count.value}
    </button>
  );
}

Island Props (Serializable Types)

Islands can receive these prop types:
- Primitives: string, number, boolean, bigint, undefined, null
- Special values: Infinity, -Infinity, NaN, -0
- Collections: Array, Map, Set
- Objects: Plain objects with string keys
- Built-ins: URL, Date, RegExp, Uint8Array
- Preact: JSX elements, Signals (with serializable values)
- Circular references are supported

Functions cannot be passed as props.

Island Rules

1. Props must be serializable - No functions, only JSON-compatible data
2. Keep islands small - Less JavaScript shipped to client
3. Prefer server components - Only use islands when you need interactivity

Preact

Preact is a 3KB alternative to React. Fresh uses Preact instead of React.

Preact vs React Differences

Hooks (Same as React)

import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from "preact/hooks";

function MyComponent() {
  const [value, setValue] = useState(0);
  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    console.log("Component mounted");
  }, []);

  return <input ref={inputRef} value={value} />;
}

Signals (Preact's Reactive State)

Signals are Preact's more efficient alternative to useState:

import { signal, computed } from "@preact/signals";

const count = signal(0);
const doubled = computed(() => count.value * 2);

function Counter() {
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <p>Doubled: {doubled}</p>
      <button onClick={() => count.value++}>+1</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Benefits of signals:
- More granular updates (only re-renders what changed)
- Can be defined outside components
- Cleaner code for shared state

Tailwind CSS in Fresh

Fresh 2.0 uses Vite for builds, which means Tailwind integrates via the Vite plugin.

Setup

Add the dependency to the deno.json:

deno add npm:@tailwindcss/vite

In vite.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import tailwindcss from "@tailwindcss/vite";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [tailwindcss()],
});

Usage

export default function Button({ children }) {
  return (
    <button class="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-500 text-white rounded hover:bg-blue-600">
      {children}
    </button>
  );
}

Best Practices

1. Prefer utility classes over @apply
2. Use class not className (Preact supports both, but class is simpler)
3. Dark mode: Use class strategy in tailwind.config.js

<div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-900">
  <p class="text-gray-900 dark:text-white">Hello</p>
</div>

Building and Deploying

Development

deno task dev      # Start dev server with hot reload (http://127.0.0.1:5173/)

Production Build

deno task build    # Build for production
deno task preview  # Preview production build locally

Deploy to Deno Deploy

deno task build           # Build first
deno deploy --prod        # Deploy to production

Quick Reference

Common Mistakes

Using Fresh 1.x Patterns (Most Common LLM Error)

Using old import specifiers

// ❌ WRONG - Fresh 1.x imports (deprecated)
import { Handlers, PageProps } from "$fresh/server.ts";
import { Head } from "$fresh/runtime.ts";
import manifest from "./fresh.gen.ts";

// ❌ WRONG - Alpha version imports (outdated APIs)
import { App } from "jsr:@fresh/[email protected]";
import { App } from "jsr:@fresh/[email protected]";

// ✅ CORRECT - Fresh 2.x stable imports
import { App, staticFiles } from "fresh";
import type { PageProps } from "fresh";

Using two-parameter handlers

// ❌ WRONG - Fresh 1.x handler signature
export const handler: Handlers = {
  GET(req, ctx) {  // Two params is 1.x!
    return ctx.render();
  }
};

// ✅ CORRECT - Fresh 2.x uses single context parameter
export const handler = {
  GET(ctx) {  // Single ctx param
    return ctx.render(<MyPage />);
  }
};

Creating fresh.gen.ts or dev.ts files

// ❌ WRONG - These files don't exist in Fresh 2.x
fresh.gen.ts
dev.ts
fresh.config.ts

// ✅ CORRECT - Fresh 2.x file structure
main.ts           # Server entry
client.ts         # Client entry
vite.config.ts    # Vite config

Using deprecated context methods

// ❌ WRONG - Fresh 1.x patterns
ctx.renderNotFound()
ctx.render()  // without JSX in handlers
ctx.basePath

// ✅ CORRECT - Fresh 2.x patterns
throw new HttpError(404)
ctx.render(<MyComponent />)
ctx.config.basePath

Old task commands in deno.json

// ❌ WRONG - Fresh 1.x tasks
{
  "tasks": {
    "dev": "deno run -A dev.ts",
    "build": "deno run -A dev.ts build",
    "preview": "deno run -A main.ts"
  }
}

// ✅ CORRECT - Fresh 2.x tasks
{
  "tasks": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "build": "vite build",
    "preview": "deno serve -A _fresh/server.js"
  }
}

Island Mistakes

Putting too much JavaScript in islands

// ❌ Wrong - entire page as an island (ships all JS to client)
// islands/HomePage.tsx
export default function HomePage() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Header />
      <MainContent />
      <Footer />
    </div>
  );
}

// ✅ Correct - only interactive parts are islands
// routes/index.tsx (server component)
import Counter from "../islands/Counter.tsx";

export default function HomePage() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Header />
      <MainContent />
      <Counter />
      <Footer />
    </div>
  );
}

Passing non-serializable props to islands

// ❌ Wrong - functions can't be serialized
<Counter onUpdate={(val) => console.log(val)} />

// ✅ Correct - only pass JSON-serializable data
<Counter initialValue={5} label="Click count" />

Other Common Mistakes

Using className instead of class

// ❌ Works but unnecessary in Preact
<div className="container">

// ✅ Preact supports native HTML attribute
<div class="container">

Forgetting to build before deploying Fresh 2.x

# ❌ Wrong - Fresh 2.x requires a build step
deno deploy --prod

# ✅ Correct - build first, then deploy
deno task build
deno deploy --prod

Creating islands for non-interactive content

// ❌ Wrong - this doesn't need to be an island (no interactivity)
// islands/StaticCard.tsx
export default function StaticCard({ title, body }) {
  return <div class="card"><h2>{title}</h2><p>{body}</p></div>;
}

// ✅ Correct - use a regular component (no JS shipped)
// components/StaticCard.tsx
export default function StaticCard({ title, body }) {
  return <div class="card"><h2>{title}</h2><p>{body}</p></div>;
}

Using old Tailwind plugin

// ❌ WRONG - Fresh 1.x Tailwind plugin
import tailwind from "jsr:@fresh/plugin-tailwindcss";

// ✅ CORRECT - Fresh 2.x uses Vite Tailwind plugin
import tailwindcss from "@tailwindcss/vite";

Migrating from Fresh 1.x to 2.x

If you have an existing Fresh 1.x project, run the migration tool:

deno run -Ar jsr:@fresh/update

This tool automatically:
- Converts $fresh/server.ts imports to fresh
- Updates handler signatures from (req, ctx) to (ctx)
- Removes fresh.gen.ts and dev.ts
- Creates vite.config.ts and client.ts
- Updates deno.json tasks
- Converts _404.tsx/_500.tsx to unified _error.tsx
- Updates context method calls (ctx.renderNotFound() → throw new HttpError(404))

Manual Migration Checklist

If the tool misses anything:

1. Imports: Replace all $fresh/* with fresh
2. Handlers: Change (req, ctx) to (ctx), access request via ctx.req
3. Files: Delete fresh.gen.ts, dev.ts, fresh.config.ts
4. Tasks: Update to vite, vite build, deno serve -A _fresh/server.js
5. Error pages: Merge _404.tsx and _500.tsx into _error.tsx
6. Tailwind: Replace @fresh/plugin-tailwindcss with @tailwindcss/vite